[title subtitle=”words and images: Lauren Allen
recipe <br>adapted from Cooking Classy”][/title]
If you’re looking for a beautiful, easy dessert to prepare and serve on Valentine’s Day or other special occasions, this White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake is the one! Now don’t stop at the word cheesecake. It’s common to feel uneasy about making them. I can’t tell you how many New York style cheesecakes I’ve attempted and failed at—and I consider myself a pretty good baker.
This cheesecake, however, is fail proof! You don’t have to use a water bath to cook it, and you don’t need a spring-form pan unless you want to use one. The combination of white chocolate and raspberry is perfect and the texture is smooth and rich, just like cheesecake should be. It’s delicious made with a homemade graham cracker crust, but when in a time crunch, a store-bought crust tastes great too.
Crust
- 1 (8 or 9”) graham cracker crust (unbaked)
Cheesecake Filling
- 12 oz. cream cheese (1 ½ packages), softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
Raspberry Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries
Preheat oven to 325°F. Make the raspberry sauce first. In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar and cornstarch until well blended. Stir in cold water and add raspberries. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until mixture reaches a boil. Gently boil for about 5 minutes on medium-low heat, whisking constantly until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and press sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Set aside. Now, make the cheesecake batter. In a large mixing bowl beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth and fluffy (about 1 minute). Beat in the egg and egg white. Add vanilla and lemon juice. Set mixture aside. Add white chocolate chips and cream to a microwavable bowl. Microwave on half power, for 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until melted and smooth. Add melted chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and stir until smooth.
Pour ¾ cup cheesecake mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust and spread evenly over bottom. Drizzle 2 large spoonfuls of the raspberry sauce over the cheesecake batter. Carefully ladle remaining cheesecake mixture over the drizzled raspberry sauce, making sure to cover all of the raspberry sauce, not allowing it to show through. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the cheesecake batter smooth. Jiggle the pan gently with your hands to even out the top. Now you can drizzle the remaining raspberry sauce on top of the cheesecake however you like.
To make the heart design featured here, use a clean medicine syringe and pipe small circles of raspberry sauce in a circular pattern on top of the cheesecake. Then using a toothpick, start from the center circle of raspberry sauce, and drag it through the center of each raspberry circle in a circular pattern to form hearts. DO NOT lift the toothpick out until you finish the last circle.
Bake cheesecake for 40 minutes, turn off oven, and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cover with tinfoil and refrigerate for about 6 hours, or until fully set.
Lauren Allen is the creator of TastesBetterFromScratch.com, an exciting and beautiful food blog dedicated to sharing her love of cooking and creating new recipes. Lauren truly believes that everything tastes better from scratch!
