White Chocolate-Lingonberry Cheesecake Bar

Everyone was back home for CNY, which also means it was a perfect time to bake a cake. Guinea pigs!!! Heee hee hee... Neither my sisters nor their bfs have tried my cheesecake before, so I decided to experiment with another recipe from Kraftfoods. I made some changes to the recipe to suit what I had in my fridge.

The result? I had lots of approvals, though it was possible that they were simply hungry after several rounds of rummy games.

Anyway, here's my own version improvised from the original recipe:

Ingredients

1 packet of Oreo cookies, finely crushed
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
3 squares White Chocolate, divided
500gms (16oz) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp sour cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup lingonberry jam (from IKEA)


HEAT oven to 350ºF. Mix cookie crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch square pan. Melt 2 chocolate squares in a microwave on High for 20-30 seconds.

BEAT cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla with mixer until blended. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

BAKE 25 to 28 min. or until center is almost set. Cool 5 min.; spread with lingonberry jam (or any other preferred preserves. Melt remaining chocolate square; drizzle over cheesecake. Cool cheesecake completely. Refrigerate 4 hours.

*Tip: It helps to line the pan with aluminium foil first for easy cake removal. Apart from acting as a handle, it makes cleaning easier too!