White Chocolate Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

Finely crush Oreo cookies in food processor. Add 1 tablespoon sugar and ¼ cup melted butter. Pulse until mixed well. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Wrap the bottom half of the springform pan with a solid sheet of aluminum foil. (Ensure there are no open seams, as it must be water tight for the baking stage).

In a saucepan, combine strawberries, 4 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds. I strain it a few times to eliminate as many seeds as possible. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water or using a double boiler, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.

In mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla and mix until thoroughly blended. Next, add the melted chocolate / half and half mixture and mix well. Pour half of the batter over crust. Spoon a few spoonfuls of the strawberry mixture over the batter forming thick lines. Using a knife, swirl the strawberry mixture through the batter. Add the remaining half of the batter and repeat with some more of the strawberry mixture. Set aside the left over strawberry mixture for serving purposes if you wish.

Place pan on a jelly roll pan or any other baking dish with sides. Pour hot water into the jelly roll pan until about 1 inch deep (depending on your pan). This will prevent the cheesecake from cracking or falling in the center.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until filling is set. To test this, you can check visually, insert a knife into center OR use a thermometer. When using the thermometer method, the middle of the cake should register 160-165 degrees. If I had this one to do over again, I’d probably turn the oven off about 10 minutes earlier to prevent the slight browning that occurred. Turn oven off and allow cake to sit in oven for 1 hour. Then remove from oven and cool completely before refrigerating. Refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan.

Serve with fresh strawberries or sauce of choice.