White Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake Made with Tahitian Vanilla Beans
White Chocolate and Tahitian Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
Photos and recipe by: Reut Chen
Is there anything better than cheesecake? I mean, really—it's the perfect combination of creamy, tangy, and sweet. I don't believe there's another culinary delight that can satisfy both a craving for a sweet treat and a craving for a comfort food. It has such an addictive capacity that even Louis Armstrong felt compelled to develop a song about this divine dessert!
Don't get me wrong, every cheesecake is not made the same! To make a superb cheesecake takes skill and an exceptional recipe—like this White Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake, created by Reut Chen!
Chen is a professionally trained pastry chef who studied for a year in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her recipes are often inspired by nature, which she frequently expresses through an abundance of seasonal ingredients and edible flowers. I'm sure she would agree, that this cheesecake would be equally as gastronomically and aesthetically pleasing if you replaced berries with something more seasonably appropriate in your area at the time you make this incredible white chocolate vanilla cheesecake!
Chen has three favorite ingredients: almond flour, fresh raspberries, and vanilla beans. This recipe (and most of her others) contains all three of them!
Without further adieu, I give you Reut Chen's recipe for White Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake!
White Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake!
To make it just like Reut Chen's, you'll need a 20" round cake pan.
Ingredients:
For the base
- 150 grams finely ground graham crackers
- 70 grams melted, unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons ground almonds
For the cake
- 600 grams mascarpone cheese
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 Grade A Tahitian Vanilla Pod, or your favorite vanilla bean varietal
- 200 grams white chocolate
- 200 grams heavy cream
For the topping
- 100 grams sour cream
- 2 tablespoons milk
Procedure:
- Mix the crackers, ground almonds, and butter together and press it around the base of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 125℃/255℉.
- Chop the white chocolate in 1/2 " pieces.
- Heat the heavy cream and the white chocolate, stirring continuously until fully combined to a form a thick ganache.
- In a medium-sized bowl mix the cream cheese, eggs, and vanilla caviar thoroughly by hand or using an electric mixer.
- Combine the cream cheese mixture with the ganache. Lightly grease all sides of the pan.
- Pour in the cream cheese and chocolate mixture.
- Bake for an hour and a half.
- Place the cake in the refrigerator and let chill for half an hour.
- In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream and milk.
- Pour the sour cream mixture in the middle of the cake and carefully move the cake from side to side to form an inner circle of sour cream.
- Return the cake to the fridge for 4 hours before serving.
Serving Suggestions:
Top the cheesecake with fresh berries, edible flowers, a shake of powdered sugar, and/or any other fresh fruit your heart desires!
Enjoy!
If you love cheesecake as much as us, we want to hear from you! What are some of your favorite toppings? Is there a recipe you'd like to see us create to satisfy your cheesecake preferences or feature a particular ingredient?
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