White Chocolate Cheesecake

White Chocolate Cheesecake is a top tier Christmas dessert in our house. 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 added 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 the box. .  

I took the classic recipe and modified it slightly by using an Oreo Cookie Crust and adding melted white chocolate to the cheesecake filling.   Once you understand the basics of the classic recipe, you can really customize it any way you want.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Kitchen Equipment
• How to Make the White Chocolate Cheesecake 
• How to keep your cheesecake from cracking
• Looking for more Cheesecakes?
• Recipe

Ingredients

•  Oreos (crushed) 
• Melted unsalted butter 

• Full fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese
• Granulated sugar
• white chocolate (chopped chocolate bar or  chips) (melted)
• vanilla extract
• eggs
• Pinch of salt
• dark chocolate chips

Kitchen Equipment

• Mixing bowls
• Measuring spoons/cups
• 9 -inch springform pan
• Food Processor or rolling pin and ziploc bag to crush the Oreos. 
• Parchment paper
• Cooking Spray 
• Hand mixer.  This is one of those times where a hand mixer is preferred over a stand mixer, because you can have better control of mixing the batter to get a perfectly smooth cheesecake. 
• Flexible Spatula. 
• Sandwich size ziploc bag, to drizzle the melted dark chocolate chips. 

How to Make the White Chocolate Cheesecake 

• Prepare the Oreo Crust. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and place a parchment paper round on the bottom of the pan. Mix the Oreo crumbs and butter together. Press the crumb mixture evenly across the bottom of the pan.  Set aside. 

• Melt the White Chocolate. In a large microwave safe bowl melt the white chocolate chips stirring in 15 second intervals until the chocolate is completely melted.  

• Mix the cheesecake batter. Add the softened cream cheese,  sugar, vanilla extract and salt and melted white chocolate to the bowl and beat with a hand mixer until completely  smooth.   Mix the eggs in one at a time using the lowest setting on your hand mixer. Incorporate each egg before adding the next.   

• Fill the Springform Pan and Bake. Pour the cream cheese batter into the spring-form pan and smooth the top.  Bake in the oven for 45-55 minutes.  The edges should be slightly browned and the center should jiggle slightly when the pan is touched.  Turn the oven off and crack the oven door open to let some of the hot air out.   

• Cool the Cheesecake. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for one hour.   After the first hour of cooling, move the cheesecake to a  countertop to cool to room temperature.  Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerator for at least 4 hours. 

How to keep your cheesecake from cracking

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 overbeat 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, which can lead to cracks. 

Cooling your 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.

Notes on the White Chocolate 

• I’ve made this recipe with both melted chocolate chips and a chopped white chocolate bar.  The chopped chocolate melts more smoothly than the white chocolate chips.  If you use the white chocolate chips, let it cool for a couple of minutes before you blend it in with the cheesecake batter.  If it sits for too long, it begins to harden, creating slight lumps in your cheesecake. 
• If you use the microwave to melt the chocolate be careful!  If you leave it in the microwave for too long (i’m talking 10 seconds too long) the chocolate will begin to burn.  I recommend microwaving in 15 second bursts, stirring after each one.

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