White Chocolate and Berry Ricotta Cheesecake

Light cheesecake with ricotta, cream cheese, sour cream, white chocolate and mixed berries

The recipe for this cheesecake has been in my recipe binder for months. Ever since I sampled a tiny piece of raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake at the David Jones Food Hall last year, I fell in love with it and wanted to make the same (or something similar). It was light, creamy and smooth, not at all like the dense New York cheesecakes (which I also love, in small quantities).

The recipe I used here is from Home Beautiful and it's a relatively light, creamy and fluffy cheesecake with the addition of sour cream and ricotta. However, I would have preferred to use purely raspberries instead of mixed with blueberries, for more tartness. I also reduced the quantity of vanilla extract called for in the recipe (originally one tablespoon, which sounds like a little too much).

Here is the recipe for this delicious cake, adapted from Home Beautiful:

White Chocolate and Berry Cheesecake

Ingredients

Base:

100g plain sweet biscuits

60g butter, melted

Filling:
200g cream cheese
200g ricotta cheese
1/2 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g sour cream
100g white chocolate, finely chopped
300g mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
extra sour cream and fresh raspberries, to serve

Method

1 Preheat oven to 160°C. Lightly brush a 20cm x 6cm springform pan with a little melted butter and line the base with baking paper.

2 To make base, process biscuits in a food processor until crushed. Add melted butter and process to combine. Spoon biscuit base into springform pan and press down base firmly using a small glass. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3 To make filling, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add ricotta cheese and sugar, and beat until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat to combine. Add vanilla and sour cream, and beat to combine.

4 Using a large metal spoon, fold through chocolate and half of the berries. Spoon filling into prepared base and sprinkle with remaining berries. Place springform pan onto a baking tray and bake for 1 hour, or until cheesecake trembles when sides are tapped. Turn oven off and leave door ajar to cool for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cheesecake from oven and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with extra sour cream and fresh raspberries.