World Baking Day

Source

Sunday was World Baking Day - I may have been a little late to the party but I decided to try a new baking recipe... My younger SIL made this delicious recipe for Christmas last year and I've been craving it ever since. It is amazing!!

Gordon Ramsay's Pear and Amaretto Cheesecake
(Recipe found here)

Ingredients:

For the poached pears:

• 2 large pears
• 50g castor sugar
• 100ml water
• 1 vanilla pod

For the base:

• 150g digestive biscuits
• 50g unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp chocolate spread (nutella)

For the filling:

• 300g full fat cream cheese
• 125g castor sugar
• 550ml double cream
• 3 tsbp Amaretto liqueur
• 100g amaretti biscuits

To decorate:

• 120g good quality dark chocolate 
• icing sugar, to dust

Method:

• First, poach the pears for the filling. Peel, quarter and core the pears, then cut them into 1cm dice. Dissolve the sugar in the water in a small saucepan over a low heat. Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds into a large bowl; set aside for later. Add the pod to the sugar syrup and simmer for a few minutes to infuse. Add the diced pears and poach gently for about 3 minutes. Drain and leave to cool.

• 
  

For the cheesecake base, blitz the digestives in a food processor to fine crumbs, then tip into a bowl. Melt the butter in a small pan and stir in the chocolate spread. Add to the biscuit crumbs and mix well. Spread the mixture evenly over the base of a 23-24cm springform cake tin, pressing down lightly. Chill for at least 20 minutes until set.

For the filling, add the cream cheese and sugar to the vanilla seeds. Using a hand whisk, beat the mixture until well blended. Add 450ml of the cream and the liquor and whisk to soft peaks. fold in the crushed amaretti and poached pears.Spoon the filling on top of the biscuit base and level the surface. Chill for at least 30 minutes, or until firm. Spread over the remaining cream to form a thin layer and then chill again.

For the decoration, melt the chocolate into a heatproof bowl over a pan of hot water. then spread in an even layer on a marble slab or the underside of a clean baking sheet. Leave until just set, then draw a sharp knife across the surface at an angle of about 25 to shave of large curls. (or just drizzle over cheesecake).
To un-mould the cheesecake, run a hot thin bladed knife around the edge and remove the side of the tin. Slide a palette knife under the cheesecake and transfer to a flat plate. Arrange the chocolate curls decoratively on top, then dust with icing sugar. Cut into slices to serve. The dessert will keep in the fridge for a day or two.

This is honestly the most amazing dessert I have ever tasted.
A new favourite.
x