White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I have only made cheesecake once.  About two years ago, I made a chocolate cheesecake for a friend from Cooking Light.  My mom recently bought me a cheesecake pan from Ross and I have yet to use it.  Mitchell mentioned on our camping trip that he really liked White Chocolate raspberry cheesecake from the Olive Garden.  So I have been meaning to make a cheesecake for multiple reasons for a while now.  So when Mitchell was in town last month, I wanted to make this particular White Chocolate raspberry cheesecake.  I found the recipe by typing White Chocolate raspberry cheesecake from the Olive Garden in google and it was one of the first websites to pop up.  He helped me make this delicious creation. 

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, mix cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar and melted butter until well blended.

3. Press mixture onto the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

To make raspberry sauce:
1. In a medium sauce pan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch and water. Bring to boil.

2. Continue boiling until sauce is thick and clear. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds. Set aside.

To make cake
1. In the top of a double boiler, heat white chocolate chips and half-and-half, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth.

2. Remove from heat and allow to cool to luke warm.

3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

4. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate chips. Pour half of batter over crust.

5. Spoon 3 tablespoons of raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining batter into pan. Spoon another 3 tablespoons of raspberry sauce over the top of the batter. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set.

7. Allow to cool, cover with plastic, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan.

8. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

I have been pondering what learning topic I could choose for this particular recipe.  Cheesecake is a such a different kind of cake that the learning topics span far and wide.  Given the fact that I don't know much about cheesecake, I think a good first topic for cheesecake would be "How do you tell when a cheesecake is done?".  I have made many cakes and now can look at a cake and say DONE!!  This is not so with cheesecake.  While the cake was baking, I looked at it carefully to try to guess whether it was done and all of the tell tale signs were missing.  For example in a regular cake, I look for the following things in no particular order 1) Color change (slightly darker but not burnt)   2) Consistency (lack of gooeyness) 3) Clean fork or toothpick (I don't use this test much instead I check the bounce of the center of the cake with my finger.  If it bounces back, it is done...if it doesn't, it needs more time) .  However, a cheesecake...never really looks done...it is a custard and will never actually pass the consistency or clean fork test for example.  So the best way to tell that it is done is to take the cake a little early out of the oven and gently shake the pan.  The top of the cake should move as a solid piece and the center should still wobble (not soupy) in about a 3 inch circle in the center. 

Overall, I give this cheesecake 3.8 out of 5 stars.  The cake was cooked the right amount of time and tasted good.  The oreo cookie crust was my favorite part.  Who couldn't like an Oreo cookie crust right?  My complaints with the cake though are as follows: 1) Where's the white chocolate taste?  Given the cake's name wouldn't you expect it to taste more like white chocolate...I do!  If I were to make this recipe again, I would include more white chocolate in the cake.   2) Appearance-  The cake just didn't look quite right...the taste wasn't bad but shouldn't I be able to prevent the outside from being higher than the middle?   3) Raspberry seed dilemma- Now this is 100% my fault.  I don't have a strainer...so I skipped the straining step.  I think the raspberry mix-in would have tasted better without seeds.  So my goal is to buy a strainer to have for my next adventure in the kitchen.   Anyways, I served this cake at a BBQ in the backyard with Mitchell and it was well received.  I just think I could do better next time.  Happy Baking!