Great Date Night Recipe Part 3 of 3!!!
Ooh child...This week has been hectic, including my computer crashing twice. ARGH! Anyway, sorry about the week without an update, I'll make it up when I get back from Chicago, with pictures.
So on to dessert...my favorite meal, though I need to stop eating it so much. One of the other problems with dessert is that it is expensive for something that is usually bad for you. Oh well... The recipe I'm going to give you is for a white chocolate cheesecake with a chocolate sauce. The white chocolate is very subtle, yet amazing, and the chocolate sauce adds a extra kick for those chocolate lovers.
White Chocolate Cheesecake w/ Chocolate Sauce
3 tsp. organic vanilla
1 lb soft organic cream cheese
1/2 lb créme fraîche
1/2 lb organic white chocolate
4 whole organic large eggs
butter or oil (you guessed it...organic)
1 package of Oreo cookie crumbs
1/2 lb organic semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup of organic whipping cream
You can buy the organic chocolate either at a local store, such as the People's Co-op, or online: here is some more reading on making a "perfect cheesecake."
To make the cheesecake first let all of your ingredients to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 300F. Take a cup of the Oreo cookie crumbs and mix it with 3 tsp of melted butter, then put into the bottom of a 9 inch pan, preferably a springform pan. Press the cookie crumbs and butter into the bottom of the pan with your fingers or the back of a spoon and make sure the bottom is covered with cookie crumbs. This part isn't an exact science, just use as much cookie crumbs and butter as needed. Beat the cream cheese in a bowl using a mixer on the lowest setting. Beat until smooth, then while still beating add the eggs one by one, along with 2 tsp. of vanilla. The key here is to beat the eggs and cream cheese as little as possible. Use either a double boiler, or the microwave to melt the white chocolate. Make sure to check the chocolate often so it doesn't burn. Once the white chocolate is completely melted fold the créme fraîche into it. Once incorporated, fold this mixture into the cream cheese and eggs.
Grease the sides of your pan with butter or oil, then pour the cream cheese mixture into your pan. Bang the pan down on a hard surface a couple times to remove any air bubbles. At this point you can either put it into the oven as is, or use a water bath to make sure there are no cracks in the cheesecake. Cook the cheesecake until the center wobbles and the top is golden brown. If it doesn't color, just make sure the center inch or two are all that wobble. It took my cheesecake 1:15 to cook, but I used a water bath which is slower.
You must let the cheesecake cool in a fridge for several hours, to firm up before cutting and serving. To make the chocolate sauce heat the organic semisweet chocolate chips and whipping cream over very low heat in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring continually until smooth, stir in vanilla. When you cut the cheesecake, if you want perfect edges, heat up your knife and wet it a bit before cutting. Serve a slice of cheesecake with the chocolate sauce, and your date will be stunned with the finish. Then surprise him/her even more and let them know mostly all of the meal was organic or local!