White Chocolate and Honeycomb Cheesecake
This incredible baked cheesecake recipe combines indulgent white chocolate with chunks of sweet honeycomb. A real showstopper dessert from Gizzi Erskine.
From the book
Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic
Simple and inventive recipes
Comforting dishes from around the world
Classic dishes with a twist
Introduction
This is officially the cheesecake to beat all cheesecakes. I made this cake for one of my friends and dressed it with shards of white chocolate and blood-red and black roses. It looked (and tasted) tremendous.
Ingredients
| 85ml | melted butter, plus extra for greasing |
| 200g | ginger biscuits, whizzed to fine crumbs in a food processor |
| 1 tbsp | golden caster sugar |
| For the filling: | |
| 3 x 300g | packs of full-fat cream cheese (Philadelphia is good) |
| 250g | golden caster sugar |
| 3 tbsp | plain flour |
| 1 tsp | vanilla extract |
| 3 | large free-range eggs |
| 1 | free-range egg yolk |
| 284ml | carton of soured cream |
| 300g | white chocolate, melted |
| 3 | Crunchie bars, trimmed of their chocolate and chopped into pieces |
Essential kit
You will need a 23cm springform cake tin and a food processor.
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3. Line the base of a 23cm springform cake tin with parchment paper. For the biscuit base, stir the melted butter into the biscuit crumbs and sugar until evenly mixed. Press the mixture into the base of the tin and bake for 10 minutes. Leave to cool while you prepare the filling.
Increase the oven temperature to 200°C/gas 6. In a food processor beat the cream cheese at medium low speed until creamy, then gradually add the sugar, flour and vanilla extract.
Whisk in the eggs and yolk, one at a time. Add the soured cream and the melted white chocolate and whisk to blend, but don’t over-beat. The batter should be smooth, light and a little airy.
Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the chopped Crunchie bars.
Brush the insides of the springform tin with melted butter and place it on a baking sheet. Pour in the filling and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 110°C/gas ¼ and bake for a further 25 minutes, or until the filling wobbles slightly when you gently shake the tin. When it has reached this point, turn off the oven and either open the oven door for a cheesecake that’s creamy in the centre, or leave it closed if you prefer a drier texture. Either way, leave it to cool in the oven for 2 hours. The cheesecake may crack slightly on top as it cools.
Cover loosely with foil and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, run a round-bladed knife around the inside of the tin to loosen any stuck edges. Unlock the side of the tin, slide the cheesecake on to a plate, and very carefully slide the parchment paper out from underneath before serving.
Why not try:
Remove the chocolate and the Crunchie bars and you’ve got a great classic New York baked cheesecake.
