White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I would have a picture, but my family ate this so quickly that there was no time for photos.

Crust
1 ½ cups chocolate cookie crumbs or 20 crumbled Oreo cookies (filling removed)
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling
½ C raspberry preserves
¼ C water
4 x 8 oz packages cream cheese
1¼ C granulated sugar
½ C sour cream
2 t vanilla extract
5 eggs
4 oz white chocolate, chopped into chunks ( I used white chocolate chips in my food processor)

Garnish
2 oz white chocolate, shaved
whipped cream

All ingredients should be room temperature.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Melt a T of butter and brush onto a 9 X 3 round cake pan. Line the pan with parchment paper cutting out a circle for the bottom and a long strip to go around the sides. You could also use a 9” spring form, but I prefer the cake pan.

Measure 1 ½ cups chocolate cookie crumbs, or crush 20 Oreo cookie wafers (with the filling scraped out) into a medium bowl. Mix in 1/3 cup melted butter. Press the crumb into a 9" pan. Using your fingers, press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. If using a spring form, wrap a large piece of foil around the bottom of the pan to keep the cheesecake in the water bath. Put the crust in your freezer until the filling is done.

Combine the raspberry preserves with ¼ cup water in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1½ minutes on high in your microwave. Stir until smooth. Strain to remove the raspberry seeds (toss them out), then let the strained preserves sit to cool, and then put the bowl in the refrigerator until later.

Use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese with the sugar. Mix for a couple minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently until the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Add the sour cream and mix well. Combine vanilla and eggs in a 2 cup liquid measuring cup and mix it with a fork. Add half of the liquid mixture to the cream cheese mixture. Mix well and be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the rest of the egg mixture and blend well.

Remove the crust from the freezer and sprinkle 4 oz of white chocolate chunks onto the bottom of the crust. Pour half of the cream cheese filling into the crust. Drizzle the raspberry preserves over the entire surface of the filling. Use a butter knife to swirl the raspberry into the cream cheese. Just a couple passes is fine, you don't want to blend the raspberry and cream cheese together too much. Pour the other half of the filling into the crust.

Heat about 8 cups of water in the microwave for 8 minutes. I use a 16 X 3 inch round cake pan for my water bath. I place the pan in the oven with a dish towel in the pan (this prevents splashing). Place the cheesecake into the 13” pan. Add the water. It should go about halfway up the cheesecake. Bake for 1 ½ hours. The cheesecake will not look done. Turn off the oven and leave the door open for 1 minute. Close the door and leave the cake in the oven for 1 more hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool. When the cheesecake is cool, cover the cheesecake and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

To remove from pan, fill your sink with hot water. Float the cheesecake in the water for 10 minutes to melt the butter. Pull up the parchment paper from the sides. Place a cake board or a spring form bottom on the top of the cake. Flip the cake over. Flip cake over again onto your serving surface.

Before serving, sprinkle the entire top surface of cheesecake with 2 oz of shaved white chocolate. To serve, slice the cheesecake into 12 equal portions. Apply a pile of canned whipped cream to the top of each slice and serve.