If you know me, you know that cheesecake is my dessert of choice, so when it's not my birthday, I find other times to make a cheesecake.... like Valentine's Day! This amazing White Chocolate Cheesecake is so pretty with a raspberry heart swirl and Oreo cookie crust (yay GF Oreos!). It's decadent and fancy, just perfect for a romantic dinner or special occasion. Drizzled with raspberry sauce, this cheesecake will make your heart happy with every single bite.
White Chocolate Cheesecake
Serves 10
1 package gluten free Oreo cookies
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup cold water
12 oz. cream cheese (1 1/2 packages), softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup white chocolate chips (6 oz.)
1/4 cup heavy cream
To make the crust, place the entire package of GF Oreos into a food processor and crush to bits. Stir together with melted butter. Pour into a 9-inch pie pan and press on bottom and up the sides. Place in refrigerator while preparing cheesecake.
To make the raspberry sauce, in a small saucepan, combine the raspberries, cornstarch, 2 tablespoons sugar, and water. Bring to a simmer and gently boil for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until thickened. Pour the sauce into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer to remove seeds; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar. Beat until fluffy. Mix in egg, egg white, vanilla, and lemon juice. In a glass measuring cup, melt white chocolate chips with heavy cream in microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Pour melted chocolate into cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.
Pour about 1/4 of cheesecake batter into the Oreo crust. Drizzle with about 2 tablespoons raspberry sauce. Pour remaining cheesecake batter over the sauce (you don't want the raspberry to show on top). Carefully swirl the cheesecake with a knife to get the raspberry throughout but still not showing through top. Fill a clean medicine syringe with raspberry sauce and pie small circles in a swirl pattern starting at the center over the whole cheesecake. Using a toothpick, start at the center dot and run the toothpick through the dot to the next dot and so forth (like a giant swirl dot-to-dot) to make the heart pattern. Don't lift the toothpick out until the entire swirl is done.
Bake the cheesecake in a 325°F oven for 40 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in with the door cracked open until mostly cool. Remove and cover, then refrigerate for about 5 hours. To serve, drizzle with extra raspberry sauce if desired.
Step-by-step tutorial:
Gather your ingredients. You will need a package of gluten free Oreos (or any other favorite chocolate sandwich cookies), butter, fresh or frozen raspberries, cornstarch, 2 packages of cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and white chocolate chips.
First, let's make the crust. Place the entire package of gluten free Oreos (13 oz.) in a food processor and pulse until crumbs. Add the crumbs to 4 tablespoons melted butter and stir to combine.
Press into a 9-inch pie dish, then refrigerate until ready to bake.
Next we need to make the raspberry sauce. This will be used for the beautiful heart swirl as well and a topping when serving. In a small saucepan combine 1 1/2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen), 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/3 cup water. Bring to a boil and turn to low. Simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until thickened. Pour the sauce into another bowl through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 12 oz. cream cheese (1 1/2 packages) and 1/3 cup sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and egg white; beat to combine. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla....
..... and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice. In a glass measuring cup, melt 1 cup white chocolate chips and 1/4 cup heavy cream in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until smooth. Add to the cheesecake mixture and stir until fully combined.
Pour about 1/4 of the batter into the crust. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the batter. Pour the remaining cheesecake mixture on top and carefully smooth it out evenly. Using a knife, gently swirl through the cheesecake, not letting the red raspberry show through. You want a raspberry swirl underneath, but the top needs to stay white.
Using a medicine syringe, fill with raspberry sauce and drop dots on top of the cheesecake in a big swirl pattern, starting in the middle.
Using a toothpick, start at the center dot and pull the toothpick through each dot in one giant swirl line (like doing a dot-to-dot) until you get to the last dot. It makes these darling hearts. It's so much fun to do, and almost seems magical when you try it!
Bake the cheesecake at 325°F for 40 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar, leaving the cheesecake inside to cool down slowly with the oven. Once it's cooled, pull it out and cover. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours before serving.
It's my favorite looking cheesecake for sure! I'm not some fancy baker, but this makes me feel like one! If I can pull it off, so can you. It looks so pretty topped with a few fresh raspberries too.
You can serve it as is, or with some raspberry sauce drizzled over.
It's decadent and has the best flavor with the white chocolate infused in the cheesecake. You will impress whoever you serve it to, including yourself!
Recipe Source: Recipe adapted from a recipe on Cooking Classy