White Chocolate Macademia Nut Cheesecake

By michelew7

My adaptation from King Arthur Flour. I switched macademia nuts for hazelnuts.

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• pinch of salt
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup toasted, chopped macademia nuts
• Filling:
• 3 8-ounce packages softened cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup (5-6 ounces) chopped white chocolate, melted

Preparation

Step 1

Crust:
Use a food processor to whisk the flour, sugar, salt and butter together until they form very fine crumbs. Add the nuts and pulse once or twice to distribute. Press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned.

Filling:
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft, then blend in the sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing just until blended, and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the heavy cream and melted white chocolate. Pour batter into the cooled crust.

Wrap the outide of the pan in foil, and bake the cake in a water bath. Bake the cake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 45 to 55 minutes, just until it's set around the edges but wobbly in the middle.

Turn off the oven and let the cake rest for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and run a knife around the edges, to loosen the sides. Cool the cake for 30 minutes, then refrigerate it until serving time.