Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake


Happy birthday to you...

This is the cheesecake that defines Cheesecake Boy.  I actually first noticed this recipe years ago before I met Cheesecake Boy when a colleague and I were flipping through a magazine.  I remember thinking what a lovely combination that white chocolate and raspberries were in a cheesecake and how easy the instructions were, with none of those water baths that a lot of cheesecake recipes insist on.

The reason this raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake is special to us, is that I actually baked this cake on our first picnic that we had at Lane Cove National Park for dessert.  It was also the first  time that I had cooked anything for Cheesecake Boy as well.  After his first bite Cheesecake Boy couldn't get over it, and had the glimmering she can cook look in his eyes after that.  This cheesecake never fails to put a smile on his face, and is also a firm favourite with both our families now.  It's now referred to as 'the cheesecake'.  It's been a while since I have baked this cheesecake and being Cheesecake Boy's special day, there's nothing better than a birthday cake baked with some TLC over a family birthday breakfast gathering.

I lost the original hand written recipe that I had, but thankfully with the help of the internet I was able to track down the exact recipe on Taste.  The recipe below are my little tweaks and the actual ingredients I use for this cheesecake each time.

Few things in life beat the irresistible combination of white chocolate, raspberries against vanilla bean cream cheese with a hazelnut base for a twist...

Ingredients for the crust
250g of Arnott's arrowroot biscuits
100g of hazelnut meal
150g of melted butter, plus a smidget more for greasing

Ingredients for the filling
750 g of Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature
140g of cup of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of Queen vanilla bean paste
3 eggs
180g of Cadbury Dream white chocolate block, chopped into chunks.
(the original recipes asks for finely chopped, but we all prefer the chocolate chunks)
150g of frozen raspberries

To serve
Dusting of icing sugar


Method for the crust
  1. Grease a 20cm springform pan with some melted butter to lightly grease. 
  2. Not necessary, but I like to smash the packet of arrowroot biscuits lightly before opening the packet.
  3. Put the arrowroot biscuits in the food processor, until the biscuits are very fine.
  4. Place the 100g of hazelnut meal and the rest of your melted butter into the food processor until the mixture is fully combined
  5. Now place the crust mixture into your greased springform pan.
  6. Using a straight sided glass that has a flat bottom, evenly spread the crust mixture across the base and the side of the pan. 
  7. Once the crust is firmly packed into the pan. Cover the pan with cling wrap and store in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes.
  8. Preheat your oven to 160°C.
    Method for the filling
    1. Generally, my cream cheese is still quite hard, so I cut the cream cheese roughly into cubes first.
    2. Then I place the cubed cream cheese, with the caster sugar and vanilla paste into the bowl of my food processor and whizz it up. 
    3. Now while the processor is still whizzing the mixture will still be clumpy and stiff, but with the motor still on add the first egg and the mixture will get smoother.
    4. Add the second egg, wait until the second egg is fully incorporated into the mixture before adding the final third egg to the filling.
    5. Keep processing the cream cheese mixture until it is silky smooth.
    6. With a spatula remove the cream cheese filling into a clean bowl.
    7. Using your spatula fold the frozen raspberries and the white chocolate chunks into the cream cheese mixture.
    8. Take the set crust out of the fridge and pour the cream cheese filling into the biscuit crust.
     Baking and onwards
    1. Place your cheesecake in the centre rack of your 160°C preheated oven.
    2. Bake for 1 hour or until the cheesecake has just set in the middle.  It will still jiggle a little in the centre.
    3. Turn off the oven, but leave oven door open with the cheesecake inside.
    4. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for at least 2 hours, or completely. 
    5. Once the cheesecake has cooled down, remove from the oven and wrap with cling wrap.
    6. Store the cheesecake in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
    7. When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the pan and sprinkle liberally with icing sugar.

    Happy baking, Dumpling Girl.

      24 comments:

      chocolatesuze said...

      "glimmering she can cook look in his eyes" HAHAHAHA nawwww you guys are so cute <3 your cheesecake looks to die for!

      Helen (Grab Your Fork) said...

      This looks divine. No wonder it wonder his heart :) Such a lovely story and I expect this will always be a sentimental favourite!

      Jen said...

      Omg that looks sooo good! I'm definitely going to try this. I agree, the way to a man is through his tummy ;)

      Dumpling Girl said...

      Hi Suze, aww thank you. It got worse, he told everybody who asked about us for 2 weeks after his first bite that I could cook, lol.

      Hello Helen, thank you that is so kind of you. It's definitely a sentimental favourite :) It's wonderful how food evokes so many memories.

      Hey Jen, I actually forgot how good this cheesecake was, it is special. Let me know how it goes. Lol, food is definitely the way to their hearts.

      Gastronomous Anonymous said...

      OMG that looks sensational! will have to try and make it! thanks for the recipe :)

      Dolly said...

      awww could you make me some please... definitely would make my frown turn around!

      jack said...

      Hey Dumpling Girl - I hope you and Cheesecake Boy enjoyed the birthday weekend celebrations :) That cake looks really good, you are so sweet to bake this for his birthday!

      Dumpling Girl said...

      Hello Gastronomous Anonymous, thanks :). Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

      Hi Dolly, hope you cheer up soon :)

      Hey Jack, we had a great time thanks. More birthday adventures to come :D

      susan said...

      Yum that cake looks amazing! I love lots of cheesecake crust as well!

      purabi naha said...

      This really looks delish and something I want to try out seriously. You have a great blog and your food photos left me drooling!

      Dumpling Girl said...

      Thanks, Susan. The crust on this cheesecake is amazing, the hazelnut meal really makes this.

      Hi Purabi, that's really sweet of you.

      Vivian - vxdollface said...

      aaaw that is seriously sweet hehe cheesecake love at first picnic :D looks so nice and creamy <3

      Rita (mademoiselle délicieuse) said...

      So this is Cheesecake Boy's cheesecake! There should always be a dish which defines a relationship because, if you're like me, you don't necessarily have a song which you can call "yours". All about the food here!

      Dumpling Girl said...

      Hi Vivian, that's really nice of you to say. Lol, never thought of it as love at first cheesecake, I guess it was ;)

      Hello mademoiselle délicieuse, yes this is the cheesecake. Lol, we have a 'us' everything, song or songs included, but your right that food definitely seems like the dominant force here.

      sugarpuffi said...

      nawwww u guys are too sweet! at first glance, i was like oh its a cake but then the next shot shows all the cheese and raspberry hidden inside and im like ZOMG! your cake is awesome.

      Anna said...

      Oh wow, this is the exact same recipe I posted on my blog last year!

      It's a great recipe, isn't it?! Glad you enjoyed as much as we do too :)

      Anonymous said...

      aw what a nice story to go along with a great cheesecake! I love how you get the oozing raspberries when you cut it open!

      Dumpling Girl said...

      Hi sugarpuffi, thank you for your kind words, it's awfully nice of you.

      Hello Ladybird, it sure is a great recipe. I've been using this recipe for at least 7 years and it taste great each time. This classic combination never fails.

      Hey minibites, glad to see you are back from the snow. Cheesecake Boy thought I should add that shot in :)

      Lisa said...

      Oh my gosh, seeing that cheesecake cut open is a glorious sight. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog till tomorrow night and I'd love it if you'd come by and link your cheesecake up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweets-for-saturday-25.html

      Dumpling Girl said...

      Hi Lisa, thank you for your compliment. I'm all linked up, it was great seeing the other creations on your site.

      tinytearoom said...

      woah! I just made my first cheesecake and am very happy with myself. This cake looks amazing! I just want to stick my hand in and pull out a fistful of cheesecake and eat it straight from my hand. I never say that about anyone elses blogpost!

      Dumpling Girl said...

      Hello tinytearoom, that's awfully nice of you to say that, thank you.

      Dumpling Love said...

      Hi Dumpling Girl, I made this for a Christmas party this weekend and before I knew it, there was only 1 slice left! Everybody loved it. A friend told me to forget what I'm doing now and bake cheesecakes for the rest of my life =P haha. Thanks for the recipe!

      Dumpling Girl said...

      Hi Dumpling Love, glad this was a hit for you, as it's always been a winner for me too :)