This white chocolate and honeycomb cheesecake is really special. It's no bake, and made with oodles of white chocolate and homemade honeycomb running right through the filling.
Crush the biscuits (either with the end of a rolling pin orby pulsing briefly in a food processor).
Melt the butter then add to the bowl and mix together.
Tip the still-warm biscuit mixture into your 23cm (9 inch) springform tin and press down all over to form the base.
Put it in the refrigerator to firm up while you make the rest of the recipe.
Make the honeycomb
Line the base and sides of a 20x20cm (8 inch) tin with baking paper.
Put the sugar and golden syrup in a large saucepan with 100ml water. Try to use a metal pan rather than a white or dark one as you need to be able to see what colour the mixture is as it cooks. It’s important to use a large pan as the mixture will puff up a huge amount once the bicarb is added later.
Place the pan over a low heat and gently melt the sugar. You should stir during this process, but you can gently move the sugar around with the handle end of a wooden spoon to encourage it. When all the sugar has dissolved, the mixture should be transparent and you shouldn’t be able to feel any grains with the end of your wooden spoon. If you can see any grains of sugar around the sides of the pan, sweep them away with a damp pastry brush. If they’re left in the pan, they can cause the whole mixture to crystalise and you’ll have to start again.
Now, turn the heat up enough to bring the mixture to a boil, then hold at a simmer. You’re looking for a medium-light caramel colour. If it goes dark, it will taste bitter.
Add the bicarbonate of soda in one go and whisk briefly (about 10 seconds) - just enough to distribute the powder.
Immediately pour the mixture into your prepared tin and leave to set. Don’t stir it or move the tin around as this can cause the honeycomb to deflate. Also, you should never walk around the kitchen with hot caramel or oil as it's simply too dangerous!
Leave to set for 30 minutes, then lift from the tin, remove the paper and break into pieces.
Make the white chocolate and honeycomb filling
Melt the white chocolate and set aside to cool.
Put the double cream and icing sugar in a large bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until really thick and stiff.
Add the cream cheese and fold only as much as it takes to combine. Overworking cream cheese can make it collapse and turn much more liquid.
Add the cooled white chocolate and fold together briefly.
Scatter a couple of handfuls of small honeycomb pieces into the bowl (about 50g / 1.75 oz).
Fold through, then spoon the filling into the round tin, on top of the biscuit base and smooth over the surface.
Refrigerate overnight or until set.
Decorate
When you’re ready to serve, unmould the cheesecake by placing the cheesecake on a tin or upturned bowl and unclipping the tin so that the sides fall away.
Slide the cheesecake onto a serving plate or board.
Decorate the top with more pieces of honeycomb and white chocolate before serving.
To get really neat slices, cut with a sharp knife and wipe the blade between slices.
Video
Notes
Honeycomb placed on top of the cheesecake will dissolve against the moisture of the cheesecake over the course of a few hours in the fridge, so it's best to hold off decorating the top until you're ready to serve.