Vanilla Bean Cajeta Goat Cheese Cheesecake

Goat cheese, honey and cajeta bring a new level of flavor sophistication and complexity to a classic cheesecake. The goat cheese has a more tangy and assertive flavor than traditional cream cheese lending an almost savory note to balance out the sweetness of the cheesecake. The honey introduces hint of floral sweetness and results in a lovely golden hue on the surface of the finished cheesecake. Cajeta, a Mexican caramel sauce made from goat’s milk, brings an almost nutty caramelized sweetness to the party. All together, the result is a harmoniously balanced, richly complex and absolutely delicious, creamy, indulgent dessert.

This recipe is one that I developed very recently – within the last year. Every year, the local county fair has a theme for the home and culinary arts competition. Contestants aren’t required to create entries that are on-theme, but there are typically additional prizes awarded to the best on-theme entries. In 2025, the theme was “We love our cows and goats” and contestants were encouraged to spotlight cows or goats either in the choice of ingredients or the decoration for their entry (or entries). I decided to adapt my cheesecake recipe to showcase ingredients made from goat’s milk – specifically goat cheese and cajeta.

It took me a few tries to get a version of the recipe (and a final product) that I felt good about entering. Goat cheese is a bit wetter and softer than traditional cream cheese and honey is a natural humectant which means the cheesecake will retain even more moisture. On top of that, I was adding cajeta, both to the batter and as a swirl on the top, yet another wet ingredient. The flavor combination was excellent from the very beginning. However, it took some trial (error) and tweaking to get the perfectly set, creamy and luscious texture I was looking for.

I almost decided not to enter it, but my husband convinced me to follow through – after all, I had already paid the entry fee, what did I have to lose? In the end, I’m very glad I didn’t allow my self-doubt to dissuade me (or that I allowed my husband to persuade me, depending on how you want to look at it). The cheesecake was awarded a first place ribbon and praised for the creamy texture and the balanced flavors – and I have another delicious cheesecake recipe to share with all of you!

Vanilla Bean Cajeta Goat Cheese Cheesecake

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A luxuriously creamy goat cheese cheesecake infused with vanilla bean and honey, swirled with rich goat milk caramel, and baked on a buttery cookie crust.

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Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Cooling Time 3 hours hrs

Servings: 14

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 436

Equipment Ingredients Method Notes Nutrition

Equipment

• ▢
  9” round cheesecake pan (3” deep)
• ▢
  small food processor
• ▢
  electric mixer
• ▢
  mixing bowls
• ▢
  12” or larger round pan or roasting pan (for a water bath)
• ▢
  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.silicone cheesecake pan protector (or heavy duty foil)

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x4x

Crust:

• ▢ 150 g cookie crumbs Nilla Wafers, Biscoff, Shortbread, etc
• ▢ 67 g sugar
• ▢ 70 g 5 tbsp butter
• ▢ 8 g cornstarch
• ▢ ⅛ tsp salt
• ▢ 1 egg white well beaten (optional)

Filling:

• ▢ 454 g goat cheese
• ▢ 454 g cream cheese
• ▢ 120 g sour cream
• ▢ 80 ml goat milk
• ▢ 336 g honey or agave syrup, or sugar
• ▢ 4 large eggs
• ▢ 20 ml vanilla bean paste
• ▢ 24 g corn starch
• ▢ 5 g salt
• ▢ 106 g cajeta goat milk caramel

Topping:

• ▢ 80 g cajeta goat milk caramel

Method

 

Cook Mode Cook Mode

 

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F. If you do not have a silicone cheesecake pan protector, tightly wrap your cheesecake pan with heavy duty foil to prevent any water from seeping into the pan during baking.

For the crust:

1. Place the cookie crumbs, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small food processor. Pulse until combined and a medium fine crumb.
   150 g (1 ½ cups) cookie crumbs, 67 g (⅓ cup) sugar, 8 g (1 tbsp) cornstarch, 1/8 tsp (⅛ tsp) salt
2. Add the butter, pulse until the mixture resembles wet, coarse sand.
   70 g (5 tbsp) 5 tbsp butter
3. Press the crust mixture into the bottom and just slightly up the sides of a 9” round cheesecake pan
4. Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and brush lightly with the beaten egg white, return to the oven and bake for an additional 2 minutes to set the egg white (the egg white helps seal the crust and keep it from becoming soggy from contact with the custard filling, if you choose not to use the egg white, simply bake the crust for 12 minutes). If you have a silicone cheesecake pan protector, insert the pan into the protector (otherwise, it should already be wrapped in foil). Lower the oven temperature to 300° F.
   1 egg white

For the custard filling:

1. In medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, goat milk, honey and vanilla bean paste – set aside
   120 g (½ cup) sour cream, 80 ml (⅓ cup) goat milk, 336 g (1 cup) honey, 20 ml (1 ⅓ tbsp) vanilla bean paste
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the goat cheese and cream cheese at medium low speed until soft and creamy
   454 g (16 oz) goat cheese, 454 g (16 oz) cream cheese
3. Add in the corn starch and salt, mix until combined – avoid overmixing, you do not want to aerate the batter
   24 g (3 tbsp) corn starch, 5 g (1 tsp) salt
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until the egg is incorporated before adding the next.
   4 large eggs
5. Stir in the sour cream and goat milk mixture at the lowest speed or by hand, just until combined.
6. Transfer about 1/3 of the mixture to a separate, medium bowl and add the cajeta. Stir until the mixture is uniform in color.
   106 g (½ cup) cajeta
7. Add the cheese cake batter to the prepared crust alternating between two parts of the the vanilla batter and one part of the the cajeta batter until all of the batter is in the crust.

Cajeta swirl topping:

1. Drizzle the cajeta over the surface of the batter. Drag a butter knife through the cajeta on the surface and an inch or so into the batter below to create a swirl pattern throughout the cheesecake and on the surface.
   80 g (⅓ cup) cajeta
2. Place the pan in a larger round pan or a roasting pan. Fill the outer pan with water until it reaches about halfway up the side of your cheesecake pan. Bake at 300° F for 1 hour 30 minutes or until the edges are set and the center has a slight wobble.
3. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional 1 hour to cool
4. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and from the water bath, run a very thin flexible spatula around the upper edge of the cheesecake to ensure the filling is not stuck to the pan.
5. Place the baked cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill and set for at least 4 hours or overnight before removing from the pan and serving.

Notes

I like to use Biscoff cookies for the crust on this, I think the toasty, spiced, caramelized flavor stands up well to the strong flavors in the filling. If you want to play up the vanilla flavor, ‘Nilla Wafers would be a good choice, or if you want a more neutral base, a classic shortbread cookie would work really well. 

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Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 436kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 11gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 479mgPotassium: 118mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 30gVitamin A: 1038IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 105mgIron: 1mg

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