White chocolate cheesecake fulfills sweet tooth craving

When I first met my husband more than 30 years ago, chocolate was not his favorite. He could take it or leave it. I’ve since changed his mind.

But now he’s been told he needs to eliminate caffeine — and chocolate contains caffeine.

He’s transitioned to decaf cold brewed tea in place of his morning coffee and we are exploring new flavors of ice cream, but he had been looking forward to the fudge truffle cheesecake I had planned for today’s column.

Fortunately, white chocolate does not contain caffeine and white chocolate is actually his favorite, so I made a few changes.

I found several recipes, but decided to modify the recipe I had since I already had the ingredients on hand.

We were not disappointed! This cheesecake was smooth and creamy, not too sweet and with a wonderful texture.

The only problem I had was with my crust sticking to the pan, but as my stepdaughter said, who eats cheesecake for the crust?

It was declared a success! Next time I’ll line the pan with parchment paper.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer or

graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup melted butter

Filling

2 cups white chocolate chips, melted 3 packages of cream cheese softened to room temperature 1 can of sweetened condensed milk 4 eggs 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract *** Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Mix the crumbs and butter and press into the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch Springform pan which has been lined with parchment paper. Set aside. (May chill if desired) In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy. Beat in the sweetened condensed milk and blend until smooth. Melt the chocolate either over a double boiler, or by heating 15-20 seconds at a time in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring between heatings, until all the chips are melted and the chocolate is smooth.

Add the chocolate, eggs and vanilla to the cream cheese and milk mixture, beat with the electric mixer on low until everything is blended and smooth. Lumps will not cook out!

Place the well-mixed filling into the Springform pan with the crumb crust.

Bake for 55 minutes for a 9-inch pan, or about 70 minutes for an 8-inch pan. The center will still be a little jiggly when done.

Turn the oven off and prop the door open slightly, keeping the cake inside for about an hour. It will continue to cook. If you’ve used the 8-inch pan and the center looks like it is sinking as it cools, turn the oven on for another 5-10 minutes, then continue the cooling process.

Remove from the oven and chill for at least three hours, or overnight before removing the outer ring of the pan.

If the crust sticks, slide a very sharp knife under the cheesecake to serve.

Top with fresh berries or your favorite topping.

Christine Haines is a retired reporter and a culinary enthusiast who collects recipes from around the world and throughout historic time periods, often adding her own twist to an old tradition. She encourages her readers to cook adventurously.