Happy Birthday, Spice!

Spice was gone this weekend visiting her sister. So, I had the kitchen all to myself. And, with Spice's birthday looming, I made her a cheesecake!

I was a bit nervous about this endeavor and researched the heck out of it all last week. First, I couldn't make up my mind what kind of cheesecake to make and then was all nervous if it would turn out. I chose a White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake recipe from the Food Network, that I changed to White Chocolate Blackberry. I also had to add some kind of chocolate in there, which I did for the crust and drizzle on top.

This cheesecake turned out great! The pictures don't do it justice. I liked the blackberry, but I think it would have been better with raspberries. Too bad blackberries were the only ones on sale!

White Chocolate Blackberry Cheesecake
1 cup chocolate teddy grahams, crushed into crumbs
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces fine-quality white chocolate (I used Green&Black)
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups fresh blackberries
Dark chocolate for drizzle

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grind teddy grahams in a food processor, add butter and blend until combined.
Press over the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan.
Bake in oven about 4 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Filling:
Melt chocolate (I used the microwave, nuking for about 20 seconds at a time and then removing to stir). In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy, then beat in sugar. Add whole eggs and yolks and beat well.

Beat in flour and vanilla until combined and then add the melted chocolate and beat until combined.

Arrange berries in 1 layer over the crust and pour filling over the top. Bake until cake is set 3 inches from the edge, about 45 to 55 minutes (mine was done at just about 45 minutes).

Run a thin knife around the edge of cake to loosen. Then cool completely. I stuck mine in the fridge to help it set.