Do have a special dessert that you make over, and over, and over again? Year, after year, after year?
I have been making this White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake for my husband since before we were married. It is his favorite fancy dessert, and I love making it for him!
This year I made cute little individual cheesecakes, really just because he loves to have leftovers and it’s so much easier to freeze and package these up than big slices of a traditional cheesecake.
And really, everything is cuter itty-bitty sized anyways, right?
Of course I can never leave well enough alone and since he doesn’t love change as much as I do, I decided to only change the size this year instead of the dessert itself. (Usually when I make changes, he says “Aw man! I wanted the regular stuff!”)
This white chocolate raspberry cheesecake is inspired by the famous Cheesecake Factory version, and it is rich, creamy, perfection.
If you have made my original White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake, this version is just a tad-bit quicker and easier too! Perfect for the holiday dessert table, if I do say so myself!
And in this case, there are absolutely no worries about cracks or sunken centers when you bake them… that only leaves all the more room for extra raspberry freezer jam on top!
I don’t have two of either mini-pans or 12-cup muffin pans, so I made one pan of each. I love the variety, but feel free to make 24 bigger cupcake sized, or 48 mini two-biters.
However you size ’em, you’ll be glad you made ’em! (And so will all your family and friends… I promise!)
Ingredients
- 25 oreos, crushed
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 12oz good-quality white chocolate, chopped (best you can find! Must have cocoa butter in it!!)
- 1/2 cup half & half
- 3 (8oz each) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 regular sized Hershey bars, milk or dark chocolate, coarsely chopped, optional
- 2 cups raspberry freezer jam, divided*
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line 2 12-count muffin pans with cupcake liners. In a medium bowl, stir together the finely crushed oreos and melted butter until well mixed. Press about 2 tablespoons of crust mixture firmly into the bottom of each paper-lined muffin tin and bake for 5 minutes, until the crust is set. Remove from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 300ºF and let the crusts cool while you prepare the filling.
In a medium saucepan, heat the half & half to almost simmering. Remove from the heat and stir in the white chocolate until melted and smooth. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure to blend completely after each one. Beat in the vanilla, salt and the melted white chocolate mixture until just combined.
Spoon about 2 tablespoons of cheesecake mixture onto each of the cooled crusts and top with a few chopped up chocolate bits. Dollop a teaspoon or two of raspberry freezer jam on top and then a few more tablespoons of the cheesecake mixture, until the paper liners are almost full.
Place the pans into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is just set.
Remove the cheesecakes from the oven, cool on a cooling rack at room temperature and then transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream just to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth. Dollop a bit more raspberry jam on top of each cheesecake (and this is where any indents on your cheesecakes work to your advantage... fill them up!) Pour the ganache over the top of the cooled cheesecakes, smoothing with a spoon. Return to the fridge to chill an additional 2 hours or until the ganache is shiny and set.
*If you don't have any raspberry freezer jam (most grocery stores carry it in the freezer section!) you can make your own raspberry sauce - click here for the directions on my original cheesecake recipe!
http://sweetannas.com/2013/11/individual-white-chocolate-raspberry-truffle-cheesecakes.htmlHappy Birthday sweet husband of mine. I love you!
