White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake (and variants)

Ingredients (serves 10)

• 125g unsalted butter
• 250g packet Arnott’s Granita biscuits
• 20g (1/4 cup) desiccated coconut
• Icing sugar and raspberries, to serve

• Cheesecake filling

• 2 x 250g packets cream cheese, at room temperature
• 250g firm ricotta (see note)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 80g (1/3 cup) sour cream
• 200g white chocolate
• 125g raspberries

Method

1. Place butter in a small saucepan and cook, stirring, over low heat for 1 minute or until melted. Using your hands, break biscuits in half, then place in bowl of a food processor. Add coconut and process until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse 4 times or until combined.
2. Turn the base of springform pan upside down. Secure back in pan (this makes shell easier to remove). Tip in biscuit mixture. Using your fingertips, press over base and up side of pan to the top. Using a straight-sided glass, press mixture firmly to compact. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 160C. Using the claw technique, cut cream cheese into approximately 2cm pieces. Using an electric mixer, beat ricotta, vanilla and sugar on low–medium speed until almost smooth. Add cream cheese, in 2 batches, beating after each addition until well combined, then beat for 6 minutes or until smooth. Crack eggs into a bowl. Slide eggs from bowl into cream cheese mixture, one at a time, beating after each addition until well combined. Stir in sour cream.
4. Break chocolate into small pieces. Place in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water), then stir until melted. Add melted chocolate to cream cheese mixture and stir until combined.
5. Fold two-thirds of the raspberries into cream cheese mixture. Pour two-thirds of filling into biscuit shell, then scatter with remaining raspberries. Pour over remaining filling and, using the back of a spoon, gently smooth top.
6. Place pan on an oven tray and bake for 55 minutes or until edge is set and centre is still slightly wobbly. Turn off oven and cool cake completely in oven with oven door held ajar with a wooden spoon (this prevents cake from cracking). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours to set.
7. Release side of pan, then remove. Gently slide cake off base onto a platter. Dust with icing sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with raspberries.

Notes

• 
  You will need a 21cm springform pan. Allow an extra 4 hours to set cake.
  Tips: Firm ricotta is from the deli section of supermarkets.
  Check cake 5 minutes before end of cooking time. If starting to puff, turn oven off. The residual oven heat will finish cooking cake.
  Always beat cheesecakes on low–medium speed to prevent incorporating too much air. Otherwise, it will sink when baked.
  Variations: For a chocolate biscuit base, substitute plain chocolate biscuits for Arnott's Granitas and 1/ 4 cup roasted peeled hazelnuts for coconut.
  For a gluten-free base, substitute Arnott's Rice Cookies for Granitas.
  You can also use frozen raspberries or blueberries instead of fresh raspberries.