Make the cake

1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Grease and line a 9-inch springform cake tin with parchment paper in the base. Grease the sides well with butter.

2. Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until finely ground. Make sure not to grind for too long or the nuts might turn into pistachio butter.

3. Place pistachio crumbs in a large bowl. Whisk in the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

4. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat well.

5. Beat in the egg whites on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat well.

6. Reduce speed to low, add the dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, pour in the milk and mix until combined. Whisk together by hand if you see lumps in the batter.

7. Pour batter into the cake pan. Bake for around 30 minutes or until the cake is baked through or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.

8. Using a serrated knife, level by starting at the edge of the cake dome, not the side of the cake. This way you waste as little cake as possible during the leveling process; save extra cake scraps for snack. Once you have leveled the cake, place it back into the cake tin.

Make the cream cheese

1. Pulse the pistachios in a food processor until finely ground. Make sure not to grind for too long or the nuts might turn into pistachio butter.

2. Mix gelatin powder with 2 tablespoons water in a bowl. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir for a few minutes until the gelatin has completely dissolved in the liquid. Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.

3. With an electric whisk, beat together cream cheese, and caster sugar until smooth, making sure there are no lumps.

4. Clean and dry the whisk attachments, then whisk the whipping cream in a bowl until it forms soft peaks.

5. Whisk the gelatin into the cream cheese mixture until well combined, then gently fold in the whipped cream into this mix.

6. Next, fold in ground pistachios until well combined.

7. Spoon this filling on top of the leveled cake and into the cake tin, smoothing the surface so it is flat and even.

8. Garnish to you liking, with blueberries, blackberries, young mint leaves and a sprinkling of chopped pistachios.

9. Cover with cling wrap and chill for 4 hours or overnight until firm.

10. Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake before releasing it from the tin and cutting into 8 or more wedges, before serving.