Individual Mini Poached Pear Cheesecakes
- Ready In:
- 1hr 5mins
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
9
ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 cups sugar, plus
- sugar, for coating the ramekins
- 2 tablespoons pear brandy
- lemon, zest of, three 1/2 inch wide strips
- 3 inches cinnamon sticks
- 1 vanilla bean, split
- 2 star anise pods
- 2 whole cloves
- 2 ripe bartlett pears, peeled, halved lengthwise and cored
- 1 1⁄2 lbs cream cheese, softened
- 1⁄2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
directions
- In a saucepan, combine ¾ cup of the sugar with the brandy, lemon zest, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, star anise, cloves and 1 ½ cups of water; bring to a boil over high heat, then add the pears; lower the heat, set a plate on the pears to submerge them and simmer until tender, about 3 minutes; transfer the pears to a plate to cool; boil the liquid until reduced to a syrup, about 4 minutes; strain and let cool.
- Butter nine ½-cup ramekins and coat with sugar; trim the pears so that they’re 2 inches long, then slice them ¼ inch thick; fan the slices, overlapping slightly, in the prepared ramekins and add 1 tsp of the poaching syrup to each.
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy; beat in the remaining ¾ cup sugar until smooth, then beat in the mascarpone; add the vanilla and then the eggs, one at a time; spoon the batter into the ramekins and set them in a roasting pan; add enough hot water to the pan to reach two-thirds of the way up the sides of the ramekins; bake for about 35 minutes, or until just set; transfer to a rack to cool, then refrigerate overnight.
- Run a knife around each cheesecake and invert onto a plate; spoon a little of the reserved poaching liquid around each cheesecake and serve.
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OK, here goes. I live in Athens, Greece. I moved out here many, many years ago from Ottawa, Canada - so I am blessed in having two wonderful heritages!
I suffer from compulsive obsessive behaviour with regard to food and my psychiatrist thought it would be a good idea to find a 'society' where many have the same problem and try to find a cure.
So far, I've copied a couple of thousand recipes from this site and my psychiatrist has thrown the towel in and refuses to answer the phone when I call.
What did I do wrong?
Got 3 kids that keep me on the go - 10 and under at this point (2008) - I may not get round to updating this for a few years, so you'll have to do your own maths.
I teach English full-time and Greek Cookery part-time. I would like to make the cooking part of it full-time and the English Grammar part of it part-time.
That's all for now.