Strawberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake

GF NF

Makes 1 large cheesecake with a 23 cm diameter (about 15 – 20 servings)

When I make a dessert, I usually find myself faced with a choice of whether to go chocolate-flavoured or fruit-focused. This cheesecake has the advantage of eliminating that choice by combining chocolate and fruit and then adding some extra by enveloping them in creamy sugar. What more does a dessert really need?! I find this is best made the day before it is needed, to give the cheesecake time to set fully. If you’d prefer not to make a base, just crush some plain biscuits (gluten free if necessary), mix them with some melted butter and then press the mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan and leave to solidify before making the fillings. The method is laid out the order each component should be made to ensure that it is ready to use when you assemble the cheesecake.

What you’ll need for the strawberry sauce

250 grams of frozen strawberries

38 grams of white sugar

25 mls of room temperature water

3 – 4 grams of powdered gelatine

What you’ll need for the white chocolate ganache

25 mls cream (use double cream if you’re in a country such as the UK that distinguishes between single and double cream)

50 grams of white chocolate chips or finely chopped white chocolate

What you’ll need for the base:

135 grams of cornflour (also called cornstarch in some countries)

55 grams of tapioca starch

65 grams of brown rice flour

40 grams of white rice flour

135 grams of white sugar

Large pinch of salt (about half a teaspoon if you’d prefer to measure)

150 grams of salted butter, roughly cubed + extra for greasing the pan

2 eggs

What you’ll need for the cream cheese filling:

500 grams of cream cheese

440 grams of icing sugar

750 mls of cream (double cream if you’re in a country such as the UK that distinguishes between single and double cream)

15 mls of vanilla essence (1 tablespoon)

What to do for the strawberry sauce:

1. Place the frozen strawberries, sugar and water together in a medium- size saucepan over a medium heat with the lid on.

2. Heat until the liquid is simmering and the strawberries have heated through fully. Turn off the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.

3. Using a hand blender, blitz the strawberry mixture to a smooth sauce.

4. Sprinkle the powdered gelatine over the top of the sauce and leave for a minute to soften before whisking the gelatine completely through the strawberry sauce.

5. Pour into a clean container or bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature. Once cool, keep in the fridge until ready to use later.

What to do for the chocolate ganache:

1. Place the white chocolate in a heatproof container.

2. Heat the cream on the stovetop on a medium to high heat until the cream is just beginning to bubble around the edges.

3. Remove the cream from the heat and pour into the container with the white chocolate and leave to sit for a few minutes while the chocolate melts.

4. Once the chocolate has melted, whisk together the cream and chocolate to form a smooth ganache. If the chocolate isn’t melting fully, place the container in a saucepan of very hot water (but not over any heat) and whisk until the chocolate has melted and fully combined with the cream to make a smooth ganache.

5. Set aside the ganache to cool and then keep in the fridge until ready to use later.

What to do for the base:

1. Turn on the oven to 180°C to preheat. Line the bottom of a cake tin with a 23 cm diameter with baking paper and grease the sides with the extra butter mentioned in the ingredients for the base.

2. Place all the ingredients except the eggs (cornflour, tapioca starch, rice flours, sugar, salt and butter) together in a large bowl. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3. Add the eggs to the bowl and mix with the ingredients in the bowl to make a biscuit dough.

4. Press the dough across the bottom of the lined cake tin in an even layer. Gently prick the biscuit dough with a fork to release steam during the baking process.

5. Bake the biscuit base in the middle of the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and bake through. Remove the base from the oven and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.

What to do for the cream cheese filling:

1. Place the cream cheese and sugar together in a large, clean bowl and whisk briefly but well to combine the sugar and cream cheese and to loosen the cream cheese – this helps to prevent it from lumping when the cream is added.

2. Add the cream and vanilla essence to the bowl with the cream cheese and sugar and whisk very well until the mixture is very stiff and easily makes soft peaks.

To assemble the cheesecake:

1. Ensure all the components of the cheesecake are cool and, if necessary, gently stir the strawberry sauce to incorporate any jelly-like bits that may have formed on top of the sauce.

2. Spoon half the cream cheese filling on top of the biscuit base and smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Spoon about 5 – 6 tablespoons of strawberry sauce into rows across the top of the cream cheese filling in the pan, leaving a gap between each row. Drizzle about half of the chocolate ganache into rows above the strawberry sauce, angling the rows in a different direction to the one used for the strawberry sauce and again leaving a gap between each row. Use a butter knife or the end of a spoon to swirl together the cream cheese filling, strawberry sauce and chocolate ganache into a marble pattern, being careful not to dig the knife or spoon too deep as that may break the base.

3. Spoon the second half of the cream cheese filling into the pan and again smooth the top with a spatula of the back of a spoon. Again, spoon about 5 – 6 tablespoons of strawberry sauce into rows across the top of the cream cheese filling, leaving a gap between each row. Drizzle the remaining half of the chocolate ganache into rows above the strawberry sauce, angling the rows in a different direction to the one used for the strawberry sauce and again leaving a gap between each row. Use a butter knife or the end of a spoon to swirl together the cream cheese filling, strawberry sauce and chocolate ganache into a marble pattern, being careful this time not to dig too deeply into the filling and mix the top layer with the marbled layer in the middle of the cheesecake.

4. Place the cheesecake in the fridge for at least overnight but preferably closer to 24 hours to set before eating.

5. Serve with the remaining strawberry sauce and enjoy!