• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Keeping It Real
  • San Francisco
  • Online Pastry Classes

Shikha la mode

Eating Life to its Fullest in San Francisco, CA.

Home » Recipes » Cakes » Cheesecake » Recipe: {gluten-free} Maple-Pear Cheesecake

December 5, 2013

Recipe: {gluten-free} Maple-Pear Cheesecake

IMG_2738

If for some reason I got put on death row, it would be for stealing all the cheesecake and then eating it. Said cheesecake would also be my requested last meal. That’s how much I love it. I’m not kidding.

IMG_2699

I actually love cheesecake so much that I don’t make it and eat it very often because I’m afraid that I may get sick of it and not like it anymore. It’s a vicious cycle, really, of cream cheese-scented nightmares and graham cracker-crust reveries.

But when holidays like Thanksgiving come along, all rules are thrown out the window. This time around, I was assigned (along with the four other desserts already on my menu) to create something gluten-free, and whaddya know, cheesecake fits that description rather well.

In general, cheesecake is nearly completely gluten-free except for the crust, which I made using this recipe. In the spirit of fall, I squished together a few other recipes floating around on the interwebz and baked up a maple-sweetened version topped with maple-roasted pears.


Normally, I make do with a cheaper imposter of maple syrup because money don’t grow on trees. However, for this recipe, I’d recommend going full baller status and using some Canadian, Grade A syrup because it will change your life, and if there is any time to ball out, the holidays are it.

Stick ‘em up.

IMG_2709IMG_2739

Gluten-Free Maple-Pear Cheesecake

[ingredients]

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. In a heavy medium saucepan, boil maple syup over medium-high heat until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to almost room temperature.
  3. In the bowl of stand mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until very smooth. Add flour, salt and mix. Then add the reduced maple syrup, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
  4. Add in the eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour into the cooled crust and tap the sides vigorously to release any air bubbles.
  5. Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes until the top is evenly browned and the center is barely jiggly. Let cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
  6. For the pears: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.
  7. Arrange the slices evenly on the baking sheet and brush  liberally with maple syrup. Roast until the pears are soft, about 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
  8. Before serving, arrange roasted pears on top of the chilled cheesecake, overlapping the slices to fit.

Filed Under: Cheesecake Tagged With: Baking, Cheesecake, Dessert, Fall, Gluten-free, Holiday, Maple syrup, Pears, Recipe, Roasted, Thanksgiving

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Erika says

    December 5, 2013 at 9:10 am

    Oh my GOSH I want to come to your Thanksgiving!!!! That dessert table looks 20384029834x more appealing now that I know that’s pear cheesecake on the end!! Ummm breakfast cheesecake for brunch? 😉

    Reply
    • Shikha says

      December 5, 2013 at 11:14 am

      Hahaha is breakfast cheesecake a thing? If not, let’s just make it a thing. It’s brunch, so anything goes!

      Reply
  2. Daniela @ FoodrecipesHQ says

    December 5, 2013 at 1:02 pm

    Oh I so tempted now! Your cheesecake looks very very beautiful, divine, I’d say! I look forward to buying a beautiful bottle of Canadian maple syrup!

    Reply
  3. Mona says

    December 6, 2013 at 6:14 am

    The pears by themselves are a dessert…..

    Reply
    • Shikha says

      December 10, 2013 at 1:59 pm

      They really are. Does this mean that this cheesecake is really two desserts?!

      Reply
  4. Carolyn Jung says

    December 6, 2013 at 5:08 pm

    Oooh, look at all those lovely ripples of juicy pear slices. Now, this is the way I want to get my fruit in the winter. LOL Can you blame me?

    Reply
    • Shikha says

      December 8, 2013 at 10:59 pm

      I wouldn’t want my fruit in any other way!

      Reply
  5. Joanne says

    December 7, 2013 at 4:54 am

    A good naturally GF dessert is definitely the way to go if you’re baking to please a crowd! Love the sound of this!!

    Reply
    • Shikha says

      December 8, 2013 at 11:00 pm

      Thanks Joanne! It’s so delicious, I might make another version of it for Christmas!

      Reply
  6. Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says

    December 8, 2013 at 3:29 pm

    This is such a beautiful cheesecake, the pears on top look perfect!

    Reply
    • Shikha says

      December 8, 2013 at 11:00 pm

      Thank you so much! It was definitely fun to make.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

logo
Food Advertisements by

About

Shikha here - a pastry chef, runner, and writer based in San Francisco. I've worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants and blasted a lot of hip hop during prep service. Now I develop recipes, write, run races, and teach classes so you too can eat life to its fullest.

Want SLM in your inbox?

Stay Connected

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Explore More

logo
Food Advertisements by

Popular Recipes

mango-spice-tart-sliced

Recipe: Mango Spice Tart Disguised as a Pumpkin Spice Tart

A Brunchiful Reunion: Summer Vegetable Quiche

Weekend E.A.T. – Friendsgiving & Almond Tart Dough

Keeping it Real

2020 Recap

Turning thirty one

Thirty One

thankful list

Quarantine Thankful List

logo
Food Advertisements by

Clever

Linqia

Copyright© 2021 · Brunch Pro Theme by Shay Bocks