When I was a very
young girl, my parents took me to a double feature; we saw “The Odd Couple” with Jack Lemmon and
Walter Matthau, and “Barefoot in the Park” with Jane Fonda and
Robert Redford. It was this young movie lover's idea of bliss. Both were family
films, funny, sweet, poignant, and not without a strong message or two. I can
still remember, and have often quoted, something Jane Fonda's free spirit
character said to Robert Redford's stuffed shirt character. I'm paraphrasing,
but she said that there are “watchers” and “doers” in this world, “You watched,” she told him, “and I did.” I have carried
this with me all of these years, marveling at the truth in something seemingly
so simple. I come from a family of doers. So much so that my dad has the
remarkable ability to anticipate whatever it was that we needed or wanted before we even knew that we needed
or wanted it. Mr. O-P, it would seem, comes from a family of watchers.
It began two weeks when ago when I announced that, after a ten-year hiatus, I
was going to make my white chocolate cheesecake. Mr. O-P was agreeable and
during one of his tri-weekly trips to the market bought the ingredients that I
needed. At the same time, much to my surprise, he said that he had
planned to make his cheesecake and bought all of the ingredients for
it as well. Huh.
His cheesecake is excellent, and I could certainly use the extra time,
so I waited for him to make his, busying myself with other matters. And I
waited. And I waited. And I waited. I had planned, you see, to visit my dad and
take some cheesecake to him, so I needed an actual rather than mythical
cheesecake. On my fourth day as lady-in-waiting, my computer crashed (my
second crashed computer this year), so a visit to my dad (who, yes, can repair
computers as well) became more immediate. I pulled out my cheesecake
ingredients and set to work. A little over an hour later, a cheesecake sat
cooling on the counter.
Mr. O-P was perplexed. He told me, yet again, that he was going to make a
cheesecake, wherein I explained that his had become more legendary than actual,
and that I'd needed one now. My cheesecake is very good, but it is also, apparently, a
powerful motivator because the next day Mr. O-P's cheesecake sat cooling on the
counter in the same spot previously occupied by mine.
Here is my recipe. Come back tomorrow for his and make your own decision.
White Chocolate Cheesecake
Crust:
1 package Famous Chocolate Wafers
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Filling:
Crust:
1 package Famous Chocolate Wafers
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Filling:
3 extra-large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
12 ounces white chocolate, melted*
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
To make crust:
Place the chocolate wafers into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until they are completely pulverized. Add sugar and nutmeg, and pulse to blend. With the motor running, slowly pour melted better in through the top tube, and continue to run until thoroughly combined. Press mixture into the bottom and about an inch up the sides of a 9” springform pan. Set aside.
To make filling:
In the work bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs until blended. Slowly pour in sugar, beating all the while. Stop mixer and add softened cream cheese, and beat first at low speed until blended, and then at high speed until smooth and creamy, 2-4 minutes. Blend in melted white chocolate, vanilla, salt, and sour cream. Pour into crust, spreading evenly. Bake for 1 hour or until set. Do not over bake. Cool in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight. Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired. Refrigerate until chocolate is set. Serve.
*If you would like to decorate your cheesecake with drizzled melted white chocolate, as I did mine, you will need two additional ounces of white chocolate, melted.
1 cup granulated sugar
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
12 ounces white chocolate, melted*
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
To make crust:
Place the chocolate wafers into the work bowl of a food processor, and pulse until they are completely pulverized. Add sugar and nutmeg, and pulse to blend. With the motor running, slowly pour melted better in through the top tube, and continue to run until thoroughly combined. Press mixture into the bottom and about an inch up the sides of a 9” springform pan. Set aside.
To make filling:
In the work bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs until blended. Slowly pour in sugar, beating all the while. Stop mixer and add softened cream cheese, and beat first at low speed until blended, and then at high speed until smooth and creamy, 2-4 minutes. Blend in melted white chocolate, vanilla, salt, and sour cream. Pour into crust, spreading evenly. Bake for 1 hour or until set. Do not over bake. Cool in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight. Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired. Refrigerate until chocolate is set. Serve.
*If you would like to decorate your cheesecake with drizzled melted white chocolate, as I did mine, you will need two additional ounces of white chocolate, melted.
This post is linked to:
3 comments:
Loved the reminder of those movies. :) Your cheesecake looks insanely good. Will you take a slice of Mr OP's to your Dad and let him decide which is best?
Oh my goodness, what a wonderful thing to look at so early in the day! I haven't met a cheesecake I didn't like.
Have a great week, Pattie.
I must admit I am more of a chocolate than a raspberry fan, and wow does your cheesecake ever look good! Your husband's looks good too, so I might just have to do my own taste test!! By the way, I signed up to follow you a while ago, but for some reason I'm not getting them, so I've made a note to remind myself to check in and also check my spam, sorry Pattie!
Jenna
Post a Comment