White Chocolate Cheesecake

• one chocolate crust
• 4 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• • 3 eggs

• • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Directions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Wrap the outside of a 10 inch springform pan with foil. Grease the inside of the pan.
• Place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour in a mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape bowl.
• Melt 4 ounces of the white chocolate. With an electric mixer on low speed, mix melted white chocolate into cream cheese mixture. Keeping electric mixer on low, slowly beat in the vanilla and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Blend well. Pour mixture into the prepared springform pan.
• Place cheesecake pan in a water bath filled with warm water. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 50 to 60 minutes, or until center of the cheesecake is just firm. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate until set before removing from pan.

Christina's Cheesecake with Lemon Curd

from Epicurious

* 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
* 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For crust

* 1 1/3 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (5 oz)
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling

* 3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
* 1 cup sugar
* 3 large eggs
* 3/4 cup sour cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla

* Accompaniment: blueberries (optional)

Make lemon curd:
Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 6 minutes.

Force lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a wide shallow dish, scraping bottom of sieve, then cover surface with wax paper. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Make and bake crust:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide cake off bottom), then lock on side. 3Stir together crust ingredients in a bowl, then press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of springform pan. Place springform pan in a shallow baking pan and bake 10 minutes, then cool crust completely in springform pan on a rack.

Make filling and bake cheesecake:
Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until combined.

Pour two thirds of cream cheese filling into crust, then spoon half of lemon curd over filling and swirl curd into filling with a small knife. (Avoid touching crust with knife to prevent crumbs getting into filling.) Repeat with remaining filling and curd.

Bake cheesecake until set 1 1/2 inches from edge but center trembles when pan is gently shaken, about 45 minutes. (Center of cake will appear very loose but will continue to set as it cools.) Transfer springform pan to a rack and immediately run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen. Cool completely, about 2 hours, then chill, uncovered, at least 4 hours. Remove side of springform pan before serving.

Lorri's Andes Marbled Mint Cheesecake

Andes Marbled Mint Cheesecake – Lorri Slaugh
Crust:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1/3 cup sugar.

Combine ingredients. Press evenly in bottom of 9” Spring form pan lined with wax paper. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped Andes mints (about 6-1/2 oz.)
2 tbsp water
2 lbs cream cheese, softened (about 4 – 8 oz bricks)
1 3/4 cups sugar.
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs

In a double boiler, melt Andes mints in 2 tbsp water. Cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add extracts and beat together. Scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one by one, scraping bowl each time. Beat until smooth. Reserving 2 cups of cream cheese batter, pour remainder into crust. Add reserved batter to melted chocolate, whisking quickly so it doesn’t set up. Let chocolate mixture on top of the cheesecake batter in shape of a cross. To marble, scoop some white batter over the chocolate in a few spots. Then, holding a knife vertically, gently swirl together. Place pan on baking sheet. Pour 6 cups boiling water into sheet pan to create water bath. Bake at 325° 50-60 minutes, or until edges begin to color. (Center may jiggle.) Cool at room temperature, chill overnight.

Christina's Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

from Smitten Kitchen

Part One: One Bowl Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate (or 3/4 C cocoa powder plus 1/4 C butter)
¾ cup butter
1¾ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.
Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minute or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles.
Cool brownies in refrigerator, then cut them into ¾- to 1-inch squares for use in the cheesecake. You will have more than the two cups of cubes, loosely measured, than you will need, and I’m sorry, you’re just going to have to decide for yourself what to do with the extra. Add cubes to cake batter as directed below.

Part Two: Crumb Crust
1½ cups or 5 ounces finely ground cookies like Chocolate Teddy Grahams
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter springform pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

Part Three: Cheesecake
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar

Make crumb crust as directed above for 24-centimeter cheesecake. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make filling and bake cake: Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
Fold brownie cubes in very gently and pour mixture into prepared pan. Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken.
When completely cool, top with following glaze.

Part Four: Ganache Glaze
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken up, or 1/2 cup chocolate morsels
2 oz. butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

Grind the chocolate into powder in the food processor, scald the butter and cream in a saucepan (or in a Pyrex cup in the microwave). With the machine running, pour the hot cream/butter mixture slowly through the feed tube onto the chocolate. Blend until completely smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides once or twice. Add the extract and sugar and process until smooth. Spread over cheesecake while ganache is still warm. Chill until ready to serve.