Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

 

I can't stress enough my love for cheesecakes, less towards the non-baked types but basically all sorts of cheesecakes are usually a hit with me. So naturally, baking cheesecake is one of the frequent thing going on in my kitchen. Not that there are no cheesecakes for sale in Copenhagen but sadly cheesecakes are mostly produced with 'healthy' products, low fat cream cheese, low fat cream, low fat butter to fulfill the ever so healthy Danish market and it just doesn't work for me. 

In my kitchen, 38% cream, fattest crème fraîche (whichever one is needed), full fat cream cheese and the heart stoppingly rich Lurpak butter are non compromising ingredients for cheesecakes and the result is heavenly. If only cheesecakes can be chilled to perfection in much lesser time instead of painfully long hours, would have been perfect.

Anyway, here's a Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake, that I made in conjunction with my husband's newly acquired credit card size computer - Raspberry Pi. With publicly available schematic & PCB layout plus only USD 35 for a fully functional computer with HDMI, USB, Ethernet, SD card, video & audio support and only a size of credit card is definitely worth baking a cake in its name. Okay, okay, let's be honest, I'm just finding every excuse I can to justify for my guilt over yet another fatty (but absolutely delicious) cheesecake baked.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

(Serves about 12-14 people), recipe adapted from Joy of Baking

Graham Cracker Crust:
2 cups (200 grams) of graham wafer crumbs or finely crushed Digestive biscuits
2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:
24 ounces (680 grams)full fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon (12 grams) all purpose flour
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

75ml (6 tbsp) raspberry jam (fill into piping bag)

Methods:-

For the crust:1. Grease, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) round springform pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven.
2. In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For Filling: 

1. Combine cream cheese, sugar, and flour, beat with hand mixer on low-medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. 

2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. 

3. Add the cream and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

4. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour the cheesecake filling into the pan. 

5. Pipe the raspberry jam (or just spoon them) on top of the cheesecake filling. Swirl them with a chopstick (or skewer or knife, anything that works for you).

6. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan (to catch any drips) and place in the oven.

7. Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and continue to bake for another 60 minutes or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. 

8. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or spatula around the inside edge of pan to loosen the cheesecake (helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).
9. Let cool before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating. 

This cheesecake tastes best after being refrigerated at least eight hours or overnight.