White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake yesterday and could not wait to try it today. Once I did, I knew it was worth the wait. Like biting into a piece of creamy raspberry ripple heaven! The sweetness just perfect, the crust delicious, the white chocolate flavor definitely there but not overpowering.

Cheesecakes are a hassle to make sometimes, especially when your springform pan leaks! .. but who doesn't like them? If you get a good recipe it's definitely something you should make at least every now and then I think. And THIS is a good recipe! Yes, it is.

First start by making a crust. Chocolate would be good with this but I think chocolate tends to overwhelm the mild flavor of cheesecakes. So I decided to go with a nilla wafer crust.

Crush about 35 nilla wafers (or other vanilla cookie) in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin, or be lazy and use a blender (see above!)

Next: pour them into a bowl with 1/2 stick (2 oz.) melted butter and 2-3 tbsp of granulated sugar. Mix together. It will seem like there's not enough butter to help form a crust but there is!

Pat the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Could use your hand or a jar or something to help flatten it out. Don't push down too hard though or you'll have trouble cutting through it once it's done.

Now time for the raspberry sauce ....

Defrost 1 bag (about a pint) of frozen raspberries (will be less watery than fresh). Don't wash.

Put 1 tbsp of cornstarch plus 1-2 tbsp of granulated sugar in a saucepan.

And a tiny drizzle of water or juice. I used sweetened cran-apple juice here.

Add your raspberries (mine weren't quite defrosted) and turn heat on medium. Stir together.

Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so to prevent the raspberries sticking. Taste the sauce to see if it needs more sweetening. Mine needed two more tbsp of sugar :b

Bring the raspberries just to a boil. That will activate the cornstarch and help thicken the sauce. When they start to boil, turn the heat off. The raspberries should be all broken up at this point.

 Push the sauce little by little through a regular sieve directly into a container to strain off all the seeds (this step is necessary, seeds are not good). May take a little while to get all the sauce strained.

This sauce is also good for use with pancakes, trifles, chocolate cake by the way. Can be refrigerated.

Melt 2 cups white chocolate chips with 1/2 cup half-and-half

(single cream), stirring occasionally until smooth. Once done, set aside to cool a little.

Now onto the cheesecake batter ...

In a large bowl, whisk 3 (8 oz.) packages softened cream cheese till smooth. I let mine sit on the counter overnight, along with the eggs to get them to room temp.

Whisk in 1/2 cup white sugar.

Beat in 3 room temperature large eggs, one at a time, on low speed. Don't overbeat, don't want too much air to get in there.

Blend in 1 tbsp vanilla extract and the white chocolate/cream mixture.

 And pour half of the batter onto the pie crust.

Spoon a few tablespoons of the raspberry sauce over the batter. Then repeat, using the remaining batter.

We're getting there, now just run the tip of a knife through the sauce blobs to create a nice marbled effect.

Bake the cheesecake in a preheated 325F oven for about an hour or until done. I put a baking dish full of water on the shelf below my cheesecake to keep the air moist in the oven. I would have just placed the springform pan in a waterbath but, as I mentioned, my pan was leaking and that wouldn't have been good.

The cheesecake's center should still be jiggly when the time is up. Don't be tempted to overbake. Without removing the cheesecake from the oven, open the door for 10 mins or so to let the hot air out and close the door again to let the cheesecake cool down slowly in a draft-free place.

Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan.

Serve with remaining raspberry sauce and maybe garnish with some white chocolate curls to be fancy. Though, if you ARE fancy, might wanna go with a non-paper plate!