BAKED TOFFEE APPLE CHEESECAKE

Preparation 35 minutes, plus chilling Cooking 40 minutes Discovery has to be one of my favourite eating apples. It’s an early one; I’ve picked them in late July after long, hot summers and found them to be perfectly ripe. The flesh has a vibrant magenta blush when cut, while the taste is crisp, sweet and refreshing in the still heat of a sun-baked afternoon in the orchard. This apple variety is a natural partner for sticky toffee and works brilliantly in this baked cheesecake recipe – good eaters, such as Cox or Braeburn, are more than worthy alternatives if you’re unable to find them.

75g butter 200g ginger biscuits 6 Discovery apples 600g cream cheese 100ml double cream 150g caster sugar 50g plain flour vanilla essence FOR THE TOFFEE SAUCE 300ml double cream 100g light brown sugar 75g butter a few drops of vanilla essence

1 Grease a 23cm spring-form cake tin with butter and line with parchment. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until fine and tip into a bowl. Melt the rest of the butter and add. Spread the biscuit mix onto the bottom of the tin; use the back of a spoon to flatten it into an even layer. Put in the fridge to chill. 2 Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan oven) gas mark 4. Peel, core and finely chop two of the apples. Whisk the cream cheese, double cream, caster sugar, flour and vanilla essence together, then stir in the chopped apple. Pour the mixture over the biscuit base and bake for 30-40 minutes, after which the centre of the cheesecake should have a uniform wobble when gently shaken. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven until it has cooled. 3 To make the toffee, melt the cream, sugar, butter, a pinch of salt and a few drops of vanilla essence together in a pan. Bring to a low bubble and keep stirring until the liquid is a thick, golden toffee colour. Spoon a thin layer of toffee onto the cheesecake. Core, slice and arrange the remaining 4 apples on top. Use a pastry brush to thinly coat the apple slices with toffee (this will create a seal and stop them going brown). Drizzle over the remaining toffee before serving.