White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

We don't eat cheesecake very often, maybe once or twice a year. But if I'm making cheesecake this is the only recipe I use. I found it on allrecipes.com several years ago but I make a few changes. It is so yummy and it turns out nicely every time.

Ingredients:

Crust ingredients (these are doubled to make a thicker crust, I think the butter could have been less than the 1/2 cup)
2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
6 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 - 1/2 cup butter, melted

1 jar seedless raspberry jam
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.



Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water (I used a double boiler), melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.




In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate.



I bake my cheesecake in a water bath. This helps it cook evenly and not crack. Wrap your pan in foil. I used two sheets - you want to make sure water doesn't leak inside your pan. Pour half of batter over crust. Warm raspberry jam in microwave for 30 seconds. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter.



Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.



Place pan into a deep baking dish - 9x13 or larger if you have it. Fill with warm/hot water until it's about halfway up your pan. Bake for 60 minutes, or until filling is set. To test for doneness, shake the pan gently - the very center of the cake should jiggle just slightly.

Turn oven off and let cheesecake sit in oven for about an hour. Open oven door and let sit in oven for another 30 minutes. Let finishing cooling on counter. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight before removing from pan. Cooling too quickly is what makes the cheesecake crack and I've never had them crack this way.