White chocolate pomegranate cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for a friend's birthday party and his wife's baby shower. I always loved white chocolate raspberry cheesecake because the sweetness of the white chocolate complements the tart raspberries so well. I decided, however, to use pomegranate because I received a box of pomegranate juice from the very sweet people at POM Wonderful.

I couldn't find a white chocolate pomegranate cheesecake recipe, so I tweaked a White chocolate raspberry truffle recipe from dinner and dessert. As usual, I used the shortbread crust from Tartelette's Pillow cheesecake. Then I made a sauce using pomegranate juice and swirled it in my cheesecake.

The verdict? I thought it was a very good cheesecake. I think next time I would reduce the amount of pomegranate sauce in the cheesecake so it wouldn't be too tart. My friends all loved it and thought the pomegranate complemented the white chocolate very well. Here's the recipe.

White Chocolate Pomegranate Cheesecake
adapted from Dinner and Dessert and Tartelette

crust
125 g butter, very cold, cubed small
42g sugar
125g flour
12g cacao powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Work the butter, sugar, flour and cacao with a food processor or your fingers to get a sandy mixture. Work the dough for a minute. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Pomegranate sauce
2 cups of pomegranate juice
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water

Heat the pomegranate juice in a small pan until it’s boiling. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes until the juice is reduced to about 1/2 cup. In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp of cornstarch and 1 tbsp of water. Pour cornstarch mixture into the reduced pomegranate juice and cook until the juice thickens to a sauce consistency.

white chocolate filling
1/3 cup of pomegranate sauce (recipe above)
4 x 8 oz pkgs cream cheese
1 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
5 eggs
4 oz white chocolate, chopped into chunks

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. To prep the springform pan, wrap a large piece of foil around the pan to keep the water from seeping into the cheesecake in the water bath.

3. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Allow to cool slightly.

4. Use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese with the sugar, white chocolate, and vanilla. Mix until the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Add eggs one at a time and fully incorporate each egg before adding the next egg. Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs, do not over beat.

4. Pour the cream cheese filling into the crust. Drizzle the pomegranate sauce over the entire surface of the filling. Use a butter knife to swirl the sauce into the cream cheese filling.

5. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the edges are firm, but the center still jiggles when tapped. Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool. Once it’s completely cool, chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Notes:

• *I used to make a lot of cracked cheesecake, but I found out the reason why. There are a few reasons. If you over bake the cheesecake, it will crack. If you over beat the batter, it will crack. I also find that if you allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door ajar for about an hour, and then take it out, it's less likely to crack.