Dandelions and Daydreams

Yesterday I promised the recipe for our Valentine’s Day tradition–white Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake. This year, we decided not to hoard it all to ourselves, and took the famous cheesecake over to a party. It was the perfect end to a potato-bar supper.

I planned on including a picture, but my memory stick seems to have been corrupted. My written description will have to suffice.

The cheesecake is creamy white with a chocolate cookie crust. Towards the bottom of the slice is a ribbon of deep red–almost purple–raspberry preserves. At the bottom of the slice, just above the crust, there is a hidden layer of white chocolate baked to a slightly crunchy perfection.

My fork slices easily through the filling and crust, I pop a bite into my mouth. The first thing that I taste is the chocolate crust followed by the taste of melt-in-your-mouth raspberries and cream filling. As I start to chew, savoring every flavor, I find a new taste and texture: slightly crunchy, but smooth at the same time like…chocolate! I take another bite and let the flavors mingle. This is what a cheesecake is supposed to taste like.

White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake Recipe:

Crust:

• 1 1/2 c. chocolate cookie crumbs (I use Oreos and leave in the filling).
• 1/3 c. margarine or butter, melted

Cake:

• 1/2 c. raspberry preserves
• 1/4 c. water
• 4 8oz. packages of cream cheese
• 1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 2T vanilla
• 5 eggs
• 4 oz white chocolate chips (or bar chopped into chunks)

Preheat oven to 475°F, fill a large pan with about 1/2 inch of water, and place into the oven while it preheats. Ideally this pan will be big enough to fit your springform (cheesecake) pan down inside. I always end up using the largest pan I own and then letting my springform pan rest on top.

Combine raspberry preserves with water in medium bowl. Microwave for 1 1/2 min. on high. Stir until smooth. Strain with cheesecloth to remove seeds. (we used a sieve this year, much faster and cleaner) Let strained preserves cool in the fridge.

Mix cookie crumbs and butter in a bowl. (I have always used oreo cookies, and have tried making the crust by leaving the cookie filling in or scraping it off. The crust seems to turn out better when I leave the filling in). Line the bottom and sides of a 9 in springform pan with parchment (or waxed) paper. Using the bottom of a drinking glass (or a large serving spoon) press the crumb mixture flat into the bottom of pan and about 2/3 of the way up the sides. (This is probably the hardest part). Wrap a large piece of foil around the bottom of the pan to keep the cheesecake in the water bath.

Combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. mix until smooth and creamy. Whisk eggs and add to cream cheese mixture. Mix until just blended.

Sprinkle 4 oz white chocolate into bottom of crust (I usually put enough chips to get a solid layer). Pour 1/2 of cream cheese filling into crust. Drizzle raspberry preserves over entire surface of filling. Use a butter knife to swirl preserves into filling. Be careful not to cut into the crust, and don’t blend too much. You are trying to create ribbons of raspberry. Pour the other 1/2 of the filling into the crust over the raspberry preserves.

Place cheesecake in water bath in preheated oven. Bake 12 min at 457° F then turn oven down to 350°. Bake 50-60 minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns tan.

When you take the cheesecake out, it will be puffed up high, and then collapse to about 1/2 the height. This is normal, don’t panic.

Chill 4 hours before serving.