Triple Crème Cheesecake with Guava Sauce

At Maximo Bistrot, chef Eduardo García’s acclaimed Mexico City restaurant, we tasted an exceptionally delicious guava cheesecake. In addition to standard cream cheese, the cake is made with French triple crème cheese—plus heavy cream and a good dose of eggs—but the light, almost lilting texture belies its richness. Guava sorbet and compote accompanied the cake, the tropical fruitiness complementing and balancing the savoriness of the cheeses. We adapted the recipe, adjusting the cheesecake formula just slightly and creating an easy guava sauce to take the place of the sorbet and compote. Saint André cheese is a widely available type of French triple crème and what we call for in this recipe. The rind from the cheese must be removed before use, so you’ll need to purchase about 1¼ pounds in order to obtain 1 pound, trimmed. To make the sauce, you will need guava nectar, which is sold in cans, aseptic packaging (like boxed broth) or refrigerated cartons (like orange juice); if you have a choice of pink or white guava nectar, the former will yield a more attractive sauce. Note that a nonstick springform pan with a dark finish requires a slightly lower oven temperature to compensate for the heat absorption properties of the pan. (We advise against using a springform with a lip or moat around the bottom intended for containing leaks; during testing, we found the unusual raised bottom of this type of pan to affect the browning of the crust and baking time for the filling in unpredictable ways.) Both the cheesecake and sauce can be made up to three days in advance.