Individual Mini Poached Pear Cheesecakes

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 9
• 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

Recipe

• 1 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.
• 2 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.
• 3 preheat oven to 325°f.
• 4 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.
• 5 run a knife around each cheesecake and invert onto a plate; spoon a little of the reserved poaching liquid around each cheesecake and serve.