How about a slice of a dessert that is rich and sweet after your special Valentine’s evening dinner?

Even If you decide to go out to dinner, cheesecake at home with your loved one can be a nice after-dinner out dessert.

This simple recipe, complete with a flurry of sweet decadent raspberry swirls as a topper, is a show stopper.

This white chocolate, raspberry swirl cheesecake is decadent, creamy and luscious, all at the same time.

If you’re not into cheesecake, or if you have a few children who you want to make something special for this Valentine’s Day, why not make chocolate fudge cake pops.

These sweet treats on a stick are great for any occasion and are fun to make and to eat.

White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

Raspberry Swirl

1 12-ounce packet of frozen raspberries

¼ cup of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Begin by thawing out your raspberries completely. Pour the berries into your food processor until they are broken down. Pour over a bowl through a strainer, pushing the solids down into the strainer with a cup or glass, or the back of a ladle. Add lemon juice, citric acid and sugar. Mix to combine.

Pour into a small saucepan and simmer for a minute or two, dissolving the sugar. This mixture will be slightly thick. Pour into a small bowl. Use a half a cup of the raspberry sauce for this cheesecake. Store the rest in an airtight container for garnish.

Chocolate Cheesecake Crust

1½ cups of chocolate cookie crumbs. (I get Nabisco brand Famous Chocolate Wafers.)

5 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons of sugar

Line the bottom of a 9-inch cheesecake spring form pan with parchment paper.

Crush the chocolate cookie wafers in a baggie until they are ground.

Combine the chocolate cookie crumbs, butter and sugar. Pat crust mixture in your pan with the back of measuring cup or large spoon to press crust down evenly. Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes until the crust is set.

Set aside to cool completely before adding cheesecake batter.

Note:

This crust can burn quickly if not watched.

Cheesecake Batter

4 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese, room temperature

6 ounces of white chocolate

½ cup of crème fraîche or heavy cream, room temperature

4 eggs, room temperature

1 cup of granulated sugar, divided in half to your best measurement

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Add cream cheese to standing mixer and mix on the lowest speed. Scrape the bowl every so often, to break up any lumps in the cream cheese. Mix half of the sugar with the cornstarch and set aside. Add the remaining sugar to the cream cheese. Mix to combine. Then add the sugar and cornstarch mixture in, scraping the bowl as needed. Add eggs one at a time then vanilla. Add crème fraîche. Mix and pour half of the cheesecake mixture into the springform pan.

Gently drizzle raspberry swirl puree and add the rest of the cheesecake batter. Drizzle the remaining puree on top. Use a small spatula or knife and swirl the raspberry on top of the cheesecake batter, making a pattern of your choice.

In the bottom of a large roasting pan, pour hot water halfway up the pan. Set your cheesecake into the roasting pan. Bake for approximately an hour and 15 minutes, with the cheesecake slightly jiggly in the middle when done baking. Turn the oven off, and leave your cheesecake in the oven, with the door slightly ajar with a wooden spoon for about one hour to set.

Remove entire pan from the oven, taking your cheesecake out of the pan. Set cheesecake on cooling rack for about 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Garnish with whipped cream if desired.

Chocolate fudge Cake Pops

Chocolate cake

1¾ cup of all-purpose flour

¾ cup of a good quality cocoa powder

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1½ teaspoons of baking soda

½ teaspoon of kosher salt

2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1½ teaspoons vanilla

½ cup of canola or a seed oil

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 cup of hot water

Sift together all the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl. Add your sugar and whisk all together.

In a separate large bowl, whisk your eggs, vanilla, oil and buttermilk together. Have your hot water ready, on the side. With the mixer on the lowest speed, slowly add your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients.

Once all the ingredients are incorporated, scrape the bowl to make sure everything is combined. On medium speed, mix for about a minute or until the batter looks smooth then slowly pour in the hot water. Once all the hot water is incorporated, scrape the bowl. Mix again, on medium speed. Scrape from the bottom to make sure all is mixed well. Pour and distribute the batter evenly into two 8-inch prepared cake pans.

Bake cakes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Remove your cakes from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes prior to taking them out of the pans. Remove the cakes and place them on a cooling rack to finish cooling. Plastic wrap the cooled cakes overnight on plates and store in the refrigerator if you wish.

Cake pop icing

1½ sticks of butter, room temperature

¼ cup of palm shortening

Pinch of salt

¼ cup of cocoa powder

1½ cups of powdered sugar

1 tablespoon or so of milk if icing seems too thick.

Dark chocolate melting discs

Nonpareils or sprinkles

Combine the butter, palm shortening, salt, cocoa powder, powdered sugar and milk in your mixer until well mixed and creamy.

To form the cake pops, crumble cakes into a large bowl. Add a little of the chocolate frosting. See if you can form the cake pops in the bowl then onto the sticks as you go. You want the cake pop mix to hold together well to be able to set onto your cake pop sticks. Set your cake pops on a plate, cover and refrigerate.

For the cake pop shell, melt the dark chocolate discs over a double boiler. Dip the cake pops into the warm chocolate, lightly shaking off any excess chocolate. Sprinkle pops with nonpareils or sprinkles and set into a piece of Styrofoam to set.

When the shell has hardened on each pop, gently place them into a clean small vase, line them up on a plate, or keep them standing in the Styrofoam.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. She is a former prep and line cook for Executive Chef David Crespo at “Fresh Kitchen by Robert Irvine” in the new Downtown Allentown Market. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.