One of the hardest choices I could make in life is to choose which cheesecake variety to eat with my coffee. Don’t laugh but I just find it really hard to select one flavor over the other. My mind tells me to pick one from strawberries to plain and chocolate, even peanut butter. But my heart tells me to wrap them all up and take them home.

I know you’re smiling just about now. Have you had one of those dilemmas? I have those every time and wish I could just make my life a little simpler for myself. Husband says that making my own cheesecake would tell me for sure which ones to become my favorite. I love cheesecakes period. But to choose a topping would mean selecting a variety – all of them are pretty darn good.

I don’t expect everyone to know what that’s like but I followed my husband’s advice and decided to create my version of a raspberry cheesecake with a twist. Instead of just pouring this topping all over the cake, I incorporated it as a swirl. Sounds interesting right? Get ready then, this will be quite a handful to make.

Ingredients

• 1 cup finely ground graham crackers
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 6 ounces raspberries
• 32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• Boiling water, for roasting pan

Description

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9 inch springform pan and wrap it with foil including the base. Set aside for the meantime.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix cracker crumbs, melted butter and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Pour this mixture on the pan and press this crumb mixture firmly onto the bottom of it. Take this into the oven and bake until it sets. This takes about 10 minutes. When done, remove from oven and let it cool on a wire rack. Then, reduce the oven temperature to about 325 °F.
3. Take out your food processor. Process the raspberries until it becomes smooth. That only takes about 30 seconds. Then pour the puree through a fine sieve into a small bowl and throw away the solid particles. Next, whisk in 2 tablespoons of sugar and give a little whisk. Set aside.
4. Now, attach the paddle into the mixer and pour cream cheese in the bowl. On medium speed, mix until the cream cheese turns fluffy. That takes about 3 minutes. Then reduce the speed to lowest setting, and then add in the remaining 1 and a half cups of sugar. Let it mix on a slow stream. Next, add the salt and vanilla then mix well until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix them well but don’t overdo it. Then, pour in the cream cheese filling over the cooked crust.
5.  Next, use a teaspoon and drop in the raspberry sauce. With a wooden skewer or a small stick, swirl the sauce into the filling slowly making sure the color doesn’t combine into the white fluffy cream mixture.
6. Take a large shallow roasting pan and set in the cake pan and slowly transfer them into the oven. Using a ladle to scoop water, carefully pour in the water into the roasting pan until it reaches half way up the sides of the cake pan. Let this bake for 60 to 65 minutes. This should leave the center of the cake wobbly.
7. Remove from the oven and transfer cake pan to a wire rack. Let this cool completely. Place this into the refrigerator uncovered for 6 hours or overnight. Run a knife around the cake and then unmold into a serving place. Slice according to desired cuts. Best served chilled.