White Chocolate Cheesecake

White. Chocolate. Cheesecake.  MMMMMmmmmm.

I was  in the grocery store picking up the last minute Christmas dinner items that I always forget.  Usually how it works is that I don't realize that I forgot something until Christmas day when everything is closed.  But anyway, I was in the dairy aisle picking up some eggs when I saw that Philadelphia Cream Cheese was on sale.  The good shit.   So I add three packets to my cart and finished checking the things off my list.  (I ended up forgetting the aluminum foil, if you're curious)

Later that night I was on Pinterest looking for cheesecake recipes when a lightbulb went off.  I went to the fridge and grabbed a pack of cream cheese.  I tore open the wrapper and found the Classic Philadelphia Cheesecake recipe.  Score!  Don't sleep on the recipes on the packets, people.  It's literally someone's job to test that recipe before they put it on container.  I can only imagine the number of reviews and the input from compliance and/or legal that a corporation like Kraft goes through before they put it on their packaging.

I took the classic recipe and modified it slightly by using an Oreo crust and flavoring the cheesecake with white chocolate.  Once you understand the basics of the classic recipe, you can really customize it any way you want.

A note about preventing the dreaded cheesecake crater.  A crater is not the end of the world because whipped cream covers all sins.  There are a few tutorials for fixing the cheesecake crater here.  If your goal is a crater-free cheesecake then you have to follow two simple rules:

1. Don't over beat the eggs.
2. Cool the cheesecake very slowly.

You can whip the cream cheese and the sugar as much as your little heart desires.  If you want it extra smooth go for it.  But as soon as you start to add the eggs, turn your mixer to the absolute lowest setting.  I am talking Sloth speed on the mixer.  You should be able to beat it with your hands faster.  That's how slow your mixer should be.  Add each egg one at a time and mix until incorporated and not a second more.  We don't want extra air in the eggs because extra air means expansion.

Cooling your crater-free cheesecake needs to happen in  3 stages.  The first stage is an hour in the oven with the door cracked.  The second stage is on the countertop until it reaches room temperature. The final stage is in the refrigerator.   Don't skip a step.

I love making cheesecake because they are an impressive dessert that doesn't take a whole lot of effort, just a fair amount of patience.