Sweet and salty deconstructed cheesecake

The three components can all be made in advance: keep the cheesecake mix (which lasts for three days) and compote (which lasts for five) in the fridge, and the crumble (which lasts for three) in an airtight container at room temperature.

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 To finish: sweet and salty deconstructed cheesecake. Photograph: Louise Hagger for the Guardian

Prep 5 min
Cooking 30 min
Serves 4-6

100g feta
300g cream cheese
40g caster sugar
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest (ie, from 1 small lemon)
130ml double cream
2 tbsp olive oil, to serve

For the crumble
100g blanched hazelnuts, roughly chopped
30g unsalted butter, fridge-cold and cut into 2cm dice
80g ground almonds
25g caster sugar
1 tbsp black sesame seeds (or white sesame seeds, if you don’t have black)
⅛ tsp salt

For the compote
600g frozen pitted cherries, defrosted
90g caster sugar
4 star anise
4 strips finely shaved orange peel

Using a spatula, break down the feta in a bowl and whip until it’s as smooth as possible. Add the cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest, then whisk to combine. Pour in the cream, whisk gently until the mixture has thickened enough to hold its shape but is still light, then put in the fridge to set for at least two hours, and ideally overnight.

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. To make the crumble base, put the hazelnuts, butter, ground almonds and sugar in a large bowl, then rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mix is the consistency of breadcrumbs. Stir in the sesame seeds and salt, spread out on a baking tray and cook for 12 minutes, until golden brown.

For the compote, put the cherries, sugar, star anise and orange peel in a saucepan on a medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the sauce thickens (it will thicken more as it cools). Take off the heat and leave to cool to room temperature. Once cooled, discard the star anise and orange peel.

To serve, spoon a large scoop of the cheesecake mix into individual glass bowls or on to plates, then divide half the crumble mix between all the portions. Spoon the compote on top, scatter over the remaining crumble, drizzle with olive oil and serve.

• Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghi and Nopi in London.