White Chocolate Cheesecake With Raspberries
By: Barry C. Parsons
Published: Sunday, January 10, 2010 - 5:10am

Ingredients




1 1/3 cups graham wafer crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1/3  cup whipping cream
1 cup good quality white chocolate chips
3 ounces eight  packages ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whipping cream
2 pints fresh raspberries

Preparation

1 To make the crumb crust 2 In a small bowl combine the graham crumbs, sugar and melted butter. 3 Press into the bottom of a lightly greased springform pan. (Grease bottom only! I also like to line the bottom with parchment paper for easy release of the cheesecake from the pan when it has cooled.) 4 To prepare the cheesecake 5 In a double boiler, melt together the ⅓ cup whipping cream and 1 cup pf white chocolate chips. You want this just at the melting point, so be careful not to overheat it. Let it cool to lukewarm if necessary after melting. Set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the cheesecake batter. 6 Cream together the cream cheese and ½ cup sugar for a few minutes, scraping the bowl often. 7 Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 8 Stir in the vanilla extract and melted white chocolate. 9 Finally blend in the 1 cup of whipping cream until smooth. 10 Pour over the prepared base and bake in a bain marie (See Note) at 325 degrees F for 60 to 70 minutes. The cheesecake may be beginning to lightly brown at the edges but a cheesecake does not need to brown at all to be fully baked. The surface of the cheesecake should lose any shine when the cake is properly baked. It can still be slightly wobbly just at the center at this point. 11 Remove the cake from the oven and run a sharp knife completely around the edge of the pan. This will allow for the cheesecake to shrink as it cools and hopefully not crack (but who cares if it does? I am never bothered by a crack or two in the surface) 12 Allow the cheesecake to cool thoroughly on a wire rack at room temperature. (Do not put a hot cheesecake into the fridge to cool quickly, this may result in an under baked cheesecake because the residual heat actually continues to set the cheesecake after it comes out of the oven). 13 To finish the cheesecake 14 When completely cool cover the top with fresh raspberries and garnish with melted white chocolate if desired. 15 Chill completely in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

About


White Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberries This particular cheesecake will be enjoyed at a class lunch to mark the end of the term...wish it was to mark the end of exams! This is a very delicious cheesecake and the delicate flavour of the white chocolate plays very well with the fresh raspberries. Totally uncomplicated but totally delicious, this one is in my personal top 5 favorite cheesecake flavours. It would make an amazing dessert for your holiday feast too; I've already decided that it will be served at mine. A word about baking a cheesecake in a bain marie before starting the recipe. A bain marie is simply a water bath that buffers the direct heat from the sides and bottom of the baking pan to more evenly bake the cheesecake from the sides to the center. I bake my cheesecakes in a 9 or 10 inch springform pan that has the bottom and sides wrapped in multiple layers of wide heavy duty aluminum foil which forms a sort of boat that the cheesecake pan sits in. The roll of aluminum foil that I use is about 16 inches wide. I use at least 4 layers of foil to make sure that no water leaks in and ruins the crust of my cheesecake. The aluminum foil wrapped pan is then placed inside a larger baking pan; I use a 12 inch cake pan. Boiling water is then poured into the larger pan filling it from 1/2 to 2/3 of the way to the top. I find it best to pour the boiling water into the pan after it is placed on the rack in the oven as you are less likely to splah water onto the cheesecake or inside the aluminum foil. I reuse the aluminum foil for several future cheesecakes, adding a couple of layers to it each time just to be safe..

Comments:
Debbie Sellers

What temperature do you bake this at and for how long, please?
Jilliedeck

I would say 350 for an hour...