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White Chocolate Cheesecake with Raspberries

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Ingredients
  

For the Graham Crust Base:

  • 1-⅓ cups graham wafer crumbs
  • 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup butter, melted

For the Cheesecake Batter:

  • ⅓ cup whipping cream
  • 1 cup good quality white chocolate chips
  • 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup whipping cream

For the Topping:

  • 3 - 4 cups fresh raspberries
  • ½ cup white chocolate chips, melted, for garnish, optional

Instructions
 

To prepare the graham crust base:

  • In a small bowl, combine the graham crumbs, sugar and melted butter.
  • Press into the bottom of a lightly greased springform pan; grease bottom only.

To prepare the cheesecake:

  • In a double boiler, melt together the ⅓ cup whipping cream and 1 cup of white chocolate chips.
  • You want this just at the melting point, so be careful not to overheat.
  • Let it cool to lukewarm, if necessary, after melting; set aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the cheesecake batter.
  • In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and ½ cup sugar for a few minutes, scraping the bowl often.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Stir in the vanilla extract and melted white chocolate.
  • Finally blend in the 1 cup of whipping cream until smooth.
  • Pour over the prepared base, place in pre-heated oven and bake in a bain marie (see note below) at 325°F for 60 to 70 minutes.
  • The cheesecake may be beginning to lightly brown at the edges but a cheesecake does not need to brown at all to be fully baked.
  • The surface of the cheesecake should lose any shine when the cake is properly baked; it can still be slightly wobbly just at the center at this point.
  • Remove the cake from the oven and run a sharp knife completely around the edge of the pan; this will allow for the cheesecake to shrink as it cools and hopefully not crack.
  • Allow the cheesecake to cool thoroughly, on a wire rack, at room temperature.
  • Be mindful to never put a hot cheesecake into the fridge to cool quickly; this may result in an under baked cheesecake because the residual heat actually continues to set the cheesecake after it comes out of the oven.

To prepare for serving:

  • When completely cool, cover the top with fresh raspberries and garnish with melted white chocolate, if desired.
  • Chill completely in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Notes

A word about baking a cheesecake in a ban marie before starting the recipe. A bain marie is simply a water bath that buffers the direct heat from the sides and bottom of the baking pan to more evenly bake the cheesecake from the sides to the center.
I bake my cheesecakes in a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan that has the bottom and sides wrapped in multiple layers (at least 4) of wide (16-inches) heavy duty aluminum foil which forms a sort of boat that the cheesecake pan sits in.  This ensures water will not leak in and ruin the crust of the cheesecake.
As an extra precaution, there is no harm in wrapping the bottom of the pan in plastic wrap before adding the aluminum foil. The heat is not high enough to melt it and it doesn't come into contact with the cheesecake. 
The aluminum foil wrapped pan is then placed inside a larger baking pan. Boiling water is then poured into the larger pan filling it from ½ to ⅔ of the way to the top.
It is best to pour the boiling water into the pan after it is placed on the rack in the oven; this prevents splashing water onto the cheesecake or inside the aluminum foil.