Strawberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake Slices...

In-case you haven't gathered already from my multiple posts about food, I'm a desserts kind of person. I always have been, even from a young age my mam tells me stories of me watching my nana bake, and then when her back was turned licking the bowl and taking the first slice of chocolate cake before anyone had a chance...and probably a second and third slice...I was a chubby baby!

Nostalgic child stories aside however, Cheesecake is probably up there in my top 5 desserts, and trust me its there for a good reason. There is just something I don't think you can beat, dense biscuit base, smooth, creamy topping and possible flavour combinations that could go on forever. It's got to be one of the all time best desserts out there. It's so versatile, I love that you can essentially combine your favourite flavours and add it too your cheesecake recipe. I LOVE white chocolate and fresh summer strawberries so here it is, my Strawberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake Slices.

Ingredients: Makes 9-12 slices depending on size

Base:

125g of Digestive Biscuits

75g of Melted Butter

Top:

300g of Soft Cream Cheese

1/2 Vanilla Pod or 1tbsp of Vanilla Extract

250ml of Double Cream

70g of Icing Sugar

70g of White Chocolate Melted

200g of Strawberries

Coulis:

100g of Strawberries

25g of Icing Sugar

 

Equipment:

9" Square Baking Tin

Cling Film

Electric Whisk

Food Processor or Rolling Pin

 

Method:

1. Line a 9" square baking tin with cling film and set aside. I normally do this with two large sheets so they over lap. This makes it easier to remove later on.

 

2. In a food processor, add your digestive biscuits and pulse till they resemble fine bread crumbs. Alternatively you could put them into a zip lock bag and go at them with a rolling pin if you feel particularly angry...it's a great stress reliever just be careful you don't bust the bag (I have done that before)

3. Add your melted butter and blitz until the mixture starts to come together and the crumbs look damp.

 

4. Tip the crumbs into your lined tin and start to firmly press the crumbs into the base of the tin. I used a rubber spatula the bottom of a glass works really well too, as long as they're tightly packed in the base.

5. Put this in the fridge for at least 1 hour so the base has a chance to firm up. Now you can make a start for the topping. Place the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla into a bowl and whisk till it's all incorporated together.

6. You might need to scrape down the sides to make sure everything is well mixed. Now measure out your double cream.

7. Add the cream to your batter whilst whisking. I measured a little over 250ml as I saved some for later to have with the finished cheesecake.

8. Add your melted and cooled white chocolate to the mixture.

9. Rinse, hull and half your strawberries then add them to your mixture.

 10. Add the chopped strawberries to your mixture and fold through.

 11. Pour the mixture on top of the cheesecake base and smooth into all of the corners.

12. Add your remaining chopped strawberries to a food processor with the icing sugar and blend till a smooth pure is formed.

 13. At this point it would be ideal to sieve the coulis and I could come up with an excuse but I simply forgot to. Add small tea spoon amounts to the top of your cheesecake.

14. Take a clean skewer or toothpick or even a knife and drag it through the 'blobs'

 you just put on top of the cheesecake.

15. You're aiming for a marbled effect, don't over do it just enough so it starts to marble in. Now put it in the fridge to set. Ideally it would be overnight but this cheesecake needs to chill for at least 8 hours.

16. Take the cheesecake out of the fridge when it has completely set, you may need to put it in the freezer if you're having problems with it setting. I cut my cheesecake into 9 squares but you can choose a size and amount that you prefer.

17. I kept the left over coulis that I topped the cheesecake with and drizzled it on the plate. I served it along side some fresh strawberries and a sprig of mint.

 

And that's it, no bake easy cheesecake. It might take some time to set, so you need to be patient. I honestly love cheesecake. Adding fresh summer fruit to this recipe is perfect. You can however customise this, you could do a cookie dough cheesecake, Oreo cheesecake or even a Nutella Cheesecake. All of these recipes will be on their way in the future.

 

As ever, thank you very much for reading and I hope you have successful results. If you recreate this recipe, tweet or Instagram me, my links are all on here and use the hashtag #BakingWithLuke, I love seeing your pictures of the things you've made.

 

Luke.