White Chocolate Lemon Cheesecake w/Blueberry Sauce

                                                      Refreshing & Delicious

I've been wanting to make another cheesecake and of course it's the most fun when it's a new and different one, so I went on a cheesecake hunt and found this one in a Taste of Home Magazine from several years ago. I would never really have thought of combining lemon and white chocolate but the combo intrigued me and I decided to add the blueberry sauce because I like the colors and flavors together. Another feature that drew me in about this one was the shortbread crust. mmmmm, lemon and shortbread! Can't go wrong there! It turned out perfectly delicious! I will definitely make this one again!

For the crust:

1¼ cups all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
½ cold unsalted butter

For the cheesecake:

4 packages (8 ounces each)
cream cheese, room temp.
1¼ cups sugar
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs, room temp.
10 ounces white chocolate, melted
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Place a 9 inch Springform pan on a double thickness of heavy duty foil and wrap securely around the pan; set on a baking sheet and set aside. ( I think I'll consider skipping the foil the next time since I didn't water bath bake this one.)
In a small bowl, combine the flour, powdered sugar, and lemon peel;cut in butter until crumbly. If you have been reading my blog for a while you will know the trick to making this step easy. I always grate the cold butter into the flour mixture

and then use a pastry cutter to achieve the crumbles.

Makes this step SO easy!

Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan.

 Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cream, and vanilla until well blended.

 Add eggs one at a time

 beating only until blended after each addition. Scrape down sides as needed for even mixing.

 DO NOT OVER BEAT!! If you do you have reason to anticipate a cracked finished product.

 Stir in white chocolate and lemon peel.

Pour into crust and spread evenly.

Here I deviated from the original when it called for a water bath bake. I don't like to do that and have found that setting the Springform pan on a baking sheet and baking the cheesecake at a lower temperature and allowing cooling time IN the oven with the door propped open works just fine and you don't have the water hassle.

This is what I did; remove the foil from the pan, set pan on a baking sheet and bake at 300° for 65-70 minutes. Turn oven off, prop door open with a wooden spoon handle and allow to cool IN the oven for another 60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for ten minutes on a wire rack then carefully slide a sharp knife around the edges to loosen the cake part that isn't in the crust. This also helps to avoid the unsightly cracks that sometimes occur. Allow to cool completely then cover with a smooth dish towel and refrigerate over night or until thoroughly chilled.

Remove from the pan, garnish and serve with Blueberry Sauce.

For the Sauce:
12 ounces frozen blueberries
2 cups water

Clear jel or cornstarch
enough water to dilute

1/3 cup sugar
1 cup fresh blueberries

Heat water and blueberries until berries are soft. Put through a sieve, reserving juice and discarding pulp.

Return juice to a saucepan and add sugar. Return to a boil . Meanwhile mix and clear jel or cornstarch with enough water to dilute and stir until until smooth. When liquid comes to a boil slowly add the cornstarch/clear jel mixture, whisking until smooth. Add fresh blueberries and stir gently.

 Cool completely undisturbed to avoid breaking the berry skins. Enjoy!

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