I never used to like cheesecake until I made this one for someone’s birthday. I had intended to eat a tiny slice to show my support for the birthday dessert, but it was surprisingly good and has made me a cream-cheesecake convert. I usually hate cheesecake because I hate ricotta, but this one is made with cream cheese (with enough vanilla to mask the taste) and is absolutely delicious.
I received a very generous donation this week from a friend of a friend, who gave me her supply of excess butter, cream and cream cheese. This cheesecake can be quite costly to make so the ingredients were both timely and very much appreciated. I adore baking but don’t do a lot of it because it’s very expensive and I don’t like to eat too many sweet things. Tim wanted something to take to a work celebration and requested this, so I was glad I could make it without breaking our small food budget.
This recipe is really easy to make but you do need to be organised. Read the recipe carefully first and work out what you can prepare ahead (the Oreos) and what you can’t (the gelatine mix). You need to start this recipe the day before.
Serves 8-12
Ingredients:
- 14 oz Oreo biscuits
- 5 oz unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tsp powdered gelatine
- 5 oz cream cheese
- 9 oz thickened cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 7 oz white chocolate
- Melted dark chocolate, to drizzle
Directions:
Line a deep round 20cm springform cake tin with plastic wrap. It helps if you rub the bottom and sides of the tin with a bit of cold butter so the plastic wrap can stick to it while you try and smooth it out. Leave a good bit of overhang plastic as you will fold that in when the cheesecake is ready to set.
Place 14 oz of the Oreos into a food processor and blitz into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and process to combine. Press the mixture into the bottom of the cake pan to form the base. Use a spatula to help spread it out and press it down. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the remaining Oreos and set aside. It’s nice to have some very fine crumbs and some small chunks. They go softer in the cream cheese mix so it’s nice to bite into a chunky bit. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave (be very careful!) or a double boiler (heatproof bowl over simmering water, don’t let the bowl touch the water). Set it aside to cool slightly.
Place the cream cheese, cream, vanilla and caster sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, and beat until smooth.
Sprinkle the gelatine over 1/4 cup cold water in a heatproof cup. Place the cup in a pan of just boiling water from the kettle and stir to dissolve. Don’t do this too early as it will set and become unusable.
Stir the gelatine mixture and melted white chocolate into the cream cheese mixture, then stir through the chopped Oreos. Pour the filling over the chilled base and smooth the top.
Cover with plastic wrap and return to the fridge to set overnight. Once firm, remove from the tin and take off all the plastic. Drizzle with slightly cooled melted chocolate and pop it back in the fridge so the chocolate can set (about 10 minutes).
