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Red velvet cheesecake
Serves: 20
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Toby Scott
Red velvet cheesecake
Our red velvet cheesecake will go down a treat at your next dinner party
Serves: 20
Prep time: 45 minsTotal time:
See more recipes
Nutritional information ( )
Calories
363Kcal
Fat
22gr
Saturates
13gr
Carbs
33gr
Sugars
27gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
6gr
Salt
0.6gr
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Cookery Workflow Editor, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Cookery Workflow Editor, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Ingredients
For the base
- 100g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing
- 2 x 154g packs Oreo biscuits (chocolate creme, or regular), or 300g dark chocolate digestives
For the cheesecake layer
- 150g white chocolate, chopped
- 700g full-fat soft cheese
- 175g caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
- 300ml soured cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tubes Dr Oetker food colour gel (or use 2 x 38ml bottles liquid red food colouring, but the colour will be a less intense red)
For the topping (optional)
- 1 x 350g pack frozen raspberries, defrosted
- 3 sheets leaf gelatine
- 100g caster sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 50g white chocolate, chopped
Step by step
Get ahead
Prepare the cheesecake the day before serving. Leftovers keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.
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Preheat the oven to 150°C, fan 130°C, gas 3. Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm traybake tin (not loose-based) with baking paper.
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Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs in a food processor, or in a large plastic food bag, using a rolling pin. Mix with the melted butter; press firmly into the base of the tin. Chill while you make the cheesecake layer.
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Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure that the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Leave to melt, then stir until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
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In a food mixer, or in a bowl with an electric hand whisk, mix the soft cheese and caster sugar for a couple of minutes until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the cocoa, soured cream and vanilla, then the melted chocolate. Finally, add the food colouring until tinted to your preferred shade of red.
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Pour the cheesecake filling over the chilled biscuit base, then sit the tin inside a large roasting tin and put on the oven shelf. Pour hot water into the roasting tin so it comes about two thirds to three-quarters of the way up the outside of the traybake tin. Bake for 1 hour, or until the cheesecake is set but still has a slight wobble. Turn off the oven, but leave the cheesecake inside to cool for an hour with the door closed.
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Remove the cheesecake from its water bath and leave to cool completely. Cover and chill overnight.
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For the jelly topping, if adding, blend the raspberries to a purée and press through a sieve, discarding the seeds. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for a few minutes. Dissolve the sugar in 100ml water in a small saucepan, then remove from the heat and add the squeezed-out gelatine sheets and stir. Combine with the raspberry purée and lemon juice and pour evenly over the top of the chilled cheesecake. Chill for 2-3 hours until set.
- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, then spread out on a baking tray lined with baking paper to a thickness of 2-3mm. Freeze until set, then break or cut into shards and chill until needed.
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When ready to serve, lift the cheesecake out of the tin, in its paper, then peel the paper away from the sides. Cut into squares and arrange on a platter with a chocolate shard in each square.TipTo ensure your squares are perfect, use a sharp knife that has been dipped into a jug of hot water then quickly wiped dry.