Blackberry and White Chocolate Two-Layer Cheesecake with Hazelnut Crust Recipe

Ingredients

Crust:
2 1/2 cup roasted hazelnuts
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons whipping cream
2 1/2 teaspoons Frangelico (or vanilla extract)

Filling:
about 1 1/2 cup blackberries
6 oz. white chocolate, chopped
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar

Garnish:
3 oz. White Chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup blackberries

Instructions

Crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter 9" spring-form pan with 2 1/4" sides. Place hazelnuts in blender or food processor, and chop until coarse crumbs. Melt butter and add to nuts; add sugar and mix well until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and halfway up sides of prepared pan. Bake 8 minutes; cool on rack.

Filling: Press blackberries and juices through fine strainer into small bowl. Let sit while you prepare rest of filling. Stir white chocolate in small metal bowl set in double boiler over barely simmering water until just melted and smooth; set aside.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Beat in flour, then eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in whipping cream and 2 teaspoons Frangelico. Transfer 2 1/4 cups batter to medium bowl; stir in melted white chocolate. Stir 1/2 cup blackberry juice, plus 2 tablespoons berries and 1/2 teaspoon Frangelico, into remaining batter in large bowl.

Pour blackberry batter into prepared crust; place spring-form pan in large roasting pan and pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake until blackberry filling is softly set in center and beginning to puff at edges, about 50 minutes. Remove roasting pan from oven; let blackberry layer cool 5 minutes to firm slightly.

Starting at edge of pan, spoon white chocolate batter in concentric circles onto blackberry layer. Smooth top. Bake until white chocolate filling is set in center, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate cake uncovered until cold, at least 4 hours. Cut around pan sides with small knife to loosen cheesecake; release sides. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

Garnish: Melt 3 ounces white chocolate and mix with 3 to 4 ripe blackberries. Press mixture between wax paper and freeze; break into chunks and sprinkle over top of cooled cheesecake. Take 12-16 ripe blackberries and put in a small bowl; sprinkle with sugar and swirl to cover berries with sugar. Freeze until ready to use on cake.

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