There is little I love more than a perfect pear; buttery, sweet, ever so slightly grainy – and a king on its throne when sitting on a hunk of salty cheese. Pear trees are common enough here in Britain, but the perfect pear is still elusive, with under-ripe fruit often the norm on shop shelves. But worry not: less than perfect pears can be transformed. In today’s cheesecake, they don a robe of amber caramel; in the cookies, a firmish texture helps them stand up against white chocolate. And if you’re lucky enough to come across that royal perfect pear, just gobble it up right away – or make my pear, stem ginger and sesame cake.
White chocolate and pear cookies with lime and cardamom (pictured above)
This is the first time I’ve put fresh fruit in a cookie. I had some doubts as to whether it was going to work, but they were a great success. The acidity and juiciness of the pear is a welcome addition to the rich cookie dough. Don’t skip the dough chilling: it gives the gluten time to develop, resulting in a chewy yet crisp texture.
Prep 10 min
Cook 35 min
Chill 2 hr
Makes 25
250g butter, softened
335g plain flour
7 cardamom pods, seeds removed and finely crushed in a mortar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp flaked sea salt
200g light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
1 tbsp lime zest (ie, from 2 limes)
1 egg, plus 1 yolk
200g white chocolate, chopped into roughly 1cm pieces
200g (net weight) conference pear, peeled, cored and diced into 5mm pieces (that’s about 1½ pears)
In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt 150g butter until it has a deep, nutty aroma and turned amber – about eight minutes. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate until solid.
Sieve the flour, ground cardamom seeds and bicarb into a medium bowl then stir in the salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the solid browned butter, the remaining 100g softened butter, both sugars and the lime zest. With the paddle attachment in place, cream on medium speed until slightly lighter in colour, but not too fluffy – about two minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk, mix until just combined, then add the dry ingredients and mix until just starting to combine, but some dry bits are still visible. Add the white chocolate and pear, and mix again until fully combined.
Using your hands (or a golf-ball sized ice-cream scoop), shape the dough into 25 roughly 50g balls, then arrange snugly on a small oven tray. Cover tightly with clingfilm and refrigerate for two hours.
Heat the oven to 180C (170C fan)/375F/gas 5. Put the chilled cookie balls on a lined baking tray spaced about 6cm apart, and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until golden-brown around the edges but still puffy and soft in the centre. If you prefer a crisper cookie, bake for two to three minutes longer. Leave to cool slightly on the tray before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
Ricotta cheesecake with pears in caramel
The ricotta makes this lighter than other cheesecakes, so beware: you may end up eating much more than you normally would. Don’t worry if cracks form after baking; they’ll be covered by the pears before serving.
Prep 15 min
Cook 80 min
Set Overnight or 4 hr min
Serves 8
For the ginger almond crust
130g ginger nut biscuits, roughly broken
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp flaked sea salt
50g almonds, toasted and chopped
50g unsalted butter, melted
For the ricotta filling
375g cream cheese
220g caster sugar
⅔ tsp flaked sea salt
625g ricotta
2 whole eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
1 lemon, zest finely grated, to get 2 tsp
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1¼ tbsp cornflour
For the pear topping
60g soft light brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
4 williams pears, peeled, cored and chopped into roughly 1cm cubes (450g net weight)
1 tbsp lemon juice
Heat the oven to 170C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Line the base and sides of a 23cm spring-form cake tin with baking paper.
For the crust, in a food processor blitz the biscuits, cinnamon and salt to fine crumbs. Tip into a bowl, add the almonds and butter, and mix well. Press firmly into the base of the lined tin, using your hands to make sure it’s evenly distributed. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden at the edges, then leave to cool completely.
For the filling, in a food processor, blitz the cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth – about a minute – then add the ricotta, eggs, egg yolks and half the lemon zest, and process for one minute more. Add the vanilla and cornflour, pulse for a few seconds, until just combined, then tip over the cooled base.
Put the tin on to an oven tray and bake for 50 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges but still a bit wobbly in the centre. Leave to cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight, and for at least four hours.
For the pear topping, put the sugar, cinnamon and 220ml water in a medium saucepan on a medium heat, and cook for about 12 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened to a loose caramel. Add the pears and lemon juice, cook for another 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pears have softened but still retain their shape, then leave to cool completely.
Release the cheesecake from its tin and place on a platter. Just before serving, top with the cooled pears and caramel, and the remaining teaspoon of lemon zest.
Pear, stem ginger and sesame cake
This is somewhere between a cake and a pudding, and consists mainly of fruit, with minimal amounts of flour, sugar and butter. It is truly luxurious served warm with cream. For the best results, use ripe and buttery (rather than firm) pears.
Prep 15 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 6
40g unsalted butter
75g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (2 tsp)
2 eggs, beaten
75g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
30g sesame seeds, lightly toasted and roughly blitzed
Salt
4 williams pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm cubes (450g net weight)
50g stem ginger, roughly chopped, plus 2 tbsp stem ginger syrup
150ml double cream, whipped to soft peaks, to serve
Heat the oven to 170C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4. Line and grease a 20cm springform cake tin.
In a small saucepan on a medium heat, melt the butter until it has a deep, nutty aroma and has turned amber – about eight minutes. Pour into a large bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes, until cool.
Put the sugar, vanilla and lemon zest in the butter bowl, beat with a spatula, then stir in the eggs until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, sesame seeds and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, stir to combine, then fold in the pears and chopped ginger. Transfer the batter to the cake tin and bake for 40 minutes, until golden brown on top (a skewer will not come out completely clean, but shouldn’t be too wet).
Brush the ginger syrup over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven, then leave to cool for about 20 minutes. Release the cake from its tin and serve warm with whipped double cream.
