Meg DeWolf's Incredibly Delicious
White Chocolate Cheesecake
© Meg DeWolf

This is a sinfully delicious cheesecake that's also amazingly easy to make, especially if you have a food processor. But beware! Even if you use the substitutions I've mentioned, this is NOT a dietetic dessert!

Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups crushed chocolate cookies (the least expensive kind, without the frosting)
• 2 tablespoons melted butter (or more, as needed to make the crushed cookies packable)*

Mix the crushed cookies and melted butter, then tamp the mixture down firmly in the bottom of a springform pan. Refrigerate this while you make the filling. If you have a food processor, the easiest way to mix the cookies and butter thoroughly is to first crush the cookies with it, then add the melted butter and let the food processor mix it for a few seconds.

Filling:

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) of cream cheese (Philadelphia brand makes a good lower-calorie imitation cream cheese that works well in this recipe; use the foil- wrapped bars rather than the tubs)
• 3 eggs (or equivalent egg substitute)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 8 ounces (1 cup) whipping cream
• 12 ounces white chocolate chips (these can be found in the baking section of the supermarket, near the semi-sweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cocoanut, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons butter*

*"I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" makes an imitation margarine that's a little lower in calories and does well in this recipe.

Melt the chocolate chips with butter in a microwave or double boiler. (In the microwave, melt the mixture for one minute at half power, stir, then melt for 30 seconds more, stir, and keep repeating if necessary.) IMPORTANT: White chocolate melts quickly and burns quickly.

Mix all the other ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add the white chocolate/butter mixture and mix until smooth. Pour the batter onto the cookie crust in the springform pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes (with another pan, with water in it, on the rack beneath the rack you put the cake on).

When the cheesecake is done (it will still look wet in the center), turn the oven off and crack the oven door open four inches or so, and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another half an hour. Then cool the cake on a rack and refrigerate overnight. Serve with raspberry sauce if you wish.

Raspberry Sauce (optional, but tastes divine!):

• 1 package (box) frozen raspberries in syrup
• 1/3 cup currant jelly
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Drain raspberries and add enough water to the liquid to make 3/4 cup of liquid. Put this liquid and the jelly and the cornstarch in a saucepan and heat until the jelly is melted and the sauce is thickened. Take off heat. Add the raspberries, stir, and refrigerate sauce (it will be about 2 to 2 1/2 cups) until everything is ready to serve.