White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake

There are two sorts of people in this world. Those who believe the only cheesecake is a baked cheesecake... and the rest of us. I had FINALLY been converted to baked cheesecake, via an incredible recipe from Rose Berenbaum's Cake Bible, when I got the winter vomiting bug. At 7 months pregnant. I have never been so ill. Needless to say I will NEVER eat a baked cheesecake again.

But no bake cheesecake, AKA proper cheesecake... is still just fine by me!

This is a decadent dessert that requires no baking. Perfect for entertaining over the holiday season. I can be ready to eat in 1 1/2 hours and has most ingredients that you'd have to hand (bar the raspberries).


8 inch loose bottom tin

Base
250g crushed digestives/ graham crackers
120g butter melted

Topping
180g white chocolate
250 ml double cream
200g soft cheese (Philadelphia)
60g icing sugar sifted
1 tsp vanilla
1 punnet raspberries

Line the base of the tin with a circle of  baking parchment. Bash or blitz the biscuits to crumbs, stir in the melted butter. Pour into the tin, spread evenly and press down firmly. Put into the freeze for 20-30 mins to firm up.

Meanwhile get on with the topping.

In a bain marie melt the white chocolate gently, stirring and being sure not to overheat. Take off the heat and leave to cool slightly.

Whip the cream till stiff with an electric whisk, but don't overwhip. Add the icing sugar, vanilla and cream cheese, whisking for just a few seconds to incorporate. Fold in the white chocolate. Taste for sweetness, add a little more sugar if required.

Tip onto the base, smooth over, cover with cling film and put in the fridge to set. Decorate with the raspberries just before serving.

Any Season Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

For me the quintessential taste of summer is strawberries. And the quintessential summer treat is ice cream. So this one combines the two of them, but with the added bonus that it can be made at any time of year, because it uses frozen strawberries. These are picked and frozen in their prime, so their flavour is captured at its height. I dare anyone to guess that it was made from frozen berries. My theory is - they're going to be frozen anyway, so what's the point in paying premium prices for fresh... and then have to do the work of hulling them?

This recipe was adapted from the Ballymaloe recipe which can be found in Darina Allen's book Ballymaloe Cookery Course

Ingredients

500g frozen strawberries

Syrup made with 250ml water and 220g sugar. Chilled in fridge for an hour.

300 ml whipping cream

1/2 juice orange and

1/2 juice lemon

Method

Put the sugar and water in a pan, stir to dissolve over a medium heat, remove from heat just before it boils. Chill in fridge for an hour.

Whip cream to just before soft peak stage.

Blend strawberries with cool syrup, so you have a fancy looking slush puppy! There is no need to sieve this.

Fold strawberries into cream, add lemon and orange juices. It should be slushy, so actually no need for an ice cream maker - if you have one it'll improve the texture a little.

Put into freezer tub. Stir once after an hour. Ready to eat after 2-3 hours.

Heaven served garnished with scented geranium leaves, as in the picture - the perfume from them exalts the flavour sensation!

Chocolate pavlova... with raspberries and cream

For my sister, Mirin

Crisp on the outside, squidgy on the inside, fat free (before you add the cream!) and very chocolatey... served with raspberries... and cream!

3 egg whites
75 g/ 3 oz caster sugar
3 tbsp good quality cocoa powder
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp corn flour/ corn starch

Preheat oven to 150C

Whisk egg whites till stiff. Add sugar, whisk till glossy. Add other ingredients whisk until combined.

Put onto a non stick baking sheet - spread about 1 1/2 inches thick, about 9 inches in diameter. Bake for 45 mins at 150C. (It will be crisp to the touch - my oven is quite fast, so yours might need a little longer.)

When cool, cover with 250 ml cream whipped and a punnet of fresh raspberries, and dust with icing sugar.