Adventures in Baking: White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

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     I am very excited about today's post, but there has been some adventure along the way (I will get to that later).  The reason I'm excited is because...well...it's about cheesecake!  I love cheesecake!!  The other thing that is exciting for me is that I was able to use eggs that came straight from the farm.  I know for some of you that may not be a big deal, but my eggs always come to me from the grocery store, with no idea of where they actually came from.

     So...you may be wondering how I happened upon these truly farm fresh eggs.  Here's the story...stay with me.  My daughter, Kelly, has a boyfriend, Graham.  Graham's grandparents have a farm in Wisconsin and last weekend, he and Kelly went to visit them.  His grandma has chickens and they also have miniature ponies, along with giant Clydesdales, a peacock, their own rooster and a neighbor's rooster that they are fostering (and apparently roosters are territorial and they weren't playing nice).  So visiting the farm is quite an adventure for Kelly, who is very much a "city girl".  On this visit, Graham's grandma was kind enough to send home a dozen of her straight from the chicken, eggs.

My truly farm fresh eggs.  Don't worry, I washed them before I used them!

     Now...back to cheesecake.  This is where the adventure comes in.  First of all, let me just say, before you make something, make sure you have carefully read the recipe, including the amount of each ingredient needed.  Let's just say I didn't do that, on two counts.  My first mistake was that I changed the crust and didn't do a very good job of calculating what amount of chocolate cookies I would need in place of the graham crackers and almonds that were in the original.  So when I put the crust mixture into the pan, I quickly realized I didn't have enough.....So I had to grind up more cookies and mix in, crisis averted.

     My second mistake was that I only had half as much white chocolate as I needed.  The only thing I could do about that was to make the cheesecake with half as much white chocolate.  I think it will be fine, but I definitely recommend putting in the full 8 ounces of white chocolate.

     My third mistake was, I didn't bake it quite long enough.  At 38 minutes, it really looked like it was done, so I took it out because I didn't want it to get dry.  Well, when I cut into it I discovered it was a little too soft in the center.  But the good news is, it still tastes great!

     Finally, before I get to the recipe, if you're going to try this, PLEASE learn from my mistakes and it will turn out perfectly for you !!
    

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Adapted from the Food Network

• 3 cups chocolate sandwich cookies
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 8 oz white chocolate
• 4 -8oz packages cream cheese, softened (I used 2 regular and 2 reduced fat)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
• 4 whole large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups raspberries (I used a 12 oz bag of frozen)

Make crust:  Place cookies in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Then add butter and blend until combined.

Place in a 10-inch springform pan and press over the bottom and part-way up the side of the pan.

Make filling:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth, and remove from heat.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy.

Add sugar and beat in.

Add whole eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, beating well at low speed and scraping down the bowl after each addition.

Beat in the flour and vanilla until just combined.

Add melted chocolate beating until well combined.

If using frozen raspberries, make sure they are well drained.  Arrange berries in 1 layer over crust and pour filling into crust.

Place pan on a cookie sheet and bake in the middle of the oven until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still wobbly when pan is gently shaken, 45-55 minutes.

Run a thin knife around the edge of cake to loosen, then coll completely in pan on a rack (cake will continue to set as it cools.  Serve at room temperature or chilled
May be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered

ENJOY!