White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake with a Raspberry Coulis

I can say with the utmost confidence that this cheesecake is a "no added sugar" cheesecake. How, do you ask? Well, the white chocolate provides all the sugar, I don't need to add any. And if you are lucky to find some beautifully sweet raspberries, you've got a naturally occurring sugars cheesecake! I, however, was not that lucky, my raspberries were tart and I suspect that's down to the fact they were frozen raspberries - they were probably picked offseason in Spring. My raspberry coulis was also tart even with all the sugar I added but, in the end, the balance of sweet creamy cheesecake and juicy tart berries made a delectable dessert. We can't deny that we've had a very British summer this year: unreliable. I happened to make this cheesecake on one of those scorching summer days. It makes the whole setting process a bit more difficult but fortunately, I had enough experience to set this cheesecake in the freezer for the first hour and then let it finish setting in the fridge. I use frozen raspberries in this cheesecake (you don't have to) and it's imperative you add the amount I tell you to. I am not trying to be bossy, but the first time I made this cheesecake many years ago, it was so great, but I felt robbed of some raspberries. So the second time I added nearly double the amount (yes, this was before I knew about the intricate science that goes into baking) and on that hot day, the cheesecake became liquid as the raspberries defrosted. It was a mess, a runny white and pink mess. Third time's the charm was definitely the case here, adding the right amount of raspberries. By the end of the six hours my cheesecake was set and a refreshing end to a 30-degree day. This recipe is different from the other two, as it's Nigella's white chocolate cheesecake but with 150g of frozen raspberries. As I said before, you don't need to use frozen raspberries, but I like how they release their juices as they defrost in the cheesecake. The coulis is optional too but I was drawn in by the chance of a fancy swirl - a fancy swirl I could not create!

While most cakes I bake start with me prepping the tin and turning on the oven, this cake was different. It started with me melting the white chocolate over some hot water. I do this by getting a small pot and filling it with a little bit of water. I bring this water to a boil and then turn off the heat. 

I then sit a heatproof bowl on top of this pan making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. The broken pieces of chocolate are then added into the bowl and melt from the heat of the water. 

You need to be extra careful when melting white chocolate. The high-fat content makes it very sensitive to the heat and it can solidify again and become grainy. I know this because this happened to me during my food tech GCSE final. Thank God I had made the cheesecake so many times, I could submit an old picture. So it is best to melt white chocolate this way and not put it in the microwave like I did that one time ten years ago. That whole experience is the reason why I melt all chocolates over hot water!

I stirred the white chocolate morsels every now and again to persuade them to melt until it was all melted fully. 

Once melted, I removed the bowl from the pan and left it to the side to cool to room temperature while I got on with the rest of the cheesecake. 

I prepped the tin, which was a 23cm springform one, by lining the bottom with greaseproof paper. 

To make the base, I melted the butter and crushed digestive biscuits. 

The melted butter was poured into the crumbs, mixed together and pressed into the base of the 23cm springform tin I had lined. I pressed the edges so that they would come up the sides slightly. This went into the fridge so I could start the filling. 

The cream cheese, which was at room temperature, was whipped with an electric hand whisk until smooth. 

In another separate bowl, the double cream was lightly whipped so it couldn't hold its shape. 

Then all three bowls were combined: the white chocolate was added to the cream cheese and then this was added to the double cream and folded in. 

A teaspoon of lemon juice and vanilla extract was added to this white mixture and then it was bejewelled with the frozen raspberries. 

This was gently folded together with my purple spatula and spooned into the tin. I then used the back of a tablespoon to smooth the top out as much as I could. 

Now because we were going to eat this cheesecake on the same day and it was a boiling hot day, I placed the cheesecake in the freezer for about an hour. After that, I put it in the fridge to start its six hours of setting. I would recommend that you make this cheesecake the night before you want to eat it so it can really firm up. But if you find yourself in a situation like mine and you're worried it won't set, some time in the freezer will not do it any harm. 

While the cheesecake was setting, I got on with the coulis. This coulis only requires two ingredients: raspberries and icing sugar.

Into a small pan they went, and I gently cooked the raspberries until they were no longer frozen and their juices had erupted. Again, I used frozen raspberries, but you don't have to. The frozen bag of raspberries just happened to have the exact amount I needed for the cheesecake and the coulis. 

I then carefully poured the cooked raspberries into a blender and pulsed them until they were puréed. Finally, I passed them through a sieve and was left with around 100ml of coulis. 

When it was dessert time, I released the outer section of the tin, and believe it or not, after being out of the fridge for 20 minutes, the summer evening heat had softened it. You should always aim to eat cheesecake at room temperature, which is why I had left it out for about 20 minutes, but because it was getting soft, I was too scared to remove the base, hence why some of my pictures feature my lovely tin. I did manage to create the illusion that it was out of the tin in the picture below though!

But not in this one!

I do have a family of fussy eaters, so in the end, my mum and I were the only ones that had the coulis. Trying to make that "swirl" took me so long that my slice was really soft by the time I had served everyone, had my photoshoot, cleaned up, and sat down to eat it. But it did not deter from the wonderful and delicious flavours of the cheesecake. I don't like my desserts too sweet and I thoroughly enjoyed biting into each tart raspberry which was surrounded by a delicate and sweet cream. And then the coulis created the perfect balance to swab each spoonful with. Come on, if you want to eat a cheesecake and feel good about it, then definitely go for this. 

Serves: 8-10 people 

Prep Time: 30 minutes 

Setting Time: 6 hours or overnight 

Ingredients: 

    For the Biscuit Base:

• 175g Digestive Biscuits, crushed 
• 50g Butter, melted 

    For the Cheesecake Filling:

• 200g White Chocolate, roughly chopped
• 300g Cream Cheese, at room temperature
• 300ml Double Cream, at room temperature 
• 1tsp Lemon Juice
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract 
• 150g Raspberries, fresh or frozen 

    For the Raspberry Coulis - makes around 100ml:

• 200g Raspberries, fresh or frozen 
• 2tbsp Icing Sugar 

Method:

1. Break the white chocolate into a heatproof bowl and then find a small pan that the heatproof bowl can sit on top of without touching the bottom of it. Fill the pan a third of the way with water and bring this water to a boil. Once it has started boiling, turn off the heat and sit the bowl of chocolate on top, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Gently melt the white chocolate, stirring to make sure every piece has melted. Once fully melted, remove from the heat and leave it to cool to room temperature. 
2. While waiting for the white chocolate, prep a 20-23cm springform tin by lining the bottom with greaseproof paper. 
3. Melt the butter gently in a pan. Crush the biscuits in a food processor or with a rolling pin and bowl. Add the butter to the crushed biscuits and mix them together. Press into the prepped tin to create a smooth base and pinch the edges to bring them up the sides of the tin slightly. Place into the fridge while you get on with the filling. 
4. In a bowl, quickly whisk the cream cheese until smooth. In another bowl, gently whip the double cream until it's thickened to a yoghurt consistency. 
5. Add the cooled melted white chocolate into the bowl of cream cheese and fold together, then add the double cream to this and give a final few folds. 
6. Tumble in the raspberries and fold them to incorporate them into the creamy mixture. 
7. Spoon this white chocolate and raspberry filling on top of the biscuit base and smooth the top as much as you can with the back of a tablespoon or offset spatula. Cover with foil or clingfilm and place into the fridge to set for 6 hours or overnight. If worried about whether it will set in time, place it into the freezer for the first hour and let it finish in the fridge. 
8. To make the coulis place the raspberries and icing sugar into a pan and cook on low until the raspberries have released their juices and the sugar dissolved. 
9. Pour into a blender and pulse until it has liquidised. Pass through a sieve to get rid of the seeds and place the coulis into the fridge to chill. 
10. Before you are ready to eat, bring the cheesecake out of the fridge for about 10 to 15 minutes. When ready to serve, carefully remove from the tin, cut into slices and serve with the coulis.