Raspberry Swirl Cheescake 5Aug11

Let me start off by saying… I don’t particularly love cheesecakes. When it comes to dessert choices, I almost always go for the fruit tart, anything chocolate or ice cream. But every once in a while… I just want a good slice of cheesecake with lots of crust. Vini has been requesting cheesecake to be put at the top of the “Please Make This For Me!!!” list for quite some time… so I played around with my Red, White & Blue Cheesecake and came up with this Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake.

My favorite part of any cheesecake is the crust. So I generally make crusts that go all the way to the top of the sides so there’s plenty of graham cracker goodness for every bite. The raspberry swirl is a perfect combination of tangy fruitiness to the rich creamy filling. This dish would be great for a dinner party, the pretty marbling will definitely impress guests! Cheesecakes are very time consuming and require at least 6 hours of refrigeration after all the baking is done but the result is definitely worth it. Bon appétit!

Ingredients:
2 cups of finely ground graham crackers (about 12 whole pieces)
6 tablespoons of melted butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
16 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
16 ounces of sour cream
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla paste OR 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 package of fresh raspberries (6 oz)
2 tablespoons of sugar

Tools:
9-inch springform baking pan
roasting pan
foil
boiling water

Preheat oven to 350°F or 175°C.

Step 1: The Crust!
Wrap the outside bottom of a 9-inch springform baking pan with 2 layers of foil. You want it to make sure to use whole pieces of foil to cover up the bottom and along the sides… this is to prevent water from going into your pan. In a small saucepan, melt your 6 tablespoons of butter. Don’t let it simmer, just melt it. In a food processor, grind up your graham crackers until they are like fine breadcrumbs. In a large mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and the melted butter. Pour that mixture into your foil-wrapped pan. Use the bottom of a cup or your fingers to press down the along the bottom and sides to form a crust. It will still be a bit crumbly so be careful. Pop that into the oven at 350°F for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool for later.

Step 2: The Raspberry!
In a food processor, puree 6 oz. of raspberries (that’s about 1 package). Now put the puree through a sieve… this might take some time if you have a fine mesh. Use a spoon or spatula and stir the puree to help it along. Once you’ve gotten all the smooth raspberry goodness out of it, toss out the remains. Stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar and set aside for later.

Step 3: The Filling!
Lower your oven to 350°F (160°C). Now to make the filling. If you have a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Electric hand mixer works and so does a really strong arm! Now whisk the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add in the sour cream and whisk until combined. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix until combined. Now add in one egg at a time and whisk until it is all combined.

Step 4: The Baking!
Turn your kettle on to boil some water. Once your water is boiling… we’re ready to bake. First, place your crust pan into a roasting dish. Pour in your cream cheese filling. It should be just enough to fill to the top. Now using a small spoon, dollop in a little raspberry puree about 1 inch apart from each other. To make the marble, use a toothpick or wooden skewer  and run it around the top of the filling to break up the raspberry into the filling. Now pour the boiling water into the roasting pan so that it’s a little less than halfway up the pan. You don’t want it too close to the edge of your foil either! Pop that whole thing in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 mins.

Step 5: Cool It!
Once the cheesecake has been in the oven for 1 hour and 15 mins, it should be good to take out. It will still be a bit wobbly, especially in the middle. Let the cheesecake sit in the roasting pan with water for another 30 minutes. Then take the cake out, and cool on a cooling rack until room temperature. Then refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Run a knife along the side of the pan before removing the side of the springform.

Make sure to serve it chilled. It’s 3pm… why yes, I would love some with my afternoon coffee thanks! Enjoy!

Posted by: Maggie Ha
Category: baking, food, mmmm, recipes
Tags: baking, cheesecake, cooking, desserts, food, recipe, recipes, snacks, sweets

This entry was posted on Friday, August 5th, 2011 at 3:01 pm and is filed under baking, food, mmmm, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.