RICH CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE WITH GHOSTLY PEARS
(Serves 12)
INGREDIENTS
For the poached pears:
150g (5oz) caster sugar; 1 lemon, juiced; 300ml (½pt) apple juice; 3 conference pears, peeled
For the base:
1 x 154g pack Oreos; chocolate cookies, crushed; 25g butter, melted
For the filling:
12 butterscotch candies; 6 gelatine leaves; 300ml double cream; 100g icing sugar; 600g (1¼lb) light cream cheese; 2 tsp vanilla bean paste; 100g dark chocolate, melted;
4 Oreo chocolate cookies
METHOD
1. Put the sugar, lemon juice, apple juice and 300ml water in a saucepan just large enough to fit the pears snugly. Heat for five minutes until the sugar has dissolved, then immerse the pears. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until tender. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Chill until needed.
2. For the base, line a 20cm springform cake tin with nonstick baking paper. In a bowl, stir the crushed cookies into the melted butter. Tip the mix into the prepared tin and press down. Chill for 20 mins. For the filling, put butterscotch in a blender and whizz to a fine crumb. Set aside.
3. Soak the gelatine in water for five minutes until softened. Remove from the water and squeeze out any excess liquid, then heat in a small pan until melted. Set aside.
4. Whisk the cream and icing sugar, until thickened. Whisk in the cream cheese and vanilla then stir in the butterscotch and gelatine. Spoon the mixture over the biscuit base and chill for at least four hours, until set.
5. Cover a work surface with a large sheet of nonstick baking paper. To decorate, pour the melted chocolate over the baking paper and, using a palette knife, spread it out in a thin layer, about 3mm (1/8in) thick. Leave to set for 30 minutes, then slice into thin shards, roughly 2cm (1in) higher than the cake. Reserve a little chocolate for the pears’ eyes and mouths. 6. Drain the pears and pat dry with kitchen towel. Shape the reserved chocolate into three pairs of eyes and three oval shaped mouths with a sharp knife and stick to the pears. 7. Run a palette knife around the cake to release it from the tin. Press the chocolate shards into the edges of the cake, all around. Crush the remaining four cookies and scatter over the cake. Sit the pears in the centre of the cake.