White Choc Cheesecake
For me there is nothing better than a white chocolate cheesecake. This recipe keeps the rich flavour of white chocolate yet has a lighter texture than most cheesecakes as fromage frais is added. The use of shortbread biscuits adds a different element to the standard digestive biscuit crumb base, and of course, with the addition of fresh strawberries the combination of it all is just delicious.
This cheesecake can be kept up to 3 months in the freezer, when covered well in cling film and a layer of tin foil. Naturally best to freeze without the decorative topping incase damage occurs. All the decoration can be added once defrosted.
Ingredients
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Biscuit crust
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300g shortbread biscuits- pulsed fine
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90g unsalted butter- melted
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Filling
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300g cream cheese- softened
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200g fromage frais
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200g white chocolate- melted
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250g strawberries- roughly chopped with a few reserved to be used later as garnish
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Garnish
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Piped whipped vanilla cream swirls
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Additional strawberries- either whole, or halved or dipped in white chocolate
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White chocolate lattice
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Cape gooseberries
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Shortbread crumbs- dusting
Instructions
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Prepare biscuit crust:
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01 In a food processor pulse the biscuits until fine crumbs. Add the melted butter. Tip into a loose bottomed flan ring, pressing down well. Chill - however, it is perfectly acceptable to place biscuits in a freezer bag, secure the end and ‘bash’ with a rolling pin until they resemble breadcrumbs.
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Prepare filling:
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02 Beat together cream cheese, fromage frais. Fold in the melted white chocolate.
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03 Fold in 3/4 of the chopped strawberries, reserving several whole ones for decoration. Tip into the prepared biscuit crust and chill 4 hours or over night if preferred.
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To serve:
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04 Decorate with whipped cream rosettes (whipped cream with a tsp of vanilla paste/essence). Strawberries dipped into white chocolate and cape gooseberries (optional). A drizzle of melted white chocolate in a lattice over the top with a final light dusting of shortbread crumbs.
Notes
Its perfectly acceptable to use either a china flan dish (see image) or loose bottomed tin. Best size is 24cm in diameter but 26cm will work but cheesecake will have less height. Can use commercially prepared plain shortbread biscuits or those flavoured with either crystallised ginger or lemon. I mixed the two and it worked well. Shortbread crumbs are basically biscuits rubbed by hand through a metal sieve over the top of the cheesecake.
