Tip: The thing that gives this dish its initial “wow” is the individual little copper pan each cake arrives in, freshly baked and perfectly formed . You can bake them in wide ramekins or small soufflé dishes if you don’t have copper pans, but it also works well as one large cheesecake. If you go for one large cake, you’ll need to double the base mixture quantity and increase the baking time to 45 minutes. Make sure, also, that you grease and line the whole pan (rather than just the base) before the batter gets poured in. Finally, instead of serving it at once, you’ll need to let it cool for an hour before releasing it from the pan and reheating. Use an 8 inch/22 cm round pan.
To serve:
2 tbsp runny honey (mixed, optionally, with a few drops of truffle oil)
1 oz/30 g hazelnuts, toasted and lightly crushed
1/2 oz/15 g baby basil or regular basil leaves
Recipes and photos from NOPI ©2015 by Yotam Ottolenghi, LLP. Published in Canada by Appetite by Random House.