Raspberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 175g (6oz) white chocolate, finely chopped
• 350g (12oz) fresh or frozen (and defrosted) raspberries
• 900g (2lb) cream cheese
• 300g (11oz) caster sugar
• 25g (1oz) plain flour, sifted
• 4 eggs
• 2 tblsp single or regular cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• icing sugar, for dusting

Biscuit base

• 250 g Oreo cookies
• 75 g Butter (plus extra for greasing)
• 23 cm/9in diameter spring-form tin

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F/Gas 3), and butter the base and sides of the cake tin. Make sure the base is upside down, so there’s no lip and the cake can slide off easily when cooked.
2. First make the biscuit base. Place the cookies in a food processor and
3. whiz until they form coarse crumbs.
4. Add the melted butter and whiz together until mixed. Alternatively, place the cookies in a plastic bag and crush them using a rolling pin, then add to the pan with the melted butter and mix together to combine.
5. Tip the crumb mixture into the prepared cake tin, spreading it out evenly to cover the bottom of the tin and pressing it down firmly. Next make the cheesecake topping. Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set this over a pan of just simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted.
6. While the chocolate is melting, purée the raspberries in the food processor (having first cleaned the bowl), or simply mash them with a fork, then push them through a sieve, discarding the seeds.
7. Using a hand-held electric beater or an electric food mixer, mix the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and fluffy.
8. Beat in the flour, followed by the eggs, one at a time, then beat in the cream, vanilla extract, puréed raspberries and melted white chocolate.