Baked vanilla cheesecake with poached guavas

Photography by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio

I love how Mother Nature seems to give us exactly what we need when we need it, and I'm not talking about the cheesecake here (heaven help our waistlines if cheesecake started growing on trees! A girl can dream though...) 

We're right in the middle of guava season here in South Africa and they're at their plumpest, pinkest and most fragrant but also packed with vitamin C - perfect for fighting off nasty bugs. A quick google search tells you that the fruit actually has five times the vitamin C content of the good ol' orange. So yes, feel free to take that as an excuse to make the cheesecake - to go along with the guavas, of course!

Whipping up my favourite cheesecake on Expresso Morning Show on SABC3
Photography by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio

Baked vanilla cheesecake with poached guavas

Serves 10-12

400g digestive biscuits

100g butter, melted

800g cream cheese, room temperature

300g crème fraîche, room temperature

180g castor sugar

40g cake flour

4 eggs

200g white chocolate, melted

1 vanilla pod, scraped (keep the pod for the syrup) or vanilla extract

zest of 2 lemons

Poached guavas

2 cups water

150g castor sugar

4-6 guavas, peeled and halved

Preheat the oven to 100°C .

Line the bottom of a 20cm springform cake tin with baking paper then grease the sides. Wrap the outside of the tin in foil to make it waterproof.

Combine the biscuits and butter in a food processor and process until fine crumbs then press into the bottom of the lined tin.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together until smooth then pour over the crust in your cake tin.

Place the cake tin on a folded tea towel (to stop it slipping) in a large roasting dish and fill with enough hot water until the water reaches halfway up the sides of the cake tin.

Bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes or until the cheesecake is just set with a slight wobble in the middle.

Allow to cool at room temperature then refrigerate until set.

For the guavas, bring the water and sugar to the boil with the vanilla pod in a saucepan.

Add the fruit and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Remove the poached fruit and reduce the syrup further to allow it to thicken.

Serve the cheesecake, sliced, with the poached guavas on the side.

Photography by Gunther Schubert of Vorsprung Studio

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Here's the video if you want to see how to make the recipe step-by-step:

How to make perfect red wine poached pears

Winter's treasure of plump ripe pears get an even rosier blush with a good glug of red wine and a sprinkling of spices. Embarrassingly simple to prepare, these tipsy poached pears with their gluhwein spices were inspired by the delicious Pinot Noir-themed tasting menu I recently had at Haute Cabriere restaurant in Franschhoek. The menu really got me thinking about how versatile red wine is and Haute Cabriere's range of famous Pinot Noir's infused a soft spiciness to these gems. It's a simple low-fat dessert that will leave a lasting impression on the lips (and not the hips!) But if you're after something more decadent, I'll be posting two more delicious recipes during the coming weeks that use the boozy fruit. 

Photography by Angie Lazaro Photography

Red wine poached pears

(Serves 4)

2 cups red wine (see TIPS)

1/3 cup castor sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

1 vanilla bean,split and seeds scraped

4 ripe pears, peeled

Combine the liquid, sugar and spices in a saucepan and stir until sugar is dissolved. 

Add the pears and bring to the boil. 

Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a cartouche. 

Poach gently until pears are tender, for about 1 hour. 

Remove the pears. 

Bring the syrup to a boil and reduce until slightly thickened. 

Pour over the pears and allow to cool before refrigerating.

TIPS and IDEAS

• Experiment using different liquids such as white or sparkling wine, fruit juice, port or sweet wine, teas such as green, jasmine, earl grey etc.
• Vary the spices by adding cloves, cardamom, star anise, lemongrass or saffron
• Core the pears from the underside and pipe in flavoured mascarpone or mousse before serving.
• Add poached pears to baked puddings, layer into trifles, or serve with French toast or crumpets drizzled with honey for breakfast.

To book for the Pinot Noir tasting menu:

Haute Cabriere

www.cabriere.co.za

Pass Road, Franschhoek, Cape Town, South Africa

+27 21 876 8500