Salted caramel hazelnut cheesecake pots

“Instead of preparing the caramel, you could use a little chocolate drizzle to top the dessert and use berries instead of the poached plums if time isn’t on your side”

SERVES 4 FOR THE CARAMEL

100g caster sugar

100ml cream

½ tsp sea salt

FOR THE POACHED PLUMS

1 cinnamon stick

100ml red wine

100ml water

60g light brown sugar

5 plums, halved & stones removed

THE CHEESECAKE CREAM

120g smooth cream cheese

60g white chocolate, melted

70ml natural yoghurt

4 tbsps icing sugar

1 lemon, juice only

3 tbsps toasted hazelnuts

METHOD

1 To prepare the caramel, place the sugar into the saucepan over a medium low heat and leave to turn a light amber colour. Take it off the heat and stir in the cream (take care at this point as the hot melted sugar will bubble).

Return it to a low heat, stirring all the time until a thick caramel has formed. Add the sea salt. Pour into a sterilised jar and leave to cool.

2 To poach the plums, place the cinnamon stick, red wine, water and the brown sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved and slightly thickened. Add the plum halves to the red wine syrup and poach over a low heat for about 6 to 7 minutes. Remove the cinnamon from the plums and leave to cool completely.

3 For the cheesecake cream, mix the cream cheese, melted chocolate, yoghurt, icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk until smooth.

4 To assemble, ensure that your glasses or jars are clean. Begin with layering up with the plums and then cheesecake cream and a little caramel ending with cheesecake cream. Leave to set in the fridge for 1 hour or more. When ready to serve, top with some caramel and the toasted hazelnuts.