James says: “This might be bold, but I really think this cheesecake could win any cheesecake competition! Every time I make it, it’s gone within minutes. Perfectly ripe pears are the key here, alongside the salty butterscotch, which, when combined, make for an ideal dessert (if it lasts until after dinner, that is!).”

Serves 8

40 minutes prep, plus at least 1 hour cooling time

Ingredients

250g ginger nut biscuits
70g salted butter, melted
350g cream cheese
3 tablespoons icing sugar
275ml double cream

For the butterscotch sauce:

50g unsalted butter
100g dark brown sugar
125ml double cream
pinch of sea salt
2 Conference pears, peeled, cored and cut into bite-size pieces

Method

Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs (alternatively, you could put them in a clear plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin to get the same effect).

Tip them into a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, add the melted butter, mix well, then, using the back of a metal spoon, press the biscuit base firmly into the bottom of the tin.

Cover with kitchen foil and refrigerate while you make the other components.

To make the sauce, melt the butter, sugar, cream and salt in a saucepan over a low heat. Bring the mixture to the boil, then let it simmer for 5 minutes, to thicken nicely.

Add the pear pieces, remove from the heat, pour into a jug and leave to cool.

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and icing sugar together.

In a separate bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form – you want this to be pretty firm.

Fold the cream into the cream cheese mixture so they’re well combined. Pick out as many of the pear pieces as you can from the butterscotch sauce and add these to the cheesecake mixture – a bit of sauce will come with them, which is encouraged, but try not to bring too much as it will stop the cream cheese filling from setting.

Fold the butterscotch pears through the mixture and tip this onto the chilled biscuit base, smoothing with a spatula.

Cover with cling film and return to the refrigerator along with the jug of sauce. Leave to set for at least 1 hour; ideally 3–4 hours.

To serve, remove the cheesecake from the tin, slice and share between plates, encouraging guests to pour some sauce over the top.

From Orchard: Sweet And Savoury Recipes From The Countryside by James Rich (£22, Hardie Grant), out now

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