This cheesecake speaks for itself. It combines my three of my favourite things: lotus biscuits, white chocolate and passion fruit. The lotus biscuits make the perfect underpinning, providing an almost umami, caramelised flavour. Apart from Basque cheesecakes, I believe all cheesecakes should have a substantial base to contrast with the softness of the topping. The cheesecake itself contains white chocolate and vanilla which offer both a delicate and more complex sweetness. Then, the passion fruit glaze offers the perfect juiciness and astringency to cut through the sweetness of the rest of the cake.
I make mine in a square as it pleases me aesthetically, and allows for slicing into very neat cubes for serving. However, feel free to make this in a circular tin for a more traditional appearance.
Passion Fruit, White Chocolate & Biscoff Cheesecake - Recipe
Ingredients
For the base
250g lotus biscuits
¼ tsp salt
100g butter, melted
For the cheesecake
180ml double cream
200g white chocolate, finely chopped
500 full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
100g caster sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean pod/ 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
For the topping
200ml sour cream
40g icing sugar, sieved
180g passion fruit pulp
1 tsp lemon juice
1tsp cornstarch
20cm diameter round springform tin (or high sided square tin with similar internal area), lined with baking parchment
Method
Base
1) To make the base, place the lotus biscuits and salt in blender and blitz until they turn into fine crumbs. If doing by hand, keep the biscuits in the packet or in a sealed Ziploc bag and bash with a rolling pin until they resemble fine crumbs.
2) Pour melted butter into the lotus biscuit crumbs, and mix until it becomes like damp sand in texture. Spoon this into the base of the tin, and use the back of a spoon to compact the mixture to form an even base layer across the tin. Place in the freezer to set.
Filling
1) Preheat oven to 160°C.
2) Pour double cream into a small saucepan, and place on medium heat until it begins to boil. Remove from heat, and gently stir in the chopped white chocolate until melted together.
3) Pour the cream cheese and sugar into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle, and beat for a couple of minutes until shiny and smooth.
4) Split the vanilla pod down the middle lengthways and scrape out the seeds into the cream cheese. Then, beating continuously, add the eggs one by one until fully combined. Gently fold in the (now slightly cooled) white chocolate and cream, then pour mixture into the cake tin, on top of the base.
5) Place in the oven to bake for an hour to 1 ½ hours, checking after 30 minutes and then every 15 minutes after that. You will know when it’s ready when it has a slight wobble when shaken.
6) While the cheesecake is baking, whisk together the sour cream and icing sugar until smooth. One the cheesecake is ready, remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then pour over the sour cream mix in an even layer. Place the cheesecake back in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Then remove, and place on a wire rack to cool and set. Once it has fully cooled, cover with clingfilm (so it is not touching the surface of the cheesecake) and place in the fridge overnight.
7) Before serving, make the passion fruit glaze by heating together passion fruit pulp, lemon juice and cornstarch in a small pan over a medium heat. Once the cornstarch is fully dissolved, remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
8) Once cooled, remove the passion fruit glaze and the cheesecake from the fridge. Pour the passionfruit glaze over the surface of the cheesecake and serve.
