No Bake White Chocolate Cake

Part cheesecake, part chocolate truffle, entirely no-bake. This dessert layers a silky white chocolate and cream cheese filling inside a chocolate cookie crust, the kind of striking black-and-white contrast that photographs as well as it tastes.

The cream cheese tempers the sweetness of the white chocolate, which on its own can be cloying. Creaming the butter, sugar and cream cheese together for a full 10 minutes is not optional. That extended whip is what aerates the filling and keeps it from setting up dense and fudgy, giving you a texture more like mousse than like a ganache.

Tempering the white chocolate over a gentle double boiler matters even more than with dark chocolate. White chocolate scorches at a lower temperature because of its higher milk solids content. If it seizes, start over.

Chef Tips

• Use block white chocolate, not chips. Chips contain stabilizers that change the melt.
• Make sure the cream cheese is fully room temperature. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps that no amount of creaming will smooth.
• Cool the melted chocolate slightly before adding to the cream cheese mixture. Piping-hot chocolate will soften the butter and deflate your whip.
• Chill at least 2 hours, preferably 4. Undersetting produces a soupy slice.

Variations

• Fold ¾ cup fresh raspberries into the filling before pouring into the crust.
• Serve with warm raspberry, strawberry, or passionfruit sauce for a tangy counterpoint.
• Swap the chocolate crust for a graham or gingersnap crumb crust for a different flavor pairing.