I’ve been a little worried recently. My sweet tooth is leaving me. I’m turning into the kind of person who eats one finger of a two-finger Kit-Kat and puts the other half in the fridge. It’s very frustrating because I love dessert and think it is the best part of a meal. But with this whole “it’s too sweet and I can’t have too much” attitude my taste buds are giving me, I can’t enjoy my favorite part of my meal. I thought all was lost.
Enter Kevin’s Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake.
One afternoon in the office, he brought in this delicious cheesecake to celebrate a co-worker’s birthday. And my! All of us who ate a bit of it were SO happy, it was ridiculous. No matter how hard we tried talking about something else, all we did while eating the cheesecake was talk about it.
That’s when I asked Kevin O’Brien to share the love with the She Said world. He was swell enough to oblige.
*disclaimer* We made said cheesecake in the office pantry without taking into consideration the fact that it’s not the prettiest place in the world, nor does it have the best lighting, making for not-so-great pictures. We tried to make it as pretty as possible and Kevin’s patience was tried when Namrata, the very-much-less-than-amateur-photographer didn’t know what she was doing behind the camera. However, no Namratas or Kevins were hurt during this delicious process *end disclaimer*
What you will need:
90g butter
150g raspberries
20 digestive biscuits (“I like to go with the classics and use digestives but you can also use gingernuts or Oreos here!”)
300g cream cheese
250ml of whipping cream
150g white chocolate
2 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp vanilla essence
Step by Step:
The Base:
Place the 20 digestive biscuits in a large zip lock or freezer bag. Seal the bag tightly and crush the biscuits. You can do this with a rolling pin, a spoon or just your hands and the counter surface (good for getting rid of some aggression!). Make sure all the biscuits are well broken up and that that there aren’t any large pieces left.
Empty the biscuits into a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter in a separate bowl. Once the butter is melted, pour it into the large mixing bowl with the crushed biscuits.
Mix the butter and biscuits together well.
Place the biscuit and butter mix in the bottom of your baking tray and spread well with a spoon. Use the spoon to pack the mixture by pressing down on the mix. The biscuits should be tightly packed down and be an even surface.
The Topping:
Place the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to break up the cream cheese a little so it makes it easier to mix a little later.
Start to whip your cream until you get a think creamy texture!
Kevin: I use a shaker to do this but only because I don’t have an electric mixer! But if you do have one, it is a lot less work than a shaker!!
Namrata: A man’s way of making cheesecake!
Add the whipped cream to your cream cheese. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix all together.
You will need to mix this really well – more Spartan training required here!
Place the white chocolate in a bowl and melt (“I normally use the microwave for this”). Once the chocolate is melted quickly stir it into the your mix.
Gently fold your raspberries into your mix. Making sure they are well spread through.
Finally pour your topping mix onto the biscuit base.
Spread evenly. Once this is done, place the cheesecake in your fridge overnight and allow it to set.
We made the difficult decision that involved leaving the cheesecake in the office refrigerator for the night. We left a note on it asking people NOT to touch it. The post-it included a please and a smiley face and that seemed to work.
The next day (after a ridiculously long day at work) we sat down to feast on the cheesecake.
There was one slice left when I left the pantry, in about 5 minutes from first cutting into the cheesecake. Trust me, this one is a winner!
About Kevin O’Brien: Kevin works for a Dubai based Business School.
He is originally from Ireland and has been in Dubai for 6 ½ years.
He loves sports (particularly football) and also enjoys the gym.
He tries to keep a reasonably healthy diet but has a soft spot for all things pastry, springs rolls, onion rings and of course cheese cake!