white chocolate cheesecake
Who doesn’t like a good ole cheesecake? I prefer this one to most because it’s not extremely heavy or sweet.
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from 12 double graham crackers)
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
⅓ cup sugar
2 bars (4 oz / 113.5g each ) Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bars, broken into ½ inch pieces
⅓ cup boiling water
4 eight ounce packages (2 lbs / 907.2g) cream cheese, at room temp
¾ cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs at room temp
¼ tsp salt
fresh berries
salted caramel topping, optional
To prepare the curst, first preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack just below center. In a medium bowl, mix the butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar until blended. Press the mixture firmly and evenly over the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch spring-foam pan. Set the pan on a baking sheet to catch any leakage while baking. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
Reduce oven temp to 300°F once the crust is cooked. Pour boiling water over the chocolate and shake the bowl to submerge the chocolate. Cover and let stand for 2 minutes without stirring. Whisk the chocolate and water until thoroughly blended and smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese just until smooth, about 45 seconds. Do not over whip the cream. Add the sugar, vanilla, and salt, and beat just until smooth (about one and one-half minutes), scraping the bowl and beaters once or twice. Beat the eggs in one at a time, just until blended. Use a rubber spatula to stir the melted chocolate thoroughly into the filling. Scrape the filling on top of the crust and spread it evenly into the pan.
Place the pan on the baking sheet and create a water bath. Alternatively you can place a few ramekins with hot water on the sheet next to the pan. This avoids a cracked cheesecake top. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until edges of the cake are puffed but the center still jiggles.
Set the pan on a cooling rack. Slide a thin paring knife carefully around the upper edges of the cake to detach it from the pan, but do not remove the pan sides. When the cake is cool, loosen the sides of the pan but do not remove them. Refrigerate the cake until it is thoroughly cold, before covering it with plastic wrap. Remove from pan when ready to serve. For the best flavor, keep the cake refrigerated for at least 8 hours, preferably 24 to 36 hours before topping and serving.