New York Style White Chocolate Cheesecake with Fresh Berry Swirls
This white chocolate cheesecake is rich and creamy and the raspberries provide a little bit of welcomed tartness – and color contrast! Although graham crackers are traditional in cheesecake crust, I prefer the flavor of ground up crisp oatmeal cookies. You can use a springform pan, but loose-bottomed pans are a huge improvement, as they seem to leak much less, which is helpful especially when the pan is immersed in a water bath. This cake is a two-day process, but it freezes very well, so you can make it even a month ahead.
White Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberries
Author: Dédé Wilson
Makes: Makes 1, 9-inch round cheesecake Serves 14 to 16
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1¼ cups finely ground crispy oatmeal cookie or graham cracker crumbs
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Raspberry Topping:
- 2, 6 ounce packages fresh raspberries, divided
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Cheesecake:
- 6 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped, such as Valrhona Ivoire or Callebaut
- 2 pounds (4, 8-ounce packages) full fat cream cheese, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- 1¼ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
Instructions
- Position rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat inside of one 9-inch by 3-inch round loose-bottomed or springform pan with nonstick spray.
- For the Topping: Purée one 6-ounce package of raspberries in a food processor fitted with a metal blade until smooth. Pulse in sugar. Press through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding seeds, saving smooth purée; set aside. Reserve other package for décor.
- For the Crust: place cookie crumbs, melted butter and sugar in a bowl and stir to combine. Press crust evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust for about 15 minutes or until just dry to the touch. Place pan on rack to cool while preparing filling. Turn oven down to 325°F.
- For the Cheesecake: Melt the chocolate in microwave or in double boiler, stir until smooth and set aside to cool while you make the rest of the batter.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar gradually and beat until very light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl once or twice. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down after each addition, allowing each egg to be absorbed before continuing. Beat in lemon juice, vanilla and melted white chocolate. Stir in sour cream by hand until completely incorporated.
- Wrap exterior of cooled pan thoroughly with aluminum foil – this is easiest if you use extra wide foil. The seams of the pan must be protected from the water bath. Pour batter over crust. Place cheesecake pan in a larger pan and fill with hot water to come halfway up the cheesecake pan (but not over the edge of the foil). Use a teaspoon to dollop raspberry sauce evenly over the top of the batter. Swirl sauce into filling using a bamboo skewer or toothpick using image for inspiration. Simply insert the tip if the skewer about 1-inch deep and draw it through the batter in attractive whirls and swirls.
- Bake for about 1 hour. The top should not color (although you might get a spot or two of color) and will look dry and smooth, but it will still jiggle when you gently shake the pan. Turn oven off and let cake remain in oven for 1 more hour as it cools. Remove pan from water bath and refrigerate cake overnight, or up to two days, before proceeding. (The cake may be well wrapped in plastic wrap at this point – still in the pan to protect it – and frozen for up to a month).
- Unmold cheesecake; it will still be on the metal round bottom of the pan. Arrange reserved fresh berries around the edge right before serving. Serve slices of cake cold. Cheesecake is best sliced with a thin bladed knife dipped in hot water between cuts.
Ohhhhh Myyyyyy!