….absolutely amazing! Sometimes you come across a recipe that just looks and sounds fantastic, and sometimes the reality is even better, and this cheesecake has become something of a signature dish for me and probably the one thing I get asked to make more than anything else.  Although making 3 at one time for various Christmas dinners was a bit much even for me.

Its a no-cook (well no-bake) chilled cheesecake, and a little goes a long way as its rich, indulgent, decadent and very very hard to resist.  It will easily feed a large group and you can get 10 or more slices, although don’t blame me if its all scoffed by greedy people wanting more.

White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake

For the biscuit base

• 150 g digestive biscuits, crushed
• 150 g gingernut biscuits, crushed
• 150 g butter, melted

For the filling

• 400-600g white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 65g butter
• 1/2 vanilla pod (split)
• 500g cream cheese
• 50g caster sugar
• 180ml whipping cream
• 1 punnet raspberries, plus a few more to decorate

Okay I don’t follow the recipe exactly. I tend to use 500g of white chocolate, 5 bars of Tesco Finest is just right.  Also I just use double cream and whip it to soft peaks and add a good half a tub of mascapone into the mix for a bit of extra richness.  I also scrape the vanilla seeds into the mix for extra flavour.

Also I’ve doubled the amount of base from the original recipe as I didn’t think it was enough and I like the base to be a little more substantial.  Plus in a 23cm tin it gets a little lost for my liking.  Also (believe it or not) I tend to use “lite” cream cheese from a major brand.  Okay overall there is no difference, but it works and tastes fab.  Besides it makes me feel that its slightly better for me.

Directions

1. For the biscuit base: combine the biscuits and butter and press onto the base of a 23cm springform tin. (I also put a greaseproof paper on the bottom, Lakeland does a range of disks that fit the tin perfectly)
2. For the filling: place the chocolate, butter and vanilla pod in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering (not boiling) water until melted. Allow to cool slightly. (I split the vanilla pod)
3. In another bowl mix together the cream cheese, sugar and whipping cream to a smooth consistency. (Add in the mascapone as well)
4. Remove the vanilla pod from the melted chocolate mixture (scrape out the seeds and add to the chocolate mix) and stir into the cream mixture. Gently stir in the raspberries, being careful not to release the juice.
5. Spoon the mixture on top of the biscuit base and place in the fridge to set for 8-24 hours.
6. To serve: remove from the tin and place on a serving plate. Decorate with a few whole raspberries.

I guarantee this will never fail to impress and I’ll be making one shortly for everyone to enjoy.

A few weeks back very good friends of mine invited me over to join them for lunch and I offered to make dessert.  As the main course was a fantastic lasagne (made using fresh sausage meatballs) I suggested an Italian dessert to go with it and panna cotta topped the list.

Okay I agreed, but having never made it before I wasn’t even sure where to begin, and after a bit of searching and suggesting we decide upon lemongrass and coconut panna cotta courtesy of James Martin

Lemongrass and coconut panna cotta with coconut meringue and mango

For the panna cotta

• 600ml/20fl oz double cream
• 2 lemongrass stems, chopped
• 75g/3oz caster sugar
• 3 leaves gelatine, soaked in water
• 50ml/2fl oz coconut milk
• 75ml/3fl oz coconut liqueur
• 1 mango, peeled and roughly chopped

For the coconut meringue

• 3 eggs, whites only
• 150g/5oz caster sugar
• 25g/1oz desiccated coconut, toasted

Directions

1. For the panna cotta, heat 400ml/14fl oz of the cream with the lemongrass and sugar in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until all the sugar has dissolved, then reduce the heat and simmer until the volume of the liquid has reduced by half.
3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, pour the lemongrass cream through a fine sieve into a bowl.
4. Heat the coconut milk in a separate saucepan until just simmering, then remove from the heat.
5. Drain the gelatine leaves and add to the warm coconut milk. Stir until dissolved then pour through a sieve into the lemongrass cream. Allow to cool.
6. Whisk the remaining cream and coconut liqueur in a bowl until soft peaks are formed when the whisk is removed. Fold into the cooled cream until totally incorporated and pour into four ramekins or moulds. Set asid in the fridge for at least two hours until set.
7. Meanwhile, blend the mango pieces to a fine purée in a small blender. Pass the mango purée through a sieve into a bowl. Set aside until serving.
8. For the coconut meringue, preheat the oven to 100C/200F/Gas ¼.
9. Place the egg whites into a clean glass bowl and whisk until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed.
10. Whisk in the caster sugar a spoonful at a time until the mixture is glossy and stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed.
11. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, or use a silicone mat, and place eight spoonfuls of meringue mixture onto it. Scatter the toasted coconut over the top.
12. Bake in the oven and for 1 ½ hours.
13. Remove the meringues from the oven and set aside to completely cool.
14. To serve, dip the panna cotta into a bowl of hot water briefly or slide a knife around the outside edge carefully. Spoon the mango purée onto the plate. Turn the panna cotta out onto the purée and set the meringue alongside.

Well I can honestly say my first attempt won’t be my last.  It turned out far better than I ever thought it would and thanks to my friends for all the nice things they said about it as well.  My only tweak next time would be to add in an extra stem of lemongrass or let it infuse for a bit longer.