A lighter, low-sugar cheesecake made with roasted strawberries, mascapone or Greek yoghurt and white chocolate and served with a roasted strawberry topping. Easy to make and perfect for Valentine's Day or any other special occasion!
Roasted strawberry topping (make this first, if including)
Heat the oven to 375 degrees F/190 degrees C.
Line a rimmed baking tray with baking paper, then scatter the strawberries over the centre of it in a single layer.
Whisk together the honey, olive oil and salt and drizzle evenly over the strawberries. Toss them around a little on the tray to ensure they are evenly coated.
Roast the strawberries in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Check regularly after 20 minutes that the strawberry mixture is not burning.
While still warm, scrape the roasted strawberries and juices into a dish and stir in the balsamic vinegar. Then set aside.
Cheesecake
Crush the cookies/biscuits by putting them in a plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin. Then melt the butter in a large pan, add the cookie crumbs and mix well.
Tip the base mixture into a spring-form cake tin and press down and level with the back of a metal spoon. Put into the fridge to harden while you make the cheesecake topping.
Put the cream cheese, mascapone or Greek yoghurt and vanilla extract into a large bowl and beat together well with a wooden spoon. Add the icing sugar at this point if using.
Break the chocolate into pieces and melt it in a smaller bowl either in the microwave (heat in 30 second bursts until nearly melted, then stir) or in a bowl set over a pan of hot water (don't let the bowl touch the water). Pour into the mixture and mix well again.
Fold through the chopped strawberries, plus two to three tablespoons of the roasted strawberry topping if making.
Pour the cheesecake mixture onto the cookie base and level off, then put the cheesecake in the fridge to set for at least 3 to 4 hours or overnight. Decorate with the remaining strawberries and mint leaf, if using, just before serving.
Notes
Recipe for the roasted strawberry topping slightly adapted from the recipe in this post by Joy The Baker. Thanks, Joy!I think ginger cookies/biscuits work the best for the base in this recipe. In the UK we have 'ginger snaps', which are perfect, but any kind of crunchy ginger-flavoured cookies would be great.As mentioned, this is a lower sugar cheesecake. If you think you would prefer it a little sweeter, add a tablespoon of icing sugar or beat 50 to 100 grams of fine/caster sugar into the cream cheese and mascapone/yoghurt at stage 8.