White Chocolate + Passionfruit Cheesecake Recipe
Hi everyone! It's Rachel and this month I'm sharing a super simple, but impressive White Chocolate and Passionfruit Cheesecake. This recipe was inspired by my recent trip to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland (on the East Coast of Australia) a couple of weeks ago with my family. We stayed right on Marcoola Beach and enjoyed a week that felt much like summer. The sun in the Northern parts of Australia rises and sets quite differently to how it does in Melbourne, and it would poke its rays above the horizon just a little after 5.30am. I am usually not a morning person, but the lure of golden rays dancing over the breaking waves at dusk was just too enticing. Every morning I strolled down to the beach with my camera in hand and soaked up the sun as it shone on my face. I watched the surfers catch a break or two before they headed to work, fisherman trying their luck knee deep in the surf and others just simply there to enjoy the sound of the ocean.
This recipe was inspired by that and I'd like to show you how to make it. But first, for the passionfruit topping, you can either use fresh passionfruit, (maybe you even have some growing in your garden?), or you can opt for the quick and dirty passionfruit pulp with syrup in a can. The tinned variety will spread easier onto the top of the cake, however a little bit of orange juice added to fresh pulp should help break it up a little. A thin layer will look more appealing for serving.
If you’d prefer to have a more traditional cheesecake look by just using the biscuit mixture for the base, you can halve all of the base ingredients I've listed below. A spring form pan is such a lifesaver for a recipe like this so if you don’t have one, please change that! I’m known to take shortcuts whenever I can, and there is nothing worse than buying all of the ingredients, prepping and cooking only to find the cake is stuck in the tin! Trust me, I have been there many times (and I am food photographer, but we all have to learn the hard way I guess!).
Food for me is as much about colour as it is taste. When a dish is bright and fun, it only adds to the experience. Blue skies and sun filled days are ahead for a lot of you (lucky readers!) and I hope this dish makes it onto your as the warmer weather approaches.
Ingredients BASE 2 1/2 cups Butter Snap biscuits (or any light coloured biscuit), crushed 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 shredded coconut 100g butter, melted 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
Cheesecake Filling 500g cream cheese, softened and cubed 1/2 cup caster sugar 1 teaspoon orange zest 2 teaspoons gelatine, (dissolved in boiling water and allowed to cool slightly) 200g white chocolate, melted 1 cup cream Topping + Garnish 1/2 cup passionfruit pulp, (or passionfruit pulp + syrup) Mint to garnish
Method Using a spring form cake tin, 20cm, lightly grease and line with baking paper. In a bowl, combine the crushed biscuits, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, coconut, melted butter and coconut oil. Press into the tin so there is a thin layer at the bottom and around the sides. Freeze for 20-30 mins to set. Remove.
Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, sugar and orange zest with an electric mixer until smooth and combined. Add the white chocolate and cream. Stir in the gelatine (whilst warm and still dissolved but not boiling). Pour the cheesecake mixture into the base. Allow to set in the fridge for at least three hours or overnight. Once ready to serve, top with passionfruit pulp and a few sprigs of mint.
I hope you love this recipe and will make it! I'll meet you back here on May 4th with another recipe from my kitchen. Take care and enjoy!- Rachel.
(Photography, Styling, Text, Recipe: Rachel Korinek/Two Loves Studio. Editor: Holly Becker)