Mother’s Day Recipe Inspiration - Midnight cheese cake with coffee pears
- 06 May 2023
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Mother’s Day Recipe Inspiration - Midnight cheese cake with coffee pears
Mother’s Day Recipe Inspiration - Midnight cheese cake with coffee pears
“Autumn days are beautiful - especially Mother’s Day when I celebrate my mom Inez’s colourful life. It has become our own tradition to serve pears as dessert, sometimes pairing it with toasted banana loaf for brunch or old-fashioned baked ginger pudding, all which she loved.
It’s made even more meaningful through the rich symbolism of the fruit itself. Homer described the pear as the gift fit for the gods. The pear tree symbolises a long life and the Greeks planted a pear tree in the centre of the garden, to ground everything around it. That represents my mother - she was our family’s grounding tree.
Like pears, moms come in many shapes - some elegant and tall, others rounded and welcoming. The last time I prepared pears for Mother’s Day I poached it in a coffee syrup and dished it up with baked cheese cake. As her name has Spanish origins and she had an adventurous streak, breaking with convention, she would have loved this San Sebastian cheese cake I will be serving with pears poached in coffee syrup.
This modern-day classic from Spain breaks all the rules I associate with the New York style baked cheese cake - no water bath needed; no problem if the top caves in or cracks. It doesn’t have to cool in the oven, something that tests my patience! It also has an unpretentious beauty, wrapped in its collar of wrinkled baking paper.” Errieda Du Toit
MIDNIGHT CHEESE CAKE WITH COFFEE PEARS
Like my mom Inez’s name, this cheesecake originates from Spain. The burnt caramel taste of the top and equally dark coffee taste of the pears form a delicious contrast to the sweetness of the cake.
Note: please don't overbake the cheesecake – the centre must still wobble. Cool it in the pan for at least 5 hours in the refrigerator. Serve it at room temperature.
Make 1 medium cheesecake (8 - 10 slices)
3 x 200 g tubs cream cheese, room temperature
240 g sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2.5 ml salt
100 ml whipping cream
5 ml vanilla extract or grated zest of 1 lemon
To serve: coffee poached pears and its syrup
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 240°C for 30 minutes beforehand, oven rack in the middle of the oven. Grease a high cake pan (19cm diameter, 8cm deep) with a loose bottom and line with 2 layers of baking paper – the paper should extend well above the pan's edge.
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend very well, then pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Tap the pan several times on the bench to get rid of air bubbles. Place in the oven quickly to retain as much heat as possible. Bake at 240°C for the first 18-20 minutes and lower to 230°C for the next 20 minutes. The top should be a very dark brown and it should still wobble in the middle.
Tips:
• cut the cake with a large sharp knife dipped in hot water for 40 seconds between slices. Do not use a bread knife with a serrated edge.
• The texture should be fluffy on the outer edges and the middle slightly runny.
PEARS IN COFFEE SYRUP
330 g caster sugar
1 l strongly brewed coffee
6 firm pears with stems on (not too ripe otherwise it will collapse)
Place the sugar, coffee in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until it just starts to bubble. Peel the pears and carefully remove the core, retaining the stem. Cut the pears lengthwise almost to the top, Simmer to just fork soft.
Carefully lift the pears out of the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain. Strain the syrup and return to the saucepan. Gently boil to nice and syrupy. Allow to cool.
Place a slice of cheesecake on the dessert plate, fan the pear on the side, pour over some syrup of the pears.
Featured image credit: Ian du Toit
“Autumn days are beautiful - especially Mother’s Day when I celebrate my mom Inez’s colourful life. It has become our own tradition to serve pears as dessert, sometimes pairing it with toasted banana loaf for brunch or old-fashioned baked ginger pudding, all which she loved.
It’s made even more meaningful through the rich symbolism of the fruit itself. Homer described the pear as the gift fit for the gods. The pear tree symbolises a long life and the Greeks planted a pear tree in the centre of the garden, to ground everything around it. That represents my mother - she was our family’s grounding tree.
Like pears, moms come in many shapes - some elegant and tall, others rounded and welcoming. The last time I prepared pears for Mother’s Day I poached it in a coffee syrup and dished it up with baked cheese cake. As her name has Spanish origins and she had an adventurous streak, breaking with convention, she would have loved this San Sebastian cheese cake I will be serving with pears poached in coffee syrup.
This modern-day classic from Spain breaks all the rules I associate with the New York style baked cheese cake - no water bath needed; no problem if the top caves in or cracks. It doesn’t have to cool in the oven, something that tests my patience! It also has an unpretentious beauty, wrapped in its collar of wrinkled baking paper.” Errieda Du Toit
MIDNIGHT CHEESE CAKE WITH COFFEE PEARS
Like my mom Inez’s name, this cheesecake originates from Spain. The burnt caramel taste of the top and equally dark coffee taste of the pears form a delicious contrast to the sweetness of the cake.
Note: please don't overbake the cheesecake – the centre must still wobble. Cool it in the pan for at least 5 hours in the refrigerator. Serve it at room temperature.
Make 1 medium cheesecake (8 - 10 slices)
3 x 200 g tubs cream cheese, room temperature
240 g sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2.5 ml salt
100 ml whipping cream
5 ml vanilla extract or grated zest of 1 lemon
To serve: coffee poached pears and its syrup
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 240°C for 30 minutes beforehand, oven rack in the middle of the oven. Grease a high cake pan (19cm diameter, 8cm deep) with a loose bottom and line with 2 layers of baking paper – the paper should extend well above the pan's edge.
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend very well, then pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Tap the pan several times on the bench to get rid of air bubbles. Place in the oven quickly to retain as much heat as possible. Bake at 240°C for the first 18-20 minutes and lower to 230°C for the next 20 minutes. The top should be a very dark brown and it should still wobble in the middle.
Tips:
• cut the cake with a large sharp knife dipped in hot water for 40 seconds between slices. Do not use a bread knife with a serrated edge.
• The texture should be fluffy on the outer edges and the middle slightly runny.
PEARS IN COFFEE SYRUP
330 g caster sugar
1 l strongly brewed coffee
6 firm pears with stems on (not too ripe otherwise it will collapse)
Place the sugar, coffee in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until it just starts to bubble. Peel the pears and carefully remove the core, retaining the stem. Cut the pears lengthwise almost to the top, Simmer to just fork soft.
Carefully lift the pears out of the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain. Strain the syrup and return to the saucepan. Gently boil to nice and syrupy. Allow to cool.
Place a slice of cheesecake on the dessert plate, fan the pear on the side, pour over some syrup of the pears.
Featured image credit: Ian du Toit
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