white chocolate raspberry cheesecake

We are very blessed to be members (very recent! YAY!) of an amazing church. It's so awesome to be loved, challenged, and accepted by the church... and our small group in particular. Anyway, last weekend, we went to our small group leader's house (he's also the Pastor of Education) for a dinner party. I brought dessert... this white chocolate raspberry cheesecake that is INSANELY good.

Believe it or not, this was my first solo attempt at cheesecake. I haven't even participated in making a cheesecake in probably ten years. I remember making them with my mom... well, actually, she made them. I remember being banished from the kitchen. I grew up in a really old house and she didn't want us kids jumping in the kitchen and cracking the cheesecake.

I guess I've always had the idea that cheesecake is VERY hard to make and is very finicky. That may be true for some cheesecakes, but this one was very easy. When I put it in the oven after following the recipe, I let my shoulders relax and exhaled... I had done it. But then during the two hour wait, I was plagued by the thought that it would fall, crack, or my springform pan would spontaneously combust. Not kidding. I'm a bit of a worry-wart.

I only made a few changes to the original recipe: I doubled the crust mixture (reflected in recipe below) and  I used a good quality seedless raspberry jam, so I didn't have to go through the step of making my own raspberry filling. I saw that someone had recommended this in a comment on the original recipe... so smart. It saved at least 30 minutes and it didn't change the delicious-ness :)

Ignore the raspberries. Didn't use them! 

does anything bad ever start with an Oreo crust? Debatable. 

Melt the white chocolate in a 'double boiler' (aka a glass bowl on top of a pot of simmering water)

Yum. It was so delicious... and because it's so rich, it can serve a lot of people!

I baked it in a springform pan wrapped in foil (so water can't get in) and then put into a big Pyrex with about 1 inch of water. This helps the cheesecake stay moist and not crack.

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 2 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
• 4 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 4 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.
4. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.