In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the icing sugar.

Whisk in the melted and cooled-off butter. Do not use hot butter as this will cook the eggs.

Pour in the vanilla extract and mix.

Mix the baking powder with the flour.

Add in the flour gradually and whisk until well incorporated. Do not overmix.

The resulting dough should be nice and smooth.

Turn it into a flat ball dough and slice 1/3 of the dough.

Wrap that 1/3 of the dough in a cling film and put it in the freezer.

Press the rest of the dough on the bottom of your springform pan. You can use your fingers for easy molding. Be sure to layer it even to avoid pockets of uncooked dough.

Set aside while you make the filling.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F).

Slice the pears into small cubes and pour the juice of one lemon on the pears. Mix them gently. Don't peel the pears as they will get too mushy.

Coat the pears in a tablespoon of corn flour and cook them gently in a non-stick pan. You only need to cook them for a few minutes until they soften.

Once they cool off, layer them on top of your prepared crust.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer until frothy. Add a pinch of salt in the process.

Add in the icing sugar and whisk to stiff peaks.

In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta cheese with the rest of the corn flour and the vanilla extract.

Gently fold in the egg whites in the ricotta mixture. It is important not to overmix as this will lose the air you incorporated in the egg whites.

Quickly pour in the cream filling on top of the pears and use a spatula or the back of a spoon to layer it smoothly. The reason for moving fast with this step is that, if you take too long before baking, the cheese filling will start to deflate.

Take the leftover dough you put in the freezer earlier and grate it evenly on your cheesecake. This will create a beautiful crumbly effect on the cheesecake when it's baked.

Sprinkle the brown sugar on top. The brown sugar will slightly caramelize and give a delicious flavor that complements your pear and ricotta cheesecake.

Right before adding the cheesecake in the oven to bake pour some hot water in an oven-safe dish on the bottom of the oven. This is how you create a steamy environment for the cheesecake to cook evenly.

Add the cheesecake to the oven and quickly close the oven door to avoid releasing the steam.

Bake at 180°C (356°F) for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Do not open the door of the oven while baking as this can deflate your cheesecake and result in an uneven bake.

Now you can take it out of the oven and gently run a sharp knife alongside the walls of the springform pan to release the cheesecake from the walls of the pan. As the temperature lowers, the cheesecake will contract slightly and if you skip this step, you might get a tear in the cake.

Let it come to room temperature and then put it in the fridge for about 4 hours to completely set.

Take it out of the fridge and release the springform lock to remove the cheesecake.

Put the cheesecake on a cake stand or a large plate.

The decorating part is optional, but if you want a bit of extra something you can caramelize a few pear slices and use them to decorate the cheesecake.

But, if you are like me, and want to take the pear and ricotta cheesecake to another level, drizzle some delicious burnt caramel sauce on top. You will thank me later.

Slice and enjoy!