When I think of Valentine’s Day, I always think of the color red, hearts, and, of course, some sort of indulgent dessert.
The holiday is the perfect excuse for me to make one of my all time favorites: a white chocolate raspberry heart swirled cheesecake. It’s pure cheesecake luxury. I love raspberries, cheesecake, white chocolate, and Oreos, so it’s almost a given for me that they should go together to create something amazing. But if you prefer, you can make yours with a graham cracker crust, like the one pictured, and still have an incredibly delicious cheesecake.
If you ask me, this cheesecake would be a great way of letting someone know that you love them. Who wouldn’t rather get a creamy, rich cheesecake instead of roses for a gift? Enjoy, and have a Happy Valentine’s Day!
WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE (serves 8)
Ingredients
- 1 store-bought Oreo or graham cracker crust (wash and save the lid for storage)
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/3 cup cold water
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (no thawing necessary)
- 12 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 Tbsp granulated sugar and cornstarch until well blended. Stir in cold water and add raspberries. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking frequently, until mixture reaches a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow mixture to simmer about 5 minutes, whisking constantly, until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and force sauce through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl to remove seeds. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until combine, about 30 seconds. Mix in egg and egg white. Blend in vanilla and lemon juice. Set mixture aside.
Combine white chocolate chips and cream in microwave safe bowl and heat mixture in microwave on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Add melted chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and blend until smooth. Tap bowl forcefully against counter top several times to release some of the air bubbles (being careful not to splash it).
Pour 2/3 cup cheesecake mixture into the Oreo crust and spread evenly over bottom. Drizzle top with 2 Tbsp raspberry sauce. Slowly ladle remaining cheesecake mixture over the drizzled raspberry sauce, covering all the raspberry sauce (you just don’t want it to show through). Swirl cheesecake with a toothpick (your just swirling the inside layer of sauce for now, be careful not to let the sauce show through). Carefully jiggle the pan to even out the top.
Fill a clean medicine syringe with raspberry sauce. Starting in the center of cheesecake, begin to pipe small circles in a swirl pattern over cheesecake. Again beginning with the center, run a toothpick through the center of each circle to create hearts. Don’t lift the toothpick until you drag through the last circle!
Bake cheesecake for 40 minutes, then turn the oven off and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven and allow to cool. Cover with the lid that came with the crust and refrigerate until fully set, about 6 hours. Top slices with remaining raspberry sauce and optional sweetened whipped cream. Store in refrigerator.
