White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake
20 mins + setting 
10-12 
White chocolate and strawberries go together like strawberries and cream, or strawberries and Pimms, or strawberries and cream and Pimms and Wimbledon! There is something really evocative of British summertime about this White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake. Even better, when the strawberries are in season and picked locally, there is nothing to beat it. The Food Thoughts Roasted Cacao Nibs addition in the base stops the cheesecake from getting too sweet. The award winning Food Thoughts Luxury White Chocolate Chips, are not too sweet, unlike most white chocolate chips in the market, and they add little bursts of flowery chocolate flavour in each mouthful.
This White Chocolate Strawberry cheesecake is easy to make and even easier to eat  Due to the texture the white chocolate chips add to the cream, the cheesecake sets in the fridge, with no need to add any gelatine. It’s a favourite in Charlotte White’s house and she hopes that it will be a favourite in yours too.
You will need
- BASE INGREDIENTS
- 200g digestive biscuits
- 50g Food Thoughts Roasted Cacao Nibs
- 75g unsalted butter (melted)
- 8-10 fresh strawberries
- CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS
- 200g Food Thoughts Luxury White Chocolate Chips (melted)
- 200ml double cream
- 175g cream cheese
- 25g golden caster sugar
- Freeze dried strawberries
- YOU WILL NEED:
- 8” loose-bottomed cake tin
Method
To make the cheesecake base, blitz digestive biscuits and Food Thoughts Roasted Cacao Nibs in a food processor until a fine sandy rubble. Pour melted butter into the mixture and combine.
Press the dampened, buttery biscuit mixture into the bottom of a cake tin. Press down firmly and pop the tin into the fridge for an hour to firm up.
Wash and prepare fresh strawberries by cutting away the top (leaving a flat surface) and cutting in half. Line the edge of the cake tin by pressing the cut surfaces of the strawberries against the side of the tin. The flat top edges of the strawberries should sit on the cheesecake base so that the pointed ends are sticking up.
To make the cheesecake, begin by melting the white chocolate chips and set this aside to cool a little. You can melt the chocolate chips in the microwave if you go slowly – checking and stirring after 30 second intervals and stopping once only a few small lumps of chocolate remain. These will melt in the heat of the bowl with a little stirring.
In another bowl, whip double cream until it holds soft peaks.
In yet another bowl (sorry in advance for the washing up!) beat cream cheese and sugar until combined. You can use the same beaters that you used for the cream!
Mix the cooled white chocolate into the cream cheese and sugar.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the white chocolate and cream cheese mixture. You will need to have everything nicely combined without knocking out too much of the air in the cream.
Pour freeze-dried strawberries into the cheesecake mixture and stir to distribute them evenly.
Spoon the cheesecake mixture onto the cheesecake base and smooth the surface. Pay special attention to pressing onto the area between each of the strawberries around the edge. From the top, the cheesecake should look almost like a star.
Chill the cheesecake until set which will take an hour or two in the fridge, though this can be prepared the day before you plan to serve it. Remove the cheesecake from the fridge 20-30 minutes before serving it to allow the filling to soften just a little. The cheesecake will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days if you can make it last that long!
