White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I love cheesecake but I don’t have it very often because its usually pretty rich.

P1080423 — White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

When I lived in Seattle, I used to go to a place called Cash & Carry which was on Leary St NW in the Ballard neighborhood. They had wonderful boxed cheesecakes there and I would bring one home every now and again when I had company over.

Recently we went to the Olive Garden and were going to try their white chocolate raspberry cheesecake but decided it was too expensive. I told my son that I would make him one at home.

So — here’s my first homemade cheesecake.

Ingredients

(For the crust)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened

(For the filling)

3 packages (8 ouncesÂ each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cupÂ sugar
1/3 cupÂ sour cream
3 tablespoonsÂ all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 packageÂ (10 to 12 ounces) white baking chips
1/4 cupÂ seedless raspberry jam

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, the sugar and the butter. Press this mixture onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan then set this aside.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. To this mixture, add the sour cream, flour and vanilla and beat this together.
Add the eggs then beat everything together on low speed just until combined.
Fold in the chips.
Pour this mixture over the crust.
In a microwave, melt the raspberry jam then stir it until its smooth. Drop the jam by teaspoonfuls over the filling batter and cut through the batter with a knife to give it a swirly look.
Place the springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square) then securely wrap the foil around the pan. Place this in a large baking pan. Add 1 inch of hot water to the larger pan.
Bake at 325Â° for 80-85 minutes or until the center of the filling is just set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan.