White Chocolate Lemon Cheesecake

(from "A Year in Chocolate - Four Seasons of Unforgettable Desserts" by Alice Medrich)

Crust

8 tablespoons (1 stick) Unsalted Butter

1/4 cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/8 teaspoon Salt

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

Filling

6 ounces White Chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup Water, boiling

1 1/2 pounds Cream Cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 teaspoons Lemon Zest, grated

3 tablespoons strained Lemon Juice

2 eggs, at room temperature

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, cut the butter into chunks and melt it in a medium saucepan over low heat.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, vanilla and salt.  Add the flour and mix just until incorporated.  Press the dough evenly over the bottom and about halfway up the sides of a lightly greased 8-inch springform pan.  Bake until the crust is a rich golden brown and very brown at the edges (20 to 25 minutes.)  Cool on a rack before filling.

Grease the sides of the pan again, above the crust level, to prevent the filling from sticking to the pan above the crust.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

To make the filling, place the white chocolate in a small bowl.  Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and stir until smooth.  Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese just until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Scrape the bowl and beaters.  Add the sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and juice, and beat just until smooth and creamy (1 to 2 minutes.)  Add 1 egg and beat just until incorporated.  Scrape the bowl and beaters.  Beat in the second egg.  Stir in the melted chocolate.  Pour the batter into the prepared crust and smooth the top.

Bake until the edges of the cake are puffed but the center looks moist and jiggles when tapped (35 to 40 minutes.)  Remove the cake from the oven.  Slide the tip of a thin paring knife carefully around the top edge of the cake to detach it from the pan, but do not remove the pan sides.  Place the pan on a rack and cover the pan and the rack with a large inverted bowl or pot, so that the cake cools slowly.  Cover and refrigerate the cooled cake for at least 5 hours, preferably 24 hours, before serving.