Cheesecake with Caramel

Ingredients

• 150 g whole wheat cookies
• 100 g butter
• 80 g raisins
• 40 ml orange juice
• 1 Organic lemon
• 4 eggs
• 1 pinch salt
• 150 g raw cane sugar
• 750 g low-fat quark
• 250 g cream cheese
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 pears
• 100 ml white grape juice
• 60 g almond flakes
• 250 ml milk (3.5% fat)
• 1 very fresh egg yolk
• 0.25 tsp vanilla powder

Instructions

1. 1.

   Place cookies in a clean kitchen towel and crush into crumbs with a rolling pin. Melt butter in a small pot over low heat and mix with crumbs. Line a springform pan with parchment paper. Pour crumb mixture into the pan and press firmly.

2. 2.

   Soak raisins in orange juice. Rinse lemon under hot water, pat dry, grate zest finely. Squeeze juice. Separate eggs. Beat egg whites with salt to stiff peaks.

3. 3.

   Whisk egg yolks with 100 g sugar until fluffy. Fold in drained quark, cream cheese, lemon juice and zest. Sift 2 tbsp cornstarch over mixture and fold in; fold in meringue and raisins.

4. 4.

   Spread quark mixture over cookie base and smooth. Bake in preheated oven at 180 °C (160 °C fan) for about 1 hour. If cake browns too quickly, cover promptly.

5. 5.

   For garnish peel pears, quarter, remove core, dice. Heat grape juice and 100 ml water in a pot. Add pears and simmer 1–2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. Toast almonds in a hot dry pan without fat for 3 minutes on medium heat.

6. 6.

   Brown remaining sugar in a pot. Remove from heat and deglaze with 60 ml boiling water. Take out 2 tbsp milk, whisk cornstarch into it until smooth. Add remaining milk, bring to boil, then remove from heat. Whisk starch mixture with egg yolk, vanilla, and pinch of salt. Stir in and cook for 1 minute over residual heat.

7. 7.

   Release cake from pan and cut into pieces. Arrange on plates, place 1 tbsp drained pears on top, drizzle caramel sauce, sprinkle almonds.