The Good Old Way

Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake

Eligh Miller-Polivka

4 years ago

Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake is the most delicious and decadent cheesecake most people have ever had. I have made and eaten much cheesecake and this one is simply a homerun. I get constant compliments on this cheesecake saying its the best they have ever had.

Just want the crust recipe? This Perfect Graham Cracker Crust is to die for!

I might receive a small commission for items purchased through affiliate links in this post at no additional cost to you.

If you loved this recipe, try:

Cheesecake has always been my favorite dessert. Cheesecake is also my fathers favorite dessert and he does not like sweets so that tells you something! So if you have never had cheesecake then now is the time to try it.

I first made this cheesecake recipe when I was 16 years old and I’ve been addicted to it ever since. Since I was having birthday this weekend I decided I needed to make cheesecake. So I went with this lemon blueberry cheesecake.

Boy was it a homerun! The family were hooting and hollering that it was the best cheesecake they had ever had. It will now become a tradition because seeing how happy people were with it, makes me want to repeat the experience again and again.

EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING CHEESECAKE:

Electric stand mixer with whisk attachment OR handheld mixer with whisk attachment.
9″ or 10″ Springform pan
Shallow pan large enough for the springform pan to fit inside of.
Rubber spatula
A few extra bowls for measuring dry ingredients ahead of time, and for beating the eggs in.

EASY GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:

First we are going to make a graham cracker crust! I have seen variations of this recipe and shortbread crust was used. However, I much prefer a traditional graham cracker crust.

INGREDIENTS FOR GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:

Graham cracker crumbs
Butter
Sugar
Salt

EQUIPMENT NEEDED TO MAKE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:

Either a stand mixer with paddle attachment, whisk and a bowl, or you could also just use your hands!

IF YOU DON’T HAVE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUMBS, YOU CAN MAKE SOME:

It makes it a lot easier to just purchase a box of graham cracker crumbs! But if you don’t have access to them, just put about 17 graham crackers in a plastic ziplock bag. Then beat them with a rolling or a mallet until fine.
If you have a food processor, you can put the graham crackers in the food processor until fine. This will make the process much faster and easier.

Preheat the oven to 325°F
Melt 10 Tbsp of butter.
Try to heat it up slow and let it melt slow. Just melted but not brown.

Next measure out 2 1/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs, 5 tbsp of sugar, and 1/8 tsp of salt, and add it to a bowl.

Add your melted butter into the graham cracker crumbs and mix well until combined and crumbly looking.

About like that!

Now put some graham cracker crust in the bottom of your springform pan.
It takes some practice to be able to shape a perfect cheesecake crust and it also depends on how you like it.
You have options when you make homemade crust. You can choose to make it thicker or thinner, higher or lower on the walls, and also, determine its crunchiness by pre-baking or not pre-baking.

Begin making a layer as even as you can around the springform pan.
Get a water glass or a measuring cup with straight sides and a sharp corner to slowly compact the bottom and press and shape the walls of the crust.
If you need the crust to be a little bit stiffer and stay up on the walls better when you are shaping it, put the graham cracker crust mix in the fridge for about 10-20 minutes to let it firm up a bit.

Your first cheesecake crust may look like this! And that is just fine!
It will look and taste great when it is done regardless of how the crust looks.

But eventually you may be able to make one that looks a little more perfect like this! Just keep practicing.

IF YOU WANT A CRISPIER AND MORE TOASTY CRUST:

Bake the crust at 325°F for 8-10 minutes.
If you want to leave it the way it is, it will still be crunchy and delicious!

It is done when you can see the edges brown up just a little bit.
Place it in the fridge to keep it cool until you prepare your cheesecake batter.

HOW TO MAKE LEMON WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE:

Preheat oven to 325°F

NEED TO SAVE TIME AND PLAN AHEAD?

You will need to zest and juice 3 lemons. You can do this ahead of time to make the process faster once you start. Sometimes stopping in the middle of making the cheesecake to zest and juice lemons is not the most convenient thing.
Take the cream cheese out to begin softening the night before you plan on making cheesecake.
We will be making blueberry compote to pour over the cheesecake. You can make this the day before or even multiple days before.
You can make the crust a day before to space out your hard work over a little bit more time.
If you have good quality chocolate chips, melt them before you start the cheesecake batter so it will be cooled down before plunging into your cheesecake batter. My chocolate chips were too solid for this so I put them in right after melting them.

Put 4 blocks of softened cream cheese in to your stand mixer with a whisk attachment and mix on medium speed 2-3 minutes until the cream cheese is light and fluffy.
Scrape down the bowls to make sure it all gets whipped together evenly.
Soften the cream cheese for as long as you can before this process, sitting out overnight is best.

Now put 1 1/4 cups of sugar, 2 tablespoons of all purpose flower, 4 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract in with the whipped cream cheese.
Mix it together until it is combined evenly.

Next you will be adding melted white chocolate! Melt 10 oz or about 1 3/4 cups of white chocolate chips on low heat, mixing constantly to make sure it doesn’t burn.
I found this part the most difficult to work with. It was a little too thick and sludgy when melted. To remedy this make sure you buy good quality white chocolate chips like Ghirardelli.

Add melted white chocolate and lemon zest and mix until combined.

Lightly beat 4 eggs.
Try not mix the eggs too much because it can cause the cheesecake to break in the oven.

Mix the eggs on low speed until just combined in the batter.
If you over mix the batter after the addition of egg, it could cause your cheesecake to crack in the oven.

Pour the cheesecake batter in to the prepared crust.
Carefully rap it on the countertop a few times to get all of the air bubbles out of the cheesecake batter. This will leave you with a more consistent looking cheesecake on the inside.
If you made crust and then cheesecake batter right after. They will both be cooked at 325°F so you can leave the oven on the same temperature.

Bake a cheesecake at 325°F for 65 to 75 minutes until just the center jiggles a little bit or reaches an internal temperature of 150°F.
Place the cheesecake on the counter or a wire rack and let it cool completely to room temperature before putting it in the fridge.
Let it cool in the fridge for at least 5-7 hours before serving, but its preferred that it sits overnight.

THERE ARE 2 METHODS OF BAKING CHEESECAKE, EACH WITH SOME BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS:

Above is the tried and true method for baking cheesecake. This is the water bath method. I also added another pan with water in it under the water bath but this is is not necessary.
It is less convenient to deal with a water bath but it turns out more perfectly cooked and it looks more perfect as well.
Place foil around the base of the springform pan as waterproof as you can get it. Now place it in the oven inside of another pan that has water in it. The water just needs to go up the sides of the pan a little bit so that the outside of the cheesecake doesn’t get too hot.

The other method is using pans of water placed on the bottom rack to steam the cheesecake as it cooks to keep the temperature of the outside of the cheesecake a little bit cooler.
This method is easy because you don’t have to wrap the cheesecake which can be hard to get right. But it does not keep the cheesecake as cooled down and therefore your cheesecake could get a little overdone on the sides and the top from getting too hot.
Using this method will make an equally delicious cheesecake, but you have to choose between ease of baking, and perfection of appearance. A decision we all have to contend with when we get ready in the morning.

This Cheesecake is nearly perfect but I could have taken it out a little earlier before the top got brown bits on it.
The internal temperature was perfect at 150°F but the outside got a little overdone. It does not matter though because we are going to cover the top of this cheesecake up with some lemon and blueberry compote so nobody will see that the outside has brown bits!
This compote will pair well with nearly any cheesecake so if your cheesecake comes out of the oven looking a little imperfect just whip up some of this sauce to put on it. It will improve flavor and cover up blemishes.

HOW TO MAKE LEMON BLUEBERRY COMPOTE:

This recipe takes 5 minutes flat! It is a super easy way to compliment a cheesecake and many other desserts.

INGREDIENTS FOR LEMON BLUEBERRY COMPOTE:

1 pint of blueberries, fresh or frozen.
Juice and zest of 1 lemon. If you don’t have fresh lemons, use 2-3 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice and exclude zest.
2 tablespoons of sugar.

HOW TO COOK LEMON BLUEBERRY SAUCE:

Place all of the ingredients together in a pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until the fruit starts to break down slightly.

Yield: 16 Servings

LEMON WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE WITH LEMON BLUBERRY COMPOTE

Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake is the most delicious and decadent cheesecake most people have ever had. I have made and eaten much cheesecake and this one is simply a homerun. I get constant compliments on this cheesecake saying its the best they have ever had.

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust:

2 1/4 cups of graham cracker crumbs
10 tbsp melted butter
5 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake Filling

4 8oz blocks of cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups of sugar
2 tbsp all purpose flour
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 oz white chocolate chips, melted
1 tbsp lemon zest
4 eggs lightly beaten

Lemon Blueberry Compote

1 pint of blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tbsp sugar

Instructions

GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST:

Preheat oven to 325°F (If you want to prebake the crust)
If you don't have premade graham cracker crumbs you will make some by putting about 17 graham crackers in a plastic ziplock and beating it with a rolling pin or mallet until it is broken down into crumb.
Mix graham cracker crumb, sugar, and salt.
Melt butter and pour it into graham cracker crumb mixture.
Mix with your hands or a mixer until evenly combined.
Pour the mixture into a 9 or 10 inch springform pan. Using a glass or measuring cup with straight sides and a sharp corner, form bottom and walls of the crust.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. (Optional)

LEMON WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE FILLING:

Preheat oven to 325°F. If you are making crust at the same time, you can just leave the oven on because the crust and the cheesecake cook at the same temperature.
On medium speed whip the cream cheese until it is fluffy. Scrape down the sides as much as you need to make sure it all gets incorporated.
Add sugar, flour, cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Mix on medium until evenly combined.
Melt white chocolate and add to the mixture. Add lemon zest and mix on medium until evenly combined.
Lightly beat 4 eggs and add to the batter. Mix on low just until it is incorporated. Don't beat the batter too much after eggs are added.
Make a waterproof wrap under the springform pan with foil. Don't fill the water bath up so much that is goes over the edges of the foil and into the base of your springform pan.
Pour the batter into the graham cracker crust and bake in the water bath for 65 to 75 minutes adding to time if needed. The cheesecake is done when it has a slight wiggle in the center or the center reaches 150°F.
When it is done cooking, let it cool on the counter or a wire rack until it is completely room temperature.
When it has cooled down completely, put the cheesecake in the fridge to cool for at least 5 hours. Overnight is best.

LEMON BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

Put blueberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar in a saucepan.
Cook it on medium heat for 5 minutes or until the berries start to break down slightly.
Serve it warm or cold with cheesecake.

Notes

If you prebake your graham cracker crust, it will be more crunchy and toasty.
Take the cream cheese out the night before to begin softening. This makes it easier than waiting all day to start making your cheesecake.
Beating the batter too much after putting egg in it could cause your cheesecake to crack when it is being cooked. Just a light mixing until ingredients are all combined.
You can make the graham cracker crust a day in advance to save time.
If you cheesecake cracks while it is cooking, the lemon blueberry compote will hide it for you.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 401Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 12gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 548mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: .5gSugar: 27gProtein: 6.9g

Author
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Eligh Miller-Polivka

Hello everyone, welcome to my neck of the woods! My name is Eligh, I was born in Portland, Oregon, and I love to forage! From when I was very young, my father took me out picking mushrooms, fishing, and camping. He loved to forage for mushrooms, and so naturally, I developed a keen eye for mushroom identification. After meeting my lovely wife on the Oregon coast, I started spending all of my free time out in the woods with plant, mushroom, and tree identification books. After some time I was able to identify every tree, plant, and mushroom that I came across. I learned their uses, both by native Americans and settlers alike. At this time, I also began fishing for salmon, trout, and different species of coastal rockfish. I always felt a strong sense of pride to be able to harvest a wide variety of wild edibles to suit my palate, and then harvest some natural bait and catch a fish, even how to make hooks and line using plants and trees that grow on the river bank.
I started cooking at a very young age. In middle school, my friends and their parents would ask me to cook food for them because I could make something out of nothing. I love to cook up new concoctions and see what everyone likes. When I became of working age, I started as a buss boy at a barbecue restaurant, and then moved on to work all positions of the restaurant industry. From head chef of a Jamaican restaurant in Tulsa, OK, to sous chef at a highly accredited bistro on the Oregon coast, all before I turned 21.
I Inherited land in southeast Oklahoma and now spend my days working a Fedex delivery route and working with my wife and 3 young boys on our rural homestead. We raise many different kinds of animals and some vegetable gardens. I hunt all manor of large and small game, and butcher all of my own meat. We harvest wild edibles of all kinds and enjoy to cook with them and eat them.
I am grateful that you stopped by to see how we are doing and hope to see you again very soon. We would love to be friends and hope you enjoy all of the recipes and information that I can manage to put out.
Thank you, and much love!
-Eligh

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