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Cape Malay Spiced Baked Cheesecake with Ginger Biscuit Base and Poached Pears
Recipe

Cape Malay Spiced Baked Cheesecake with Ginger Biscuit Base and Poached Pears

Dessert • South Africa

A refined South African-inspired dessert: gently spiced baked cheesecake with a crisp ginger base, topped with tender pear slices and a glossy poaching syrup.

Why smarter

Baking the cheesecake low and slow delivers a creamy, crack-resistant texture without excess flour, while rooibos-poached pears add fragrance and natural sweetness for a balanced, elegant finish.

Chef tip

For the cleanest slices, chill the cheesecake overnight, then dip a knife in hot water and wipe between cuts; spoon a little warm pear syrup on the plate just before serving.

Soft line

Ideal for a dinner-party finale with coffee or sweet dessert wine.

Ingredients

# Ingredient Text Amount Unit Ingredient Name Notes
1 Ginger biscuits, finely crushed 160.000 g ginger biscuits
2 Unsalted butter, melted 60.000 g unsalted butter
3 Fine salt 1.000 pinch salt
4 Cream cheese, at room temperature 500.000 g cream cheese
5 Caster sugar 110.000 g caster sugar
6 Large eggs 2.000 eggs
7 Full-cream plain yoghurt 120.000 g plain yoghurt Sour cream can be used instead
8 Vanilla extract 1.000 tsp vanilla extract
9 Lemon zest, finely grated 1.000 tsp lemon zest
10 Cape Malay spice blend (ground cinnamon, ground coriander, ground cardamom, ground ginger, pinch of ground cloves) 2.000 tsp Cape Malay spice blend Use a ready blend or mix your own
11 Cornflour (cornstarch) 10.000 g cornflour Helps stabilise the bake
12 Ripe but firm pears, peeled, halved and cored 2.000 pears Forelle or Packham work well
13 Rooibos tea 2.000 cups rooibos tea Freshly brewed, strong
14 Honey 2.000 tbsp honey
15 Lemon juice 1.000 tbsp lemon juice
16 Vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract 1.000 vanilla pod Split if using pod
17 Cinnamon stick 1.000 cinnamon stick
18 Orange peel strip (optional, for perfume) 1.000 orange peel

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 160°C. Lightly grease and line the base of a 18 cm springform tin; wrap the outside in foil if you plan to bake in a water bath.
  2. Make the base: mix crushed ginger biscuits, melted butter and a pinch of salt until evenly moistened. Press firmly into the tin base (use a flat glass). Bake for 10 minutes, then cool slightly.
  3. Reduce oven to 150°C. Bring a kettle of water to the boil if using a water bath.
  4. Make the filling: beat cream cheese and caster sugar on low until smooth (avoid whipping in air). Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl. Mix in yoghurt, vanilla, lemon zest, Cape Malay spice blend and cornflour just until combined.
  5. Pour filling over the baked base and tap the tin gently to release bubbles. For the most refined texture, bake in a water bath: place the tin in a roasting tray and carefully pour in boiling water to come halfway up the sides.
  6. Bake 45–55 minutes, until the edges are set and the centre still has a gentle wobble. Turn the oven off, crack the door slightly, and leave the cheesecake inside for 30 minutes to cool gradually.
  7. Remove and cool to room temperature, then chill at least 4 hours (preferably overnight) to set and develop flavour.
  8. Poach the pears: combine rooibos tea, honey, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon stick and (optional) orange peel in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, add pears cut-side down, cover with a lid or cartouche, and poach 12–18 minutes until just tender.
  9. Lift pears out and reduce the poaching liquid over medium heat until lightly syrupy, 5–10 minutes. Cool pears and syrup.
  10. To serve: unmould the chilled cheesecake. Slice pears and arrange on top or alongside each slice. Spoon over a little pear-rooibos syrup for a glossy finish.