White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

For my first American thanksgiving I decided to sway away from the norm by making a cheesecake instead of a pie. It was really delicious and I urge you to make one! To jazz it up i added a milk chocolate ganche, which I let drip over the sides as well as some rosettes made from a quick frosting that I mixed extra raspberry sauce from the cheesecake into. Sorry about the low quality of the picture but I had forgotten to bring my camera so I took them on a phone :(

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

1 cup of graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water

2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

16 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter

Directions

1.  Mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 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. 
3.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time (this is a very important step!). Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect. 
5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until filling is set (when pushed there should be very minimal “jiggle”). Cool and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan.
6. To make the ganache melt all ingredients over a double boiler. Remove the cheesecake from the pan and pour ganache over the cheesecake letting it run down the sides. Let it set up in the fridge for about twenty minutes.
7. At this point you can decorate how you choose. I drizzled the extra raspberry sauce over the top of the cheesecake and added some raspberry flavoured icing rosettes.