May 2006

Baked Vanilla Cheese Cake with a Pear Compote

Ingredients

Filling
2 x Vanilla Pods
500 g Marscapone Cheese
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
100g castor sugar
2 large eggs, separated
400g white chocolate

Base
250g plain flour
40g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
175g unsalted butter

Compote
4 Pears, pitted & peeled
150 g Castor

Method

Base
Put the flour, sugar & salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub together until the mixture resembles bread-crumbs. Add a little water until you have a dough consistency. Cover in clingfilm & refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 180?C. Grease a 25cm diameter cake tin and bake the sweet dough for 20 minutes. Allow to cool.

Filling
Beat together the cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar & egg yolks until smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites & vanilla until stiff. Mix with the egg white & fold into the cheese & lemon mixture.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin & bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until just set. (don’t worry if it cracks or sinks – this is normal)
Allow to cool.

Compote
Bring 500ml and 150g of Castor sugar to the boil, add diced peeled & pitted fresh pear. Simmer until the pear is soft, puree & strain. Allow to cool.

Garnish
Cut thin slivers of pear, place on grease-proof paper, sprinkle with icing sugar & dry out at 60?C until crisp.

Plating

Cut slices of cheese cake, top with a dollop of pear compote & garnish with a pear crisp & a mint leaf.

Pure Indulgence!

Instead of Pear Crisp – Tweel

100g Flour
100g Butter
100g Sugar
2-3 egg whites

Mix the butter & sugar until creamy, add the flour 7 egg white & beat until smooth, pour onto foil in desired shape & bake at 180C until golden brown (20 minutes)