This last cheesecake is a flight of fancy. You’ll make a crust by grinding granola with vanilla wafer cookies, then you’ll top it with a rich cream cheese mixture that’s laced with a gingery pear compote. Use a plain granola without added fruit (although it can have nuts, if you like). You’ll end up with a sophisticated set of flavors, best with a glass of aged rum and a long evening ahead.
10 dried pear halves, chopped
¼ cup chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup pear nectar
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature, plus additional for the sheet pan
30 vanilla wafer cookies
2 cups plain granola
2 pounds full-fat cream cheese
½ cup packed light brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated white sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1. Combine the dried pears, crystallized ginger, and pear nectar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside until all the liquid is absorbed, about 40 minutes.
2. Process the pear mixture in a food processor until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl and cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
3. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter the inside of a 13 × 18-inch lipped sheet pan.
4. Clean and dry the food processor bowl and blade. Put the cookies and granola in the food processor; cover and process until coarsely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined and moistened. Pour and press this mixture into the prepared sheet pan, forming an even crust across the bottom and about halfway up the sides of the pan.
5. Using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and both sugars in a large bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the cooled pear puree, followed by the flour and vanilla, all until smooth. Pour and spread this mixture into the prepared crust.
6. Bake until puffed and set with the slightest jiggle at its center when tapped, 30 to 33 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack to room temperature, about 1½ hours. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
TESTER NOTES
Dried pears should be soft and pliable, not hard or cracked. They should definitely smell like delicate, ripe, fresh pears, neither fermented nor dusty.