Triple white chocolate cheesecake

I made this for a wedding cake recently, though of course any occasion is a good occasion for triple chocolate cheesecake, so the decoration on top can be changed to match that, or taken off entirely.


Ingredients:

1 small tub of cream
1 tub of Philadelphia cream cheese
1 bar good quality white cooking chocolate (about 250g)
5 white chocolate cookies
A small block of butter, about the thickness of an average table knife is a good guide for the amount
Desiccated coconut (optional)

Preparation:

1) Pour the cream into a large bowl and use an electric whisk to whip it. Stop just before it's completely thick to get it just the right consistency.

2) Melt 2/3 of the white chocolate bar until it's completely liquid. A low temperature in the microwave is the fastest way to melt it.

3) Add the Philadelphia cheese to the whipped cream, stirring well while adding it.

4) Add the melted chocolate and stir well again.

5) Put the white chocolate cookies into a small plastic bag and crush them with your hands until they're very fine with no large lumps. The empty bag from a loaf of bread works well for this. When finished pour the crumbs into a dish.

6) Melt the butter and add it to the cookie crumbs. Stir well until all of the crumbs have been wet and thickened by the butter, add more butter if it's necessary.

7) Find a small round cake tray and cover the base and sides with cling film. Put the biscuit mixture into the bottom of the tray and flatten it down well with a spoon until it's a base covering the whole bottom of the tray. The thickness is just a matter of preference. Leave in the fridge for at least 10 minutes before going on to the next step.

8) After the base has hardened a bit in the fridge, pour in the chocolate cheesecake mixture on top of it. Smooth it flat on top, then put it in the fridge for at least another few hours.

9) Since the chocolate on top will crack in an uneven way when sliced, I found that the best way to put the white chocolate on top is to use a knife to make a mark of where the slices will be cut, and then cover each slice individually. Melt the remaining 1/3 bar of white chocolate and use it to cover the top like this. Put it back in the fridge until and take out to leave in room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving time.

10) If you want, you can decorate the top with some desiccated coconut, or just sprinkle it all over the top, before serving.