Learn to substitute

It's been a while since I've baked... and last night, I suddenly had the urge to. Looking at my fridge, the only things I had were blueberries, butter and ricotta cheese... as a result, the White Chocolate Mixed Berry Cheesecake came to my mind.


Original recipe:

Serves: 8
1/4 cup unsalted butter
8oz ginger biscuits (cookies)
1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts

For the Filling:
1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs, beaten
3 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
9 oz white chocolate
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries

For the Topping:
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/3 ricotta cheese
white chocolate curls and fresh raspberries to decorate


After digging into my baking supplies and found staled ginger cookies... since I was so determined to make this cheesecake, I actually found a recipe that uses rolled oats and granola for a cheesecake base. Of course, I also didn't want to buy marscapone cheese. Things that Google will do for ya! After all the tweaking, my modified recipe looks like this.


Serves: 4 (I didn't need to extra calories so I halved the recipe)

1/8 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup Quaker Harvest Crunch granola cereal
1/4 cup chopped pecan nuts

For the Filling:
3/4 cup ricotta cheese blended with 3/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp white sugar
5 oz white chocolate
2/4 cup fresh raspberries + 1/4 cup blueberries

For the Topping:
1/4 cup ricotta cheese + 1/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 ricotta cheese
white chocolate curls and fresh raspberries and blueberries to decorate


1. Preheat oven to 300F.

Crush the biscuits. Melt the butter in a pan, then stir in biscuits and nuts. Press into pan. Level the surface.

2. Make the filling by mixing the cheese then beat in the egg. Add the sugar and beat until sugar has dissolved and the mixture is smooth and creamy.

3. Chop and melt the white chocolate over simmering water, then stir into the cheese mixture.  This is when I also prepared some chocolate swirls. The failed piece was melted and the pretty ones were saved as decorations :)

Add the berries in add mix gently.

4. Tip into the prepared tin and spread evenly. Bake for 1 hour or until just set. Be patient. Don't try to speed up cook time by turning the heat up. Switch off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside until cold.

5. Remove the sides of the tin. Make topping by mixing the ricotta cheese and heavy cream in a bowl then spread it over the cheesecake. Decorate with curls and berries.

This is a really simple recipe :) I'm eating a slice as I am publishing this blog. Hope you all will enjoy it!