PERFECT Baked White Chocolate Cheesecake (With Raspberry Puree)

Creamy, not too sweet, and SO easy to make from scratch, this is the VERY BEST baked white chocolate cheesecake! The 2-ingredient ginger cookie crust compliments the rich and smooth white chocolate filling perfectly, and it looks great topped with fresh raspberries and a super simple raspberry puree.

Make this (ahead!) for your next special occasion, and everyone will be impressed!

Why you’ll love it

For easy, hassle free entertaining, this delicious creamy white chocolate cheesecake recipe is one of my favorite desserts!

Since it needs around 4 hours to set in the fridge, you have to bake it ahead, leaving you more time to concentrate on the main course. Or, even better, enjoying the company of your guests!

With luxurious tasting ginger cookies on the base and both fresh raspberries and puree on top, this is a show stopper of a dessert. But no one will believe it was so quick and easy to make. It’s a baked New York style cheesecake, but… no water bath necessary!

This is so perfect for a holiday such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, a romantic Valentine’s day dinner… or any special occasions!

About the ingredients

For the delicious ginger cookie (biscuit) crust (2 ingredients).

Ginger cookies/biscuits: You might find these called ginger snaps, ginger nuts or ginger cookies or biscuits. These are all the same thing and make a delicious cheesecake crust! Ginger thins will work too. If you would rather use something else, simple graham crackers/digestive biscuits make a good alternative. Or how about Oreos or Biscoff cookies instead?

Melted butter: Unsalted or salted butter will both work.

For the cheesecake mixture (6 ingredients).

White chocolate: Whether you choose a bar of chocolate, chocolate chips, chocolate chunks or chocolate wafers, use a good quality white chocolate that contains a high cocoa butter percentage (at least 33%). White chocolate can be slightly trickier to melt than other types, so it helps to start with good quality chocolate.

Cream cheese: Use full fat cream cheese such as Philadelphia. Don’t be tempted to buy low-fat. It’s rich and creamy all the way with this recipe!

Mascarpone cheese: This is a smooth, velvety and slightly tangy Italian cream cheese. It tastes like a cross between cream cheese and heavy cream. It works so well in this recipe for extra creaminess! You should be able to find it in the packaged cheese aisle or at the deli counter in the supermarket. If not, try a European style deli.

Still struggling? Either French style crème fraîche or a mixture of more cream cheese and heavy cream can be good substitutes for mascarpone cheese.

Eggs: You’ll need two large eggs.

Heavy cream: Heavy cream, double cream, or thickened cream will all work well with the white chocolate and cheeses for a super creamy white chocolate baked cheesecake result! If you like, you can substitute some or all of the heavy cream for sour cream for a slightly more tangy flavor.

Vanilla extract or essence: Just a teaspoon for a hint of vanilla flavor.

For the raspberry puree (3 ingredients):

Raspberries: If they’re in season, use fresh raspberries. If not, frozen raspberries are fine!

Confectioners’ sugar (powdered/icing sugar): Just a tablespoon. This sauce is not too sweet, making it the perfect companion to the sweet and creamy cheesecake.

Lemon juice: Again, just a little, to enhance the tangy raspberry flavor.

How to make a baked white chocolate cheesecake

For a long time I assumed baked cheesecakes were tricky to make, but most of the time they’re actually very easy. And definitely when the recipe is as simple as this one (no water bath!).

The ‘trickiest’ part of this baked white chocolate cheesecake recipe is knowing when it’s cooked, and letting it cool slowly so it doesn’t crack.

But really, who cares if it does crack, or the middle sinks a little? Not me! The delicious raspberry puree will cover a multitude of sins!

The step-by-step guide below should help you make the recipe perfectly first time. Scroll down to the end for the full recipe including ingredient amounts.

The first thing to do is to prepare the simple ginger cookie crust. It really is as easy as melting the butter, then mixing it with finely crushed cookie crumbs in a food processor.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can easily do this the old fashioned way. Just pile the cookies into a plastic food bag and hit the bag with a rolling pin. It can be very satisfying if you’re having a frustrating day!

Once you’ve combined the crumbs with the melted butter, smooth them into a prepared loose-bottomed/springform pan lined with a circle of baking paper.

Then you’ll want to refrigerate the crust for at least half an hour.

Next, make the cheesecake mixture. At this point, I usually begin preheating the oven, too.

All you have to do is whisk the eggs into the mascarpone cheese and cream cheese. I usually use an electric hand-held whisk for this.

When the mixture is smooth, whisk in the melted white chocolate and vanilla essence as well.

Then pour the mixture over the chilled cookie base and smooth. That’s it – ready for the oven!

Bake the cheesecake for 40 to 45 minutes, until it’s set and lightly golden around the edges but still a little wobbly in the middle. Don’t worry, this isn’t as tricky as it might sound!

Now here’s the clever part… at this point, switch the oven off and slightly open the door. Leave the cheesecake INSIDE the oven for about an hour. Then take it out and let it cool completely before popping it in the fridge to set completely, preferably overnight.

The raspberry puree (otherwise known as a ‘raspberry coulis’) is super easy to make, as well. All you do is heat raspberries in a pan with the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice for a couple of minutes until the fruit starts to break down.

Then you blend the mixture in a food processor until you have a puree!

How to serve

I always serve this as a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake, with both fresh raspberries and the raspberry puree on the top.

If you’ve used frozen raspberries, however, feel free to skip the whole raspberries on top. You could serve with a little whipped cream instead, or with just the raspberry puree.

If I’m feeling particularly fancy, I sometimes decorate the top of each slice with one or two fresh mint leaves!

Top tip: The classic way to serve a baked cheesecake is at room temperature, so feel free to take it out of the fridge half an hour to an hour before slicing and serving. My favorite way to serve this, however, is straight out of the fridge!

Variations

There are several ways you can make this recipe your own. Here are some ideas:

Switch out the fruit! Add sliced peaches (peach melba!) on top of the raspberry puree, or consider fresh cherries and cherry pie filling, or blueberries and blueberry compote (or any fruit compote) and skip the raspberries altogether.

Another favorite of mine is canned passionfruit puree, or real passionfruit pulp if you’re lucky enough to find the actual fruit. We just planted a passionfruit vine so I’m hopeful for the future in this regard!

Use milk or dark chocolate instead of white. It will still be a baked chocolate cheesecake… just not white. It will still go perfectly with raspberries, so give it a try!

Experiment with different cookies for the base. My top suggestions are Oreo cookies or a basic Graham Cracker crust. But almost any kind of packaged cookies (biscuits) will work. how about Biscoff cookies for something completely different? You can even mix a few crushed nuts such as pistachios or walnuts into the crumbs if you’re feeling very fancy!

Rather not turn on the oven? You might prefer this no bake white chocolate and ginger cheesecake instead!

Recipe FAQ

In case you’re interested… I wrote a separate article all about the 5-minute raspberry puree. It’s more versatile than you might think!

More easy make ahead desserts

• This 6-ingredient gooey Swedish chocolate cake (kladdkaka) is a hugely popular recipe around here for very good reason!

• This easy Italian apple cake (torta di mele) is a classy-but-easy winner every time.

• You can quite literally make these 5 minute chocolate pots in… 5 minutes!

• Another cheesecake, but this time it’s a show-stopping San Sebastian cheesecake (Basque ‘burnt’ cheesecake).

Or see all my easy desserts.

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