White Chocolate And Cherry Cheesecake

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Tamara Novacoviç has had a long time love affair with everything cheesecake. Here, she shares it with us.
By Tamara Novacoviç

Hello, I’m Tamara and I’m (possibly, slightly, maybe…) addicted to cheesecakes. I have a thing for them. Cheesecake and I share a long-term bond, it’s my best friend in times of both solitude and celebration, my sweet comfort at the end of the day, my breakfast of champions…welcome anytime on my plate. I can have it both with or without toppings, although there’s just something so ostentatiously seductive about the deep-colored fruit topping over the creamy cheese filling. For me, cheesecake is the epitome of what a cake should be made of: crunchy delicious bottom, rich amount on vanilla-cheese filling and slightly sour, fruity topping.

I believe this is possibly one of the most popular cakes in America, but also worldwide. Who is to say where it was invented? Some claim it was first made in ancient Greece, but one thing is for sure: the Americans popularized it. In Croatia, it has become popular over the last few years, as people started following world food trends. However, Croatians have been familiar with this cake for a very long time: it was first made by our great grandmas and grandmas, using cottage cheese and sweet pastry as the base. Today (mostly in the USA) creamier cheese is used for the filling and digestive cookies for the base.
I’m sure you are familiar with many different styles of cheesecake, such as New York Cheesecake, Pennsylvania Dutch Cheesecake, Philadelphia Cheesecake etc. I discovered New York cheesecake for the first time many years ago while watching this episode of Star trek Voyager and instantly fell in love with it.

Two basic cheesecake styles are baked and unbaked. We will deal with baked versions and trick and tips that go with it in one of my future posts, today I’m offering you this simple cheesecake. In the abundance of cheesecake types, this one is sometimes called mock cheesecake, but I prefer to call it unbaked. It is quick and easy, requires minimal effort, yet the result is divine. Vanilla, cream cheese, white chocolate, cherries…what is there not to like? Even though this is coming from “I like ’em all, no matter what type”-cheesecake lover, I believe this one will win you over too.

You will need:

For the base:

1 1/2 cups (100 g) digestive biscuits
2 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp (70 g) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

500 g cream cheese
1 cup (250 ml) whipping cream
50 g white chocolate
40 g sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp (10 g) powdered gelatin

For the topping:

200 ml cherry juice
100 g pitted cherries (use frozen if not in season)
2 tbsp vanilla pudding powder
3 tbsp sugar

1. Wrap the ring of your springform pan with plastic wrap. In a large bowl, mix together finely crushed biscuits with melted butter and sugar. Press the mixture onto the bottom of your springform pan and refrigerate while you make the filling.

2. For the filling, beat the cream cheese with sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold it into the cheese mixture. Melt white chocolate in double boiler or in your microwave, add to the cheese mixture. Prepare gelatin according to package instructions and add to the mixture. Combine everything and pour over the chilled crust. Refrigerate while you make the topping.

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3. For the topping, combine cherry juice with cherries and sugar, cook on low heat until sugar dissolves. Add sifted vanilla powder, combine and cook for a few more minutes, constantly stirring. You need to sift it, otherwise you’ll end up with terrible lumps. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. When sligthly cooled, pour over the cheesecake and refrigerate overnight.

4. The next day, unclasp sides of pan, remove cheesecake, serve.

Note: You can use store-bought cherry pie filling for the topping.