White Chocolate, Rose & Raspberry Cheesecake

While browsing through an Asian supermarket the other day, I came across a packet of dried rose buds. On impulse I bought them and set about looking for a recipe that I could use them in. While you don't actually use them in this dish, I had seen a few recipes which used them as a garnish, so here's the result! 

Ingredients:

1 Cup Raspberries (Frozen is fine)

1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Tsp Gelatin

250g Marie Biscuits

100g Melted Butter

250g Cream Cheese

300 ml Cream

1 Cup White Chocolate

1 Tsp Rose Water

1/4 Cup Caster Sugar

1 and 1/2  Tsp Gelatine

Crystallized Rose Petals and Dried Rose Buds to garnish

Method:

Mix Raspberries and sugar and leave for 30 minutes to macerate. Mix the gelatin with 3 Tbsp of hot water till dissolved. Add this to the raspberry mixture. Pour into a flat tray and leave in the fridge to set. This step is to make the raspberry mixture less runny.

Crush the biscuits in a food processor and mix with the melted butter. 

This quantity gives a fairly thick base, if you prefer a thinner base, half the amount.

Line the base of your spring-form pan with grease proof paper. Firmly press biscuit mixture into the base of the pan and leave in the fridge to set.

Beat cream cheese, rose water, sugar and cream till well mixed. Melt the chocolate and pour this into mixture. Dissolve the gelatine in 1/4 cup of water and add this to the mixture. Mix well.

Pour half the mixture onto the biscuit base. Remove raspberry from pan and gently place over mixture.

Add the other half of the mixture and place rose buds into mixture facing upwards.

Refrigerate till set.

Garnish with rose petals, glitter or anything else you can get your hands on! The rose buds don't taste that great, so might be an idea to tell your guests to remove them before eating lol.

Enjoy :)