White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Really enjoying Kraft's cheesecakes recipes. They are so simple and fast to make, and they taste delicious! The White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake is so yummy! The recipe called for an Oreo pie crust, but I couldn't find a pre-made one and I didn't feel like making my own, so I just used a chocolate pie crust. I do think however, that the Oreo pie crust would have been much more rich...there is something about Oreo and raspberry together that is soooo good! Like my Chocolate Raspberry Tarts...yum-o! Anyways, on with the recipe!

Cheesecake with swirls prior to baking.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake (adapted from Kraft Recipes.com)

Ingredients

• 2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 Eggs
• 3 squares Baker's White Chocolate, melted
• 1 Chocolate Pie Crust (6 oz.)
• 3 Tbsp. Raspberry seedless preserves
  

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt chocolate in microwavable bowl, in microwave for 20 secs. Stir and microwave an additional 15 secs until melted, stirring in between. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended. Stir in chocolate. Pour into crust.
3. Microwave preserves in small bowl on HIGH 15 sec. or until melted. Dot top of cheesecake with small spoonfuls of preserves; swirl gently with knife.
4. Bake 35 to 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Enjoy and store leftovers in refrigerator.

-amanda

Sherbet Trio

I have been dreaming about this delicious trio of sherbet for quite some time and I finally had the time to make it happen. How yummy does this look?! And pretty too. :o)
I was originally going to make sorbets, but decided that sherbet would be so much better because of the creaminess, and boy are they delish! The trio consists of strawberry, raspberry and orange. Enjoy!!

Top to Bottom: Raspberry, Orange, Strawberry

Strawberry Sherbet (from Delish)

• 3 cups hulled strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. In a food processor, puree fruit until smooth. Press the mixture through a strainer to remove seeds if desired. Sweeten the puree with sugar until desired sweetness achieved.
2. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Best when served immediately. Can be stored in freezer; leave out for 10-15 minutes to soften before scooping and serving.

Raspberry Sherbet (from Simply Cooking, Originally from David Lebovitz's, The Perfect Scoop)

• 4 cups raspberries
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1½ tsp. lemon juice
• food processor
• ice cream maker

1. Puree the berries, milk and sugar until smooth
2. Strain to remove the seeds
3. Stir in the lemon juice
4. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker

Orange Sherbet (from Food Loves Writing)

• 7 ounces sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups orange juice
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups very cold whole milk
  

1. In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the milk, and process until the sugar is dissolved, approximately 1 minute.
   
2. Transfer this mixture to a mixing bowl, and whisk in the milk.
   
3. Cover the bowl, and place in the refrigerator until the mixture reaches 40 degrees F or below, approximately 1 hour.
4. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process until it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream. You may serve immediately or put in a container and place in freezer until firm, approximately 3 hours.

The orange sherbet is so refreshing and delicious, the only part that bummed me out is that it turned out yellow instead of orange. The raspberry is the next best, nice and creamy. The strawberry is good as well, just not as creamy. It's a little more icy. All in all I am very happy with the results!

All packed up and ready to be delivered to someone special!

-amanda

Chocolate Raspberry Tarts

I found this recipe on the Food Network site and could not wait to try it. The recipe yields 6 regular muffin size tarts, but I thought that would be too much richness for one person. I ended up making two in the large size so I could put a raspberry in the center like the recipe calls for and then made 12 mini ones as well.

Overall, I didn't think they were sweet enough. I wish now that I would have used semi-sweet chocolate instead of bittersweet.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (I used Oreos)
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 recipe Dark Chocolate Truffle mixture, recipe below
• 6 fresh raspberries, plus extra for serving

Mix together the chocolate wafer crumbs and melted butter. Spray the cups of a 6-muffin tins (or mini tins if you choose) with a vegetable spray. Line the cups with strips of parchment or waxed paper, cut so that they are as wide as the diameter of each cup and long enough to overhang the sides (you'll need this overhang to remove the tarts).

Use the bottom of a small glass (I used the back of a measuring table spoon for the minis) to press the crumbs over the bottom and sides of the muffin cups, building the sides up. Place a raspberry in the center of each crust and with a pastry bag fill the tarts with the truffle mixture. Smooth the tops and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Dark Chocolate Truffle Mixture:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces good-quality (70 percent) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a saucepan, bring the cream just to a simmer over low heat. stir to avoid getting a skin on the cream. Pour the cream over the chocolate in a bowl and let stand about 10 minutes to melt the chocolate. (I had to put mine in the microwave for about 15 secs or so because it was still chunky.) Add the vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Then beat the chocolate at medium speed until it gets thick and light colored.

-amanda