The Cheesecake Factory operates 139 full-service, casual dining restaurants in the United States. Cheesecake Factory restaurants are characterized by extensive menus, custom lavish décor, and large portions.

According to the company’s website, the Cheesecake Factory had its beginnings when Oscar and Evelyn Overton first decided to open a business after making a cheesecake for Oscar’s employer in 1949. They opened a small cheesecake shop in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1940′s, but later gave it up in order to raise her two children, David and Renee.

Evelyn continued to supply cakes to several of the best local restaurants, however, through a kitchen in her basement. By 1971, their children were now grown, and Oscar and Evelyn moved the business to Los Angeles, using the last of their savings to open a 700 square foot store that bore the name “The Cheesecake Factory”. Evelyn would bake and manage the office while Oscar worked and sales and building new accounts.

The early years of their new company were sometimes difficult, but as the company’s reputation and sales grew, the Overtons realized they needed a larger bakery, which they opened in 1975, at which point their business expanded dramatically, with Evelyn creating over 20 varieties of cheesecake and other desserts for hundreds of accounts from Santa Barbara to San Diego, and even out of state.

David and Evelyn opened the first Cheesecake Factory restaurant in Beverly Hills, California, in 1978. The restaurant established the future chain’s pattern of offering an eclectic menu, big portions, and signature cheesecakes, and the chain became a multi-million-dollar sales performer. The company went public in 1992, and was the first restaurant chain to reach a billion dollars in revenues with fewer than 100 restaurants in operation.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs or 20 crumbled Oreo cookies (filling removed)
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted

Filling

• 1/2 cup raspberry preserves
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 8-ounce pkgs. cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 eggs
• 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped into chunks

Optional Garnish

• 2 ounces shaved white chocolate
• whipped cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place a large pan or oven-safe skillet filled with about 1/2-inch of water into the oven while it preheats. This will be your water bath.

2. Combine the raspberry preserves with 1/4 cup water in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 1/2 minutes on high in your microwave. Stir until smooth. Strain to remove the raspberry seeds (toss ‘em out), then let the strained preserves sit to cool, then put the bowl in the refrigerator until later.

3. Measure 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (or crush 20 Oreo cookie wafers — with the filling scraped out — in a resealable plastic bag) into a medium bowl. Mix in 1/3 cup melted margarine. Press the crumb into a 9-inch spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom and side with parchment paper. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press the crumb mixture flat into the bottom of the pan and about 2/3 the way up the side. Wrap a large piece of foil around the bottom of the pan to keep the cheesecake in the water bath. Put the crust in your freezer until the filling is done.

4. Use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese with the sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix for a couple minutes or until the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and then add them to the cream cheese mixture. Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs.

5. Remove the crust from the freezer and sprinkle 4 ounces of white chocolate chunks onto the bottom of the crust. Pour half of the cream cheese filling into the crust. Drizzle the raspberry preserves over the entire surface of the filling. Use a butter knife to swirl the raspberry into the cream cheese. Just a couple passes is fine, you don’t want to blend the raspberry and cream cheese together too much. Pour the other half of the filling into the crust.

6. Carefully place the cheesecake into the water bath in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes at 475 degrees, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown or tan color. Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool. When the cheesecake is cool, use the foil from the bottom to cover the cheesecake and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

7. Before serving, sprinkle the entire top surface of cheesecake with 2 ounces of shaved white chocolate. To serve, slice the cheesecake into 12 equal portions. Apply a pile of canned whipped cream to the top of each slice and serve.

Makes 12 servings.