Editor's note: Steve Reynolds' recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from author Diana Henry's book The Gastropub Cookbook_, a guide to more than 150 dining pubs in Britain and Ireland. Chef Reynolds also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page._

　　Nicola, Steve's wife, likes this dessert more than any of his others, mostly because you have to eat it with yet more Pedro Ximénez sherry. If you don't want to splash out on the real McCoy, use another good, sweet dark sherry.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 8-10

　　

For the base

170 g (6 ounces) digestive biscuit crumbs

　　40 g (1 1/2 ounces) skinned, roasted and crushed hazelnuts

　　40 g (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

　　grated zest of 1/2 lemon

　　

For the filling

1.5 kg (3 1/2 pounds) cream cheese

　　225 g (8 ounces) icing (confectioners') sugar, sieved

　　3 medium eggs

　　2 vanilla pods, cut in half and the seeds scraped out

　　10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract (not vanilla essence)

　　100 ml (3 1/2 fluid ounces) Pedro Ximénez sherry

　　finely grated zest of 2 lemons

　　

To serve

Shelled and skinned whole hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

　　

Step 1

1. To make the base, combine all the ingredients. Press the mixture into a 22.5 x 6.25 cm (9 x 2 1/2 inch) springform tin that has been lined with greased parchment paper. Chill.

　　

Step 2

2. Preheat the oven to 175°C / 335°F / gas mark 3 1/2.

　　

Step 3

3. To make the filling, put the cream cheese in a blender and blend until smooth. Add all the other ingredients except the lemon zest and blend well. Then add the lemon zest — do not be tempted to add it earlier or the mixture will split.

　　

Step 4

4. Pour the filling on to the chilled base and bake for 45 minutes. Only the outside 2.5 cm (1 inch) of the cake will appear to be cooked; the middle should be wobbly. Cool completely and then chill for 2 hours, or until set.

　　

Step 5

5. Serve at room temperature. Place a slice on a plate and scatter on the toasted hazelnuts. Serve with large glasses of chilled Pedro Ximénez sherry.

　　Reprinted with permission from The Gastropub Cookbook ©2003 by Diana HenryMitchell Beazley, Inc.