I'm having a bit of a love affair with white chocolate at the moment and on the weekend I created this recipe to serve at my Brum Dine With Me dinner party. Brum Dine With Me is a society at my university where members are organised into groups and each week we takes it in turns to host dinner parties. Its a lot of fun and a great way to meet other people who love food and cooking as much as I do!
Sadly I've given chocolate up for lent so won't be able to make these again until after Easter but I thought I'd share my recipe for anyone who isn't silly enough to give chocolate up for 6 weeks!
To serve 6 you will need:
6 deep ramekins or small bowls
For the biscuit base
100 g of digestive biscuits
25g of butter, melted
For the cheesecake mixture
600g of soft cheese (I used full fat but I'm sure lighter options will work well too!)
300g of white chocolate
30g of caster sugar (roughly)
275ml of double cream
For the raspberry sauce
150g of raspberries (I used frozen raspberries which are cheaper than fresh and taste just as good)
100ml of cold water
About two teaspoons of caster sugar
Start by crushing up the biscuits into crumbs. It doesn't make much difference whether the crumbs are fine or a bit chunky so go with your personal preference. Combine with the melted butter so all the biscuit is covered and sticks together. Using about two-thirds of the biscuit mixture, press a spoonful of biscuit into the bottom of each of the ramekins or bowls and put in the fridge to set.
Very slowly melt the white chocolate in a bowl over gently simmering water. Its important not to rush this along as white chocolate has a tendency to go lumpy and grainy so stir frequently to ensure it melts smoothly. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, beat the soft cheese until smooth. Stir in the sugar slowly until it is only just slightly sweet (the white chocolate will also make it sweeter so you don't want to add too much sugar at this point). Pour in the cream and use a whisk to beat the mixture until it is thick and drops very slowly from the whisk when lifted. Beat in the cooled white chocolate until it is completely combined (it may start to look a bit lumpy or like a mixture that's curdled so keep going until its nice and smooth). If its a bit too stiff add a bit more cream and if you think it needs to be a bit sweeter add more sugar until it suits your taste. Using a dessert spoon, place a dollop of the cheesecake mixture in the ramekins/bowls and push to the sides and place back in the fridge. There should be about half of the mixture left.
To make the raspberry sauce, heat the raspberries and water in a pan and boil. Keep stirring it, making sure the raspberries break down and the sauce thickens. If desired add a little sugar to take the edge off the sharpness of the raspberries and set aside to cool.
Once the sauce has cooled, split the mixture between the cheesecakes, placing a spoonful on top of each one and sprinkle on the rest of the biscuits. I thought adding some more biscuit in the middle of the cheesecake would be an interesting variation as I often find there is too much cheesecake to get through before getting to the base, but if you prefer you can put it all at the bottom of the dishes.
Put the rest of the cheesecake mixture on the top and smooth so the top of the dishes are flat and place in the fridge once again to set.
Chill for at least 4 hours before serving. I made them the day before serving and they were fine 24 hours later.
I thought they looked good in these glass bowls as you can see the layers and the sauce in the middle. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
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