White Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for my mother's birthday. It was inspired by some marbled white chocolate covered espresso beans from Everett, WA. Courtesy of my thoughtful boyfriend. He lives across the border and I only get to see him on weekends. Anyone who knows me knows how much I like sugar and how much I adore grocery shopping in the States. I'm in awe of the variety and pricing of everything compared to Canada. So, when my sweetie visits me in Canada he always brings me something sweet and this past weekend it was these chocolate espresso beans.



This cake has melted white chocolate mixed right into the filling and a swirl of espresso to accent both taste and appearance. It's not to sweet and the chopped nuts suspended throughout provide a nice textural contrast to the creamy cheesecake.



White Chocolate Espresso Cheesecake
9" cake | adapted from George Greary

1 1/4 cups vanilla/graham cookie crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

3 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
1 tbsp cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine cookie crumbs and butter and press into a greased 9" spring form pan.

2. Beat together cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla, salt and sugar until very smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Pour in melted chocolate and continue beating. Fold in chopped nuts with a rubber spatula.

3. Pour filling over prepared crust, reserving 1 cup of the mixture. In a small bowl dissolve the instant coffee granules in the 1 tbsp cream. Add this coffee mixture to the reserved filling mixture and stir to combine. Drop by the tablespoonfuls over filling in the spring form pan. Marble gently with a knife.

4. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and continue baking until top is light brown and centre has a slight jiggle. 45-55 mins. Cool in pan on wire rack for at least 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.