Sandra’s Snowy White Chocolate & Orange Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 250g plain chocolate digestive biscuits

• 110g butter, melted

• 1 tsp grated orange zest

• 500g ricotta

• 400g white chocolate

• 360 ml fresh cream,whipped until just firm

• 1tsp vanilla essence

• Grated zest of 1 orange

• Fruits of the forest to decorate

Directions:

1) Place biscuits in food processor and process them to crumbs, add orange zest. Pour in melted butter and process in short bursts to mix through.

2) Tip into a loose bottomed 23 cm springform tin (lightly greased with vegetable oil) and press down until you have a smooth thick base.

3) Place in fridge while making filling.

4) Melt chocolate over a pan of simmering water. Remove the bowl from pan and let it cool slightly.

5) Put ricotta in (clean) food processor and whizz till smooth. Put into large mixing bowl. Stir warm melted chocolate, orange zest and vanilla into ricotta.

6) Gently fold cream into ricotta mixture until smooth. Spoon this mixture on to biscuit base and put cheesecake back in fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.

7) Remove cheesecake from tin. Decorate with fruits of the forest or strawberries.  Serve immediately.

This recipe had previously appeared in the November 2009 edition of Gourmet Today