Strawberry White Chocolate Cheesecake

If you're a cheesecake lover with a soft spot for white chocolate, this strawberry white chocolate cheesecake recipe is your ticket to dessert heaven. This white chocolate cheesecake, topped with glorious macerated strawberries is amazing to serve for any celebration; it tastes just as good as it looks! And all without the need to turn on your oven.

Cheesecake has always been one of my favourite desserts. Growing up, my mom used to make a no bake version which I hadn’t tried to recreate until now. I figured instead of plain vanilla and cream cheese, I’d add melted white chocolate - which basically means you don’t need to add any sugar to it - and also adds richness and depth of flavour.

I like to macerate the strawberries the day before to really make them shine. I am giving you three options: the classic vanilla, or you can go bold with either fresh herbs or even black pepper. I can promise you though all three are absolutely delicious.

Naturally, you can swap the strawberries with whatever fruit is in season, I just think strawberries go so well with white chocolate. Any berries, stone fruit, or even caramelised apples in the fall would be amazing to adorn this silky dessert.

STRAWBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

ingredients

For the crust

• 240g petit beurre biscuits or graham crackers

• 100g butter, melted

• pinch of salt

For the filling

• 200g white chocolate, finely chopped

• 300ml heavy whipping cream

• 1 tsp vanilla paste

• 650g cream cheese, full fat

• 60g sour cream

• handful white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate (optional)

• pinch of salt

For the macerated strawberries

• 300g strawberries, hulled and chopped into quarters

• 50g sugar

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• mint or basil, finely chopped (optional); freshly ground black pepper (optional); 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Start by making the crust. As petit beurre biscuits are already sweet, I do not add any sugar to them. If you’re using graham crackers, add 50g of caster sugar. Using a food processor (or a plastic bag and a rolling pin) smash the biscuits until they become crumbs.

In a large bowl combine biscuit crumbs with the melted butter.

Pour in a 22-24cm (9-10 inch) springform pan and pack it tightly. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

In a pan over medium heat bring the cream almost to a boil.

In a large bowl add the white chocolate.

When cream is steaming, pour over chocolate chips and stir until melted. Add the vanilla paste and salt. Let cool for a while then chill in the refrigerator until very cold (about 4 hours or overnight).

Meanwhile, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until perfectly smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed.

Add the sour cream.

Beat for 2–3 minutes on medium-high speed until smooth and combined. Make sure there are no large lumps of cream cheese. If there are lumps, keep beating until smooth.

When white chocolate mixture is cold, take it out of the refrigerator. Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream/white chocolate mixture into stiff peaks on medium-high speed, about 2-3 minutes. Keep a close eye on it as it can easily become butter :))

Using your mixer on very low speed or a silicone spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake filling until combined. This takes several turns of your silicone spatula. Combine slowly as you don’t want to deflate all the air in the whipped cream. Don’t overmix. If you’re using white chocolate chips, add them now and gently stir to combine.

Remove the crust from the fridge and pour the cheesecake mixture over it. Level it nicely.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminium foil and refrigerate for at least 6–8 hours and up to 2 days. 12 hours is best. I like to chill mine overnight.

Make the macerated strawberries: hull and quarter the strawberries, combine with the sugar, lemon juice and either vanilla extract, fresh, finely chopped herbs, or black pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve, use a knife to loosen the chilled cheesecake from the rim of the springform pan, then remove the rim. Using a clean sharp knife, cut into slices for serving. For neat slices, wipe the knife clean between each slice. Serve with the macerated strawberries and enjoy!

Cover and store leftover cheesecake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (never lasted this long around here!).

Let me know if you make this white chocolate cheesecake, I would love to hear from you in the comments!