Raspberry & White Chocolate Cheesecake

I cook more dinner’s than desserts but somehow I have WAY more dessert posts waiting in my “to be blogged” queue than anything else. In an effort to whittle down that queue, I might have to post sweets more often.  No worries though it’s all good. Just remember it’s spring (summer if you ask me…today was the last day of school for my kids) so the weather is generally nice enough that you can work off your dessert with a quick jog, family bike ride or game of tag with your kids on the lawn. Seriously, with the good weather, you can have dessert worked off before it even has a chance to metabolize. J

Soooo, how does a slice of cheesecake sound?

Add some Raspberry’s and white chocolate? Any takers?

I’ve always wanted to make a real cheesecake but the water bath part has, uhmmm,… deterred me from starting such an adventure. After studying the recipe posted by Meghan at Butrcreamblondi.com, watching her video over and over, asking her question via blog posts and email and then comparing what I had learned against every other cheesecake recipe on the web, I finally felt I had what it took to make my own. And guess what? Its not hard. The only thing tricky about the water bath and really this cake, is not spilling the water when you put it in and out of the oven.

Raspberry & White Chocolate Cheesecake

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Ingredients:

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 tablespoons sugar

CHEESECAKE

12 oz frozen raspberries, thawed (or ¾ cup raspberry puree)

1 teaspoon cornstarch

24 oz cream cheese, softened (leave out overnight to be sure it is thoroughly softened)

1 1/3 cups sugar

¼ cups corn starch

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla (or vanilla bean paste)

1 cup white chocolate chips or melting wafers

½ cup heavy cream

Directions:

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar until well combined then add in melted butter until wet and crumbly.
3. Press crumb mixture into a 9" springform pan being sure to press and taper the mixture up the sides about 1 inch.
4. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Set aside to cool.

RASPBERRY SWIRL

1. Puree thawed raspberries is a blender then strain out seeds through a fine strainer.
2. Whisk together ¾ cups of the raspberry puree with 1 teaspoon of cornstarch until cornstarch has dissolved and there are no lumps. Set aside to thicken while you make the cheesecake batter.

CHEESECAKE BATTER

1. In a large pot boil 8-12 quarts of water
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Wrap the outside of the springform pan in a double layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. Make sure that the aluminum foil covers the plastic wrap.
4. Melt white chocolate chips and set aside.
5. Mix cream cheese and sugar together in mixer until smooth. Add cornstarch and mix until incorporated.
6. Add eggs and vanilla but do not beat on high. It puts too much air into the batter and air will make your crust crack.
7. Stir in heavy cream and white chocolate
8. Pour half the cheesecake batter into the cooled crust.
9. Using ½ half of the raspberry puree and a spoon, create polka dots over the cheesecake batter. Swirl the raspberry polka dots into the batter by dragging a toothpick or a table knife through the puree and cheesecake batter. Pour in the remaining cheesecake batter and repeat the swirling with the remaining raspberry puree.
10. Place the springform pan into a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan half way with boiling water from the stove.
11. Bake for 1 to 1 ¼ hours until the cake has set and starts to get a slight golden color. When the cheesecake is done remove it from the water bath and let it cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Chill in fridge for 8 hours. Before serving, remove spring form ring and garnish with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, fresh raspberries or remaining raspberry puree. 

Source: Adapted from Butrcreamblondi: Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake