White Chocolate Cheesecake Day

What the day is

White Chocolate Cheesecake Day is observed on March 6. Both halves of the name involve a common misunderstanding.

Origin and background

White chocolate contains no cocoa solids. It is made from cocoa butter, the fat pressed out of the bean, combined with sugar and milk solids, which is why it is pale and why it tastes of dairy and sweetness rather than of chocolate. For decades this kept it outside the legal definition of chocolate in several countries, and the United States only established a standard of identity for it in 2002, requiring a minimum proportion of cocoa butter. Products using vegetable fat instead are confectionery rather than white chocolate, and the difference is obvious on the tongue.

That composition explains its reputation for being difficult. With no cocoa solids to provide structure, it is almost entirely fat and sugar, and milk proteins scorch at a low temperature, so it seizes and turns grainy if melted with any real heat. It wants a bowl over warm water and patience.

The cheesecake underneath is a baked custard held together by egg proteins, and the classic problem is the crack across the top. Cracking is a sign of overbaking: the proteins have tightened too far and contracted, and the surface splits as it shrinks. The remedies all address the same thing. A water bath moderates the heat and keeps the oven humid, so the edges do not set long before the center. Beating the filling as little as possible after the eggs go in avoids whipping in air that expands and then collapses. And cooling it slowly, propping the oven door ajar rather than lifting it straight onto a cold counter, prevents the sudden contraction that tears the surface.

The safest doneness test is movement rather than time: the outer ring set, the middle still wobbling as one mass.

How to take part

• Melt white chocolate gently over warm water and never directly on heat.
• Bake in a water bath and stop while the center still wobbles.
• Do not over-beat the filling once the eggs are in.
• Cool it slowly in the turned-off oven with the door ajar.
• Check the label for cocoa butter rather than vegetable fat.