Creamy white chocolate cheesecake in a pool of raspberry purée. Photo by Kelly Cline | IST.

MENU

Cakes Category Main Page Articles & Reviews     Cookies, Cakes & Pastries Category Main Page     Main Nibbles Main Page Articles & Reviews Of Foods From A To Z

March 2011

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Cookies, Cakes & Pastries

White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe

With Raspberry Sauce (Raspberry Coulis)

Overview

March 6th is National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day. But if the date has passed you by, you can nominate any day to celebrate with a white chocolate cheesecake.

This recipe has a graham cracker crust and a raspberry sauce, or coulis (pronounced COO-lee).

If you don’t want a potential crack in the top of your cheesecake, bake it in a water bath. This is simply a pan larger than the springform (a roasting pan works fine). The moisture created in the oven prevents the surface from cracking. See details in the recipe.

Serves 10.

Cheesecake trivia: A cheesecake is actually not a cake but a pie: It’s a cheese custard pie with a bottom crust.

Recipe

Ingredients

Crust

• 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (20 squares)
• 1/4 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling

• 1 cup white chocolate, chopped (our favorite white chocolate)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Raspberry Sauce

• 2 cups fresh raspberries (you can use frozen if you can’t find fresh)
• ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange liqueur (optional)
• Reserve three berries per serving for garnish
• Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Equipment

• Springform pan (8-inch diameter).
• Cookie sheet
• Heavy-duty aluminum foil
• Roasting pan (optional)

Preparation: Crust

1. Move oven rack to lowest position. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. To toast the pecans, sprinkle them in an ungreased heavy skillet. Cook over medium-low heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently until browning begins. Then stir constantly until golden brown. Cool and chop finely.
3. Lightly grease bottom and side of springform pan. Then remove the pan bottom.
4. Mix crust ingredients. Press about 3/4 cup of mixture evenly onto pan bottom. Place on cookie sheet.
5. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Return bottom to open springform pan and close latch.
6. Press remaining crumb mixture 2 inches up side of pan. Cut an 11-inch circle of aluminum foil. Place pan on foil circle and press foil up the side of the pan to prevent dripping. If you will be using a water bath, wrap the outside of the pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil to prevent leakage. The foil should come all the way up the sides of the pan because the cheesecake will bake in a water bath.

Preparation: Filling

1. Place chocolate in 2-cup Pyrex glass measure. Place in a 1-1/2-quart saucepan. Add water to saucepan until 2 inches deep.
2. Heat over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is melted. Remove from saucepan.
3. Increase oven temperature to 475ºF.
4. In large bowl, combine melted chips, sugar and flour with an electric mixer on medium speed, until blended. Beat in cream cheese and egg yolks until smooth. Continue beating, adding the whole eggs one at a time, then the sour cream, until blended. Pour batter carefully into crust.
5. Place the cake pan in a larger pan and add boiling water to halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
6. Loosely cover the top of the springform with a sheet of foil and bake 20 minutes.
7. Remove foil. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F and bake 1 hour. If cheesecake browns too quickly, replace foil during last 30 minutes of baking.
8. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake to settle for 15 minutes. Then remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 15 minutes.
9. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. To release from pan, loosen with a metal spatula, run along inside of the springform circle. Then unlatch and remove circle.
10. Place cheesecake, still on the springform bottom, on a serving plate if you are bringing it to the table instead of slicing in the kitchen.
11. To plate, add coulis to plate with a spoon or create a zigzag pattern with a squeeze bottle, pastry bag or zip-seal plastic bag with a piping cut snipped from one corner.

Preparation: Coulis

1. Place the raspberries in a blender or food processor and purée.
2. Pour the raspberry purée into a fine sieve placed over a bowl. Using a rubber spatula, press the purée through the sieve to remove the seeds.
3. Stir in the powdered sugar (you can use more or less sugar, to taste).
4. Add the optional orange liqueur. T

To Assemble

1. Pool some coulis on a plate.
2. Top with a slice of white chocolate cheesecake.
3. Garnish top of cheesecake with 2-3 raspberries and a mint leaf.