Recipe- Delicious White Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake

White chocolate and raspberry is the more popular combination in the baking world but since I had a big jar of strawberry jam and some fresh strawberries lying in my refrigerator I thought why not give this combination a try? And I must say it turned out delicious, actually anything with berries is always a winner in my book!

To make this white chocolate strawberry cheesecake is really simple. All you need to mix in everything together and then bake. Once the cheesecake is baked, let it set in the refrigerator for 24 hours and then make the strawberry sauce and pour over it. I have noticed that people are little intimidated by cheesecakes, trust me they are not hard to bake at all. I don’t even use the water-bath method. You can totally (& probably should!) do it if you want but I didn’t. I am just lazy and especially when I have to cover the cheesecake with some sauce, I bake it as such. I mean few cracks are really okay, I had a little one on this cheesecake too!

Ingredients

3 cups graham cracker crumbs
10 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 oz white chocolate chips
4 x 8 oz cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 oz white chocolate chips melted
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 eggs large, at room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
½ cup strawberry jam
2 cups strawberries fresh
½ cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon water
¾ tablespoon cornstarch
¾ tablespoon lemon juice
whipped cream
white chocolate curls or shave
fresh strawberries

Method

* Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

* Using a food processor, crush the graham crackers. You need 3 cups of graham cracker crumbs for this recipe. Transfer to a bowl and add granulated sugar to it and mix.

* Add melted butter and and mix till crumb is moistened.

* Transfer the crumbs to a 9 inch springform pan and press on the bottom and sides of the pan. Use the back of your measuring cup to press down the crumbs firmly.

* Bake the crust at 350 F degrees for 7-8 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

* Preheat oven to 325 F degrees

* To make the filling, start by beating room temperature cream cheese using paddle attachment of your stand mixer or your hand mixer.

* Add sour cream, granulated white sugar and vanilla and mix till well combined for around 2-3 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

* Add eggs, one at a time and mix after each addition.

* Melt white chocolate chips in your microwave, stirring them after every 20-30 seconds. Let the chocolate cool down a bit and then add to the batter and mix.

* Finally fold in the flour. Do not beat the batter too much at this point.

* Sprinkle 2 oz of white chocolate chips on the bottom of the prepared crust.

* Pour 1/2 of the cheesecake filling on the top of the crust.

* Microwave strawberry jam for 30-45 seconds so that it's easier to spread. Pour the jam over the filling and make swirls using a knife.

* Now pour the remaining cheesecake filling on top.

* Bake at 325 F degrees for 55-60 minutes or until the top of cheesecake is light brown in color. The center of the cheesecake should still be little jiggly.

* Once the cheesecake is baked, switch off the oven and let the cheesecake sit inside the oven for 1 hour [with the oven door slightly open].

* After 1 hour take the cheesecake out of the oven and let it cool down.

* Once the cheesecake has cooled down, keep in the refrigerator for 24 hours or for a minimum of 6 hours.