Monday 15 July 2019

Ruby And White Chocolate Cheesescake

Here is where Mr P. and I differ: he adores white chocolate, while I love it thrillingly dark and sophisticated and bitter.  I keep telling him white chocolate is no chocolate at all:-)  But here I am making a cheesecake which is blessed with copious amounts of the stuff...

I recently got hold of some ruby chocolate, made from the ruby cocoa bean.  This chocolate is apparently made from unfermented cocoa beans with a natural red-pink colour, and a unique fruity flavour.  Crumbs, I sound like an ad, don't I?  Mm, truth to tell, I am a cynic at heart, and I wonder if the pink colour is real.  But hey, that's just little ol' sceptical Sherry talking:-)



so pretty - oops! forgot the nuts 

As ruby chocolate doesn't take well to cooking, I hunted around for a no-bake dish.  I found a recipe for white chocolate cheesecake submitted by Kay Orford, in the lovely Emmanuel Anglican College Ballina cookbook Our Ballina Table.  Kay's recipe is brief, and I have to say it has a few dodgy details (sorry my unknown friend), so I have adapted, blinged up and modernised her recipe.

    
ingredients:

the base:


150g. of plain biscuits - I used a mix of digestives and butternut snaps

75g. butter, softened (not melted) 


the filling:


250g. (8oz.) cream cheese at room temp.


250 mLs (1 cup) of cream - I used thickened

250g. (8oz.) mascarpone

55g.-110g. (/¼-½ cup) caster sugar (superfine if you are from the U.S.) - this is a very sweet filling, so you may want to use the lesser amount of sugar :-) 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

250g. (8oz.) good quality white chocolate

250g. (8oz.) ruby chocolate - or milk chocolate if you can't find ruby


the top:

30g. pistachios or blanched almonds, chopped (optional)

60g. cranberries or raspberries or fruit of your choice - preferably one that has a bit of tang or acidity rather than a very sweet one

20g. ruby chocolate and 20g. white chocolate, grated or chopped to decorate


Method:


Blitz the biscuits in a food processor till they resemble breadcrumbs, or bash them in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin

Add the softened butter to the processor and zap away till the mixture starts to clump together; if you don't have a processor, I suggest melting the butter and combining that with the biscuit crumbs

Tip the mixture out into a 23cm (9 in.) springform pan that has been lightly buttered and lined on the base with baking paper

Use your hands or the back of a large spoon to push the crumbs onto the base 

Place in the fridge for an hour to settle down

When the hour is up, make the filling: place the cream cheese in the processor (or large mixing bowl), and give it a few pulses to break it up - or beat it soundly with your wooden spoon

Now add the cream, mascarpone, sugar and vanilla and whiz or beat as appropriate till smooth; divide the mixture into two separate bowls

Melt the two chocolates separately in microwave-proof bowls (the ruby chocolate took 70 seconds, and the white took 80 seconds)

Let them cool for a few minutes, then fold the ruby gently into one of the bowls of cream cheese mixture, and the white into the other bowl

Spoon the mixtures alternately onto the biscuit crumb base, and swirl with a knife; you want that lovely swirl of colours to show

Now scatter the fruit, nuts (if using) and grated chocolate over the top and refrigerate for several hours or overnight


Notes:


You can use ruby with white, or white with milk, or white with dark chocolate - your choice

I used frozen cranberries which I had thawed well (we don't have fresh ones here in Australia), but use your fave fruit




ingredients gathered


blitz the biscuits and softened butter together 


press the mixture firmly into the lined base of the tin 


beat the cream cheese etc together till smooth 


melt the chocolate(s) separately


pour the melted chocolate(s) into the cream mixture 


spoon and swirl the mixtures into the tin 


smooth out the top


decorate with the fruit and grated chocolate


ready to eat



     artwork © Sherry's Pickings

22 comments:

  1. I love all sorts of chocolate even white chocolate with tart flavours like raspberry or passionfruit. This looks great Sherry!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi lorraine
      yes Mr P. thought this was fab. He adores white choc. cheers S

      Delete
  2. You are making me really curious about that ruby chocolate!

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi Mae
      yes it has a lovely colour and aroma. it is like a fruity white choc, only pink! cheers S

      Delete
  3. It looks absolutely wonderful. I love the berries and the white chocolate. They kind of look like cherries!

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    Replies
    1. hi judee
      yes the cranberries do look a bit cherry-like, don't they? pretty i thought - to go with the cheesecake. cheers sherry

      Delete
  4. My husband is a HUGE fan of white chocolate. I have never heard of or had a ruby chocolate. How fascinating! The cheesecake looks sensational, Sherry.

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    Replies
    1. Hi angie
      Yes ruby chocolate is very trendy atm. It's so interesting isn't it?:). Thanks for dropping by.

      Delete
  5. Hmmm...I can't say I know much about ruby chocolate. It looks cool, though! In fact, I wonder if you could've swirled the two together instead of fully mixing them? That would've looked cool if it worked! And I agree with you about white chocolate. I prefer 'traditional' chocolate, but it is fun to incorporate white chocolate into recipes. This looks like a good one!

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    Replies
    1. hi david
      yes i did indeed swirl:) the photo just doesn't show it very well. if you look carefully at the last photo, you can just see the pink stuff on the top...

      Delete
  6. I am fascinated by ruby chocolate but less tempted by the price or the taste - tried it a few times but not often enough to be familiar - I like you thinking for a no bake way to feature it! (And I think this would be great with dark chocolate)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi johanna
      yes i am tempted to make this cheesecake with white and dark choc! i find white chocolate on its own is very sweet. i like the fruitiness of ruby choc tho. just that bit different!

      Delete
  7. Sherry - I have never seen ruby chocolate but will keep my eyes open for it. Does it taste more like milk chocolate? Whatever the case, your cheesecake has beautiful color and sounds fantastic! It’s the best way to use white chocolate as it adds body and creaminess, but no real flavor. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi david
      it is like a fruity white chocolate. so a bit different. thanks for dropping by. cheers S

      Delete
  8. Ruby chocolate was first introduced in 2017 and just recently in the U.S. Does not appear to be readily available yet, but I am sure it will be. We all like things that are pink :)

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    Replies
    1. hi judi
      yes it is a recent innovation here too. Now becoming more readily available, and not cheap as you say.

      Delete
  9. I'm with you -- white chocolate is NOT chocolate. I'll certainly eat it -- particularly in this wonderful looking cheesecake -- but I'll always go for the dark stuff if given a choice. :-)

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  10. That's definitely inteesting. I've never heard of ruby chocolate. It's definitely pink, isn't it? I would love a taste.

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  11. hi jeff
    yes it's a fruity little number that ruby chocolate:) it kind of tastes pink. definitely more depth to it than white chocolate. cheers S

    ReplyDelete
  12. This sounds delicious, I love white chocolate cheesecake but I haven't come across ruby chocolate before!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has a wonderfully fruity flavour so a bit different to white chocolate.

      Delete

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