White Chocolate and Strawberry Tiramisu

OK, this isn't a traditional Tiramisu, with no coffee or dark cocoa, but the elements are the same - savoiardi sponge biscuits, liqueur (Creme de Framboise), Mascarpone, Cream and chocolate (White , in this case).  In addition, there are loads of luscious strawberries - yummy!  I prefer not to use raw eggs in my tiramisus - not that we are immuno-challenged, I just prefer the texture without.  You make a sugar syrup with 100ml water and 2 tablespoons of sugar, boiled for 2 minutes, into which 100ml of Creme de Framboise is then stirred.  Line a dish with parchment paper, lay the sponge fingers over the base and drench with the boozy syrup, then a large punnet of strawberries, sliced and tossed with a tablespoon of icing sugar and a tablespoon of Framboise.  Now carefully melt 160g of white chocolate (a good brand please, not Milky Bar).  In a big bowl, beat a 250g tub of Mascarpone with a tablespoon of sugar, the zest of a lemon, and 150ml of double cream.  Now fold in the melted white chocolate and spread over the strawberry/sponge finger base.  Smooth the top and sprinkle with 40g of white chocolate, grated or finely-chopped.  Leave in the fridge for at least 8 hours - overnight if possible.  Then decorate with sliced strawberries, and serve in squares - this will serve 6 people as it is quite rich.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

I blogged about this two years ago but didn't give the recipe - I can't think why as it is so simple but produces such reliable and delicious results.  It is suitable for veggies, too, as no gelatine is needed.  Crush 125g of digestive biscuits and mix with 75g of melted butter.  Press into the base of a 8" loose-bottomed cake tin and refrigerate.  You can use shortbread instead if you prefer.  Just whizz in the food processor or bash with a rolling pin (after putting in a plastic bag first....).  Now, put 250g of mascarpone in a bowl, along with 100ml of double cream, 75g of caster sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla essence.  Beat with an electric whisk on low speed until combined - it helps f the cheese has been at room tempreature for an hour or so.  Now, carefully melt 200g of white chocolate (a good brand please, not Milky Bar) in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water.  When just melted, pour the chocolate into the cheese mix and stir together with a metal spoon.  Plop the lot onto the biscuit base, spread out evenly and leave to set for several hours in the fridge - overnight is best.  Now serve in slices with whatever you like - we had rhubarb and strawberry compote tonight, but in the past I've used passion fruit, pureed mango, pureed raspberries, blueberry compote - all go deliciously with the sweet creamy cheesecake.  This will serve 8 people as it is quite rich.

Frosted Cupcakes

I was so impressed by the Hummingbird Bakery vanilla cupcakes that I made last week for the Red Nose Day cake sale that I whipped up a batch this afternoon, to take to our friends with whom we are staying this weekend.  I decorated half with vanilla cheesecake frosting in a piped 'rose' pattern, and the other half with chocolate frosting.  The chocolate looked - erm - how shall we say, like a joke-shop dog's doo-doo, so I ended up smoothing it out and dusting with grated white chocolate.  Whatever they look like, I know they'll taste yummy!  The Hummingbird recipe is as follows: in a mixer, blend 120g plain flour, 1 and a half teaspoons baking powder, 140g caster sugar and 40g of soft butter, until the mixture goes 'sandy'.  In a jug, whisk together 120ml of milk, 1 egg and a teaspoon of vanilla essence.  With the mixer going, add the wet mixture to the flour mix, and beat for a further minute.  Don't over-mix.  Divide amongst 12 paper cases in a bun tin, and cook for 20-25 minutes at 160C fan oven or 180C non-fan.  Don't over-bake either - if the sponge is a light gold and springs back lightly to the touch, then it is ready.  Over-baking will dry the sponge out, and the benefit of this recipe is its lovely light, moist crumb.  Decorate however you like, but probably best not to go for the dog poo look!

White Chocolate and Raspberry Blondies

These went down very well at the Comic Relief Cake Sale at work on Friday - apparently, anyway, since I didn't get to taste any!  A blondie is like a brownie, but with white chocolate instead of dark and muscovado light brown sugar to give a 'blonde' colour and caramelly flavour.  All its other qualities (or vices, depending on your view) are the same - high sugar, high fat, high chocolate, high squidgyness inside contrasting with crispness without.  Very rich, I imagine, but I guess I'll have to make them again to find out!  The respberries give a lovely colour and testural contrast, and probably introduce a welcome note of tartness - I imagine.  (do I sound bitter at not having tasted any?  Me?).  The recipe comes from the Good Food site, and is a doddle if you have a good electric mixer - the eggs do need to be beaten to quite a volume.

White Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake [#245]

Based on Bill Granger's now famous (and much copied) recipe, this is a lovely foil for seasonal fruit. Today, I pureed an exceptionally ripe mango, and over subsequent days we'll finish it off with strawberries and blueberries to accompany it. Lovely creamy cheesecake, using Green and Black's vanilla white chocolate and mascarpone. The base is shortbread crumbs - the more usual digestives would overwhelm and be too 'dark' for this light filling.