Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake

Rich, decadent cheesecake with a lemony scent, mixed with melted chocolate to make it even creamier.

Since the combination of lemon and white chocolate was such a hit in these cookies, I’ve decided it’s time to try a new dessert with these two ingredients. After a long time of deep thought (around 3 minutes), I finally decided that cheesecake would be the perfect choice.

I’ve tried plenty of white chocolate cheesecakes before, and they’re always so good! The white chocolate makes the creamy dessert even creamier, creating a wonderful texture, and since the chocolate is sweet, the result is a less tangy cheesecake. Thus in this recipe, the addition of lemon simply makes it perfect.

I don’t know about you, but I love my cheesecakes rich, so in addition to cream cheese and white chocolate, I added heavy cream to the batter. If you’re on a diet, just run away as soon as you can – this cheesecake won’t be doing you any favors.

Instead of making a tall, round cheesecake (that usually uses doubles the amount of ingredients required), I like to bake my cheesecakes in a square pan and serve them as bars. I’ve found that it’s much easier that way! For the crust, I almost always use crushed wafers or cookies that I mix with melted butter. Why bother with anything else? It’s the best crust ever, especially if we’re talking about Oreos! Just try this snickers cheesecake and you’ll understand what I mean.

I also prefer to bake my cheesecakes at a lower temperature than the standard 350F/180C degrees. A cheesecake’s texture suffers in high heat, so it’s best to bake it at a lower temperature for a longer time. If you’ve ever seen a recipe for cheesecake that suggests using a waterbath, that’s the reason why: it cooks the cake at the perfect temperature while also keeping it moist. Since I want to make your life a bit easier, I suggest baking this dessert at 300F for about 45 minutes – no waterbath needed.

While baking, remember to never wait until the center is set; it should still be slightly wet and wobbly when you take it out. If it’s already set, that means you’ve over-baked it.

By the way, I was unbelievably close to adding some white chocolate chips to the batter since I have nearly zero self-control when it comes to chocolate and sweetness. Somehow, though, I was able to hold back and I’m glad I did! The cheesecake came out precisely as I wanted it. It’s rich and sweet exactly as it should be.