♥ White Chocolate Cheesecake with Berries

 I love cheesecakes and I make them often.  Who does like a dessert so rich and smooth and creamy and decadent!  And look how many ways you can change them up!  You can make so many flavors and add any of your favorite toppings.  Cheesecakes really are very easy to make....don't ever be afraid to make them. And they freeze so well.  I like to give them as gifts or bring them out of the freezer for an elegant dessert for friends and family.  I make these perfect little 6 inch cheesecakes instead of the much bigger ones and there's never any leftovers. I have included a link at the bottom of the recipe so you can find the little ...spring form pans I use in case you're interested.

White Chocolate Cheesecake with Berries

For the crust:
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 sticks salted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a spring form pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

For the cheesecake

1/3 cup whipping cream
1 cup good quality white chocolate chips
3 eight ounce packages ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup whipping cream for cheesecake batter

Over low heat in a small saucepan, heat 1/3 cup of whipping cream until scalding. Stir in the white chocolate until melted. Set aside while you make the rest of the batter.

Cream together cream cheese and sugar until creamy and then add one egg at a time beating well after each one. Add the vanilla extract and the melted chocolate. Finally blend in the 1 cup of whipping cream.

Pour your batter into your prepared crust and bake in a water bath at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes depending on the size of your pan. The cheesecake will be slightly brown around the edges. It will be slightly wobbly just at the center. Allow the cheese cake to cool on a wire rack at room temperature.

When completely cool remove the cheesecake from the spring form pan by running a sharp knife around the outside edge before removing the sides of the pan and then run a knife under the crust to release it from the pan’s bottom. Cover the top with fresh raspberries and drizzle with raspberry glaze.

For the glaze and topping

1/2 cup seedless strawberry jam
1 tablespoon water
strawberries and blueberries for garnish

Place the jam in a small saucepan. Heat the saucepan over low to medium heat on the stove, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add about 1 tablespoon of water and stir constantly over low heat, until the berries begin to break down and the sauce develops a thinner, pourable consistency. Taste and add sugar or a little honey if you want it sweeter. Turn off the heat when the sauce has reached the consistency you desire. Let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes or until it's still thin enough to pour but no longer piping hot. Drizzle over strawberries and blueberries and then store in refrigerator. If the sauce thickens too much, simply reheat it on the stove for a minute or two and allow it to thin.

If you are interested in these little 6 inch spring form pans you can click on this link to find them. Remember, anything you purchase on Amazon through Welcome Home will help me save the lives of dogs and cats who are killed unnecessarily while waiting for their forever homes. Note the Welchome08 in the link.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DIX7U/ref=as_li_ss_sm_fb_us_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=399837&creativeASIN=B0000DIX7U&linkCode=shr&tag=welchome08-20&qid=1378240341&sr=8-1&keywords=6+inch+spring+form+pans