While this white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake is anything but German, I thought it deserved its own place on my blog because it is just so darn tasty (and a serious showstopper too)!
I first made this cheesecake at the request of my hubby a few years ago for his birthday. I remember scouring the internet and finally settling on a couple recipes that I merged together as neither one felt quite right to me… I have a serious recipe tinkering habit (I blame my Mom for that one!). It was so delicious the first time that I scribbled it down in my baking notebook and then promptly forgot about it as I continued to fill that notebook with recipes I wanted to make, ideas of endless things to try, things to test, things to change, recipes that have been added to this blog, ones that still might be at some point… it’s a real brain dump of a notebook.
One evening, as I casually flipped through the pages to try and create some order out of the chaos, I came across this recipe and literally started to salivate. I remembered the sweet and fruity scent of this white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake as it cooled in the kitchen and the smoothness of the first bite on my tongue, so soft I could just smush it on the roof of my mouth and let it melt. It was going to have to be made again, and soon.
I could not wait until the raspberries in our garden were ripe so I pulled the last of my frozen ones from the freezer, told my hubby he was getting this cheesecake for Father’s Day (twist his rubber arm I’m sure) and got down to it. While it seems like a lot of ingredients and definitely looks elaborate, it is much, much easier to prepare and assemble than say my Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with all its individually baked layers, chocolate glaze and piped whip cream. The hardest part of this white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake is waiting until it cools, then cools some more, then chills before diving in.
Happy baking… and happy Summer!
Sophie
If you liked this recipe you are going to love these ones!
Apricot Quark Cheesecake
Blackberry Spelt Tart
German Buttercream Spelt Torte
White Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberry Swirl
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Base
- 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2/3 cup butter melted
Raspberry Swirl
- 1 1/2 cups raspberries fresh or frozen
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 750 g cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp organic all purpose, unbleached spelt flour or all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
Decoration
- 50 g white chocolate bar
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
- 12 fresh raspberries
Instructions
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In a large bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together, then press into the bottom and 2/3 of the way up the sides of a 9" springform pan. Wrap aluminum foil around the bottom of the pan and place in the freezer to chill.
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Place a sieve over a small bowl and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar, water and cornstarch and bring to a boil over medium heat. Continue to boil for approximately 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Strain the mixture through the sieve to remove the seeds. Set it aside to cool.
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Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F and place a large pan filled with a few inches of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven while it is preheating.
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Using a double boiler or a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan, melt the white chocolate chips, add the whipping cream and whisk together until smooth, then remove from the heat and set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand held mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on high until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, salt and vanilla and beat on medium speed to combine. Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl, then slowly add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture with the beater on low speed. Mix until just combined. Blend in the white chocolate on low speed.
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Remove the pan from the freezer. Pour half of the cream cheese filling over the crust. Drizzle 3 tbsp of the raspberry sauce over the filling. Slowly pour the remaining filling on top, taking care to cover to first layer of raspberry drizzle. Then drizzle another 3 tbsp of raspberry sauce on top of. Swirl the sauce into the filling using a small knife.
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Bake on the middle rack above the pan of hot water for 12 minutes at 475 degrees F, then turn the heat down to 350 degrees F and baking for another 40 to 50 minutes or until the edges are golden and 2-3" in the center of the filling is still wobbly. Leave the cheesecake in the oven, turn the oven off and open the oven door slightly. Allow it to cool in the oven for 60 minutes before removing and cooling to room temperature. Once at room temperature, cover and chill the cheesecake in the fridge for 4-8 hours before removing from the springform pan.
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Place the cheesecake on a cake plate or platter. Using a vegetable peeler, peel a bar of white chocolate to create chocolate swirls and sprinkle over the top of the cheesecake. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a hand held mixer, beat 1/2 cup of whipping cream to medium peaks, add the icing sugar and beat until stiff peaks. Use a piping bag and large sized piping tip (I used 4B) to create 12 whipping cream swirls on top of the cheesecake. Place one raspberry on top of each swirl.
