a whisk and a spoon

Raspberry Cheesecake

For my final project with the homemade graham cracker crumbs in my freezer, I decided to bake cheesecake.  It had been forever since I had made or even eaten cheesecake, and luckily Philly is sold over here, so it sounded like a good plan.  And I thought I would make it pink by adding some raspberries.

I started with a recipe for blueberry swirl cheesecake from Donna Hay’s Modern Classics Book 2, which I’ve made several times and particularly like because the mixture comes together lump-free in the food processor.  Then I added a vanilla bean to the cream cheese mixture, changed the fruit swirl to raspberry, changed the base and changed the baking method.  Now is it my own recipe?  I think so.

Raspberry Cheesecake- makes a 6-inch cake

Note:  If you want some extra sauce to top your finished cheesecake, make a double batch of the raspberry swirl sauce.  Then use half in assembling your cheesecake and save the remaining half in a jar in the fridge for when you serve the cake.

for the base:
2-3 T unsalted butter, melted
2 T  sugar
1/8 t cinnamon (optional)
pinch of salt
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

 for the raspberry swirl:
110 g fresh or frozen raspberries
2 T sugar
small splash of water

for the filling:
300g cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup plus 2 T sour cream
1 egg
1/2 cup superfine sugar
seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean

-for the crust: Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.  Combine melted butter, sugar, cinnamon, salt and crumbs in a bowl.  Press into the botton of a 6-inch springform pan and bake for about 10-15 minutes.  Cool crust slightly.

-for the raspberry swirl:  In a small pan over medium low heat, gently cook the raspberries with the sugar and water until the berries begin to break down, the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has thickened a bit.  Squish up the berries a little and push the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds.  Set aside to cool.

-for the filling:  Process the cream cheese in a food processor until smooth (don’t forget to scrape!).  Add the sour cream, egg, sugar and vanilla bean seeds and process until smooth and fully combined. 

-to assemble:  Brush sides of the springform with a little softened butter.  Wrap the outside of the pan with a double layer of foil.  (The cake bakes in a water bath, and doing this will help keep water from seeping into the cake as it cooks.)  Pour the filling over the graham cracker base.  Drizzle the raspberry sauce over and swirl gently with a butter or pairing knife.  Create a water bath by placing the cake tin in a slightly larger roasting pan or baking dish.  Carefully pour hot water halfway up the sides of the springform.  Bake at 280°F/140°C for a little over an hour, until the edges look set but the center jiggles slightly.  Let cool on a rack, then cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.