White Chocolate-Lemon Cheesecake

A Year in Chocolate:
Four Seasons of Unforgettable Desserts
by Alice Medrich, 2001, Warner Books

“White chocolate gives an undertone of flavor to this rich but subtle
lemon cheesecake with the best simple-to-do crunchy shortbread crust
ever. Use a good-quality white chocolate, such as Callebaut, El Rey,
Lindt, or Valrhona.”

Serves 10-12

Crust
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

Filling
6 ounces white chocolate,
finely chopped
1/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese,
at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
2 eggs, at room temperature

Equipment
8-inch springform pan, lightly greased

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To make the crust, cut the butter into chunks and melt it in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar,
vanilla, and salt. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Press
the dough evenly over the bottom and about halfway up the sides of
the pan. Bake until the crust is a rich golden brown and very brown
at the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a rack before filling. Grease
the sides of the pan again, above the crust level, to prevent the filling
 from sticking to the pan above the crust. Lower the oven temperature
to 325 degrees F.
To make the filling, place the white chocolate in a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese just until smooth, about
30 seconds. Scrape the bowl and beaters. Add the sugar, vanilla, lemon
zest, and juice, and beat just until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add 1 egg and beat just until incorporated. Scrape the bowl and beaters. Beat in the second egg. Stir in the melted chocolate. Pour the batter into
the prepared crust and smooth the top.
Bake until the edges of the cake are puffed but the center looks moist
and jiggles when tapped, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the cake from the
oven. Slide the tip of a thin paring knife carefully around the top edge
of the cake to detach it from the pan, but do not remove the pan sides.
Place the pan on a rack and cover the pan and the rack with a large in-verted bowl or pot, so that the cake cools slowly. Cover and refrigerate
the cooled cake at least 5 hours, preferably 24 hours, before serving.

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