White Chocolate Burnt Basque Cheesecake with Prosecco-Poached Peaches

Midsummer Peaches and Cream

It was a warm summer evening at a festival. The kind that tricks you into thinking Prosecco counts as hydration. Surrounded by crumbling stone and stories older than memory, Pontefract Castle stood like a forgotten monument, dressed in fairy lights, food stalls, and loud music that made the ancient walls shake.

I wore all cream (a terrible decision) and danced until my fringe stuck to my forehead and my feet gave in. It was fun. It was loud. It was chaotic in that dizzy, overstimulating way festivals always are: too many people, too many drinks, too much everything.

And somewhere between watching intoxicated people tumble over and polishing off a plastic bottle of Prosecco, I felt it, something inside me quietly shifting.
I’m done with the big nights out.

Too often, we end up on the Ropergate Run by default, and no judgement, but I don’t want to find myself in Biggies. Shouting over Pitbull while clutching a flat VK. That’s not where joy lives anymore. That’s not what I need.

What I want now is a little bistro or a quiet bar tucked into the corner of town. The kind of place where you can hear yourself think. Somewhere with soft lighting, worn distressed wood, and conversation that doesn’t have to fight to be heard. A space where time slows down just enough for your shoulders to drop.

Because life is full of chaos. We run from job to task to job, week to week, with barely a moment to breathe in between. And more often than not, a night out on the ‘sesh’ only adds more noise to the noise – more scrolling, more spending, more shouting, more regrets. So why do we get up the next morning and do it all again, hearts racing and brains buzzing, wondering why we still feel unsatisfied?

There’s nowhere – at least not around here – that gives the soul, the brain, or the heart a moment to recalibrate and settle down. Nowhere that says, “Slow down. You’ve done enough. You deserve something calm and still.”

That’s the dream, isn’t it? A quiet space to settle your thoughts after a hectic week. To sit back, sip slowly, and remember that life can be savoured too. To be surrounded by dear friends and loved ones, swapping old stories and new ones – and most of all, smiling simply because you feel happy.

Until someone builds that space, I’ll keep daydreaming – and this dessert, in its own way, is one of those daydreams.

A warm evening. The gentle sound of a cork popping somewhere behind you. A quiet hum of conversation. No crowds. No chaos. Just you, a friend, and something beautiful on the plate.

A soft, burnt Basque cheesecake spun with white chocolate and lemon. Poached peaches, perfumed with Prosecco. A macadamia and ginger crumble for warmth and crunch. And a cool spoon of sour cream, sharp enough to cut through the sweetness, grounding everything in balance.

This is what I want instead.
Not a night out, a night done right.

So here’s this week’s recipe for all the daydreamers out there, who dream of a chilled night out:

Burnt Basque White Chocolate Cheesecake with Prosecco-Poached Peaches, Macadamia & Ginger Crumb, and a Sour Cream Quenelle.