Ok, this is the cheesecake Jami made for Aaron's birthday cake. I helped a little with the raspberry puree and I helped eat it too! It is a super complicated recipe and it also mixes fruit and chocolate, two things that you will not find that I do very often. I like simple, easy recipes, most days and I do not like chocolate and fruit together. Apart they are wonderful, but you mix the flavors together and uggghhhh. But, I already told you I helped eat the cheesecake, I ate the top and bottom sections separately, nicely segregating the fruit from the chocolate :). Anyways, on to the goodness.
Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake with Chocolate CrustPreheat oven to 350, find a big pan that accommodates your cheesecake pan (usually a spring-form pan, but you can use something else too) with room to spare and put the kettle on the stove to boil water, we are baking this cheesecake in a water bath! Make sure the bottom of your cheesecake pan is airtight, if not cover the bottom of the pan securely with foil before submerging it into the water bath, you don't do this until the end, but I am just getting you ready ahead of time. I told you this was complicated.
Crust:2 cups Oreo crumbs, NO premade crust, it is too small for this recipe and it is not as good!
1 stick butter, melted
2 T. sugar
1 t. vanilla
Combine ingredients and press into a greased spring-form pan, set aside.
Cheesecake:24 oz. cream cheese, the real stuff, no 1/3 less fat or fat free, it is not as good!
1 c. sugar
3 whole eggs
1 c. heavy cream
1 T. vanilla
Combine cream cheese and sugar until smooth, add one egg at a time and fully incorporate each egg before adding the next, scrape the bowl in between each egg addition as well. Add cream and vanilla and blend until smooth and creamy, it should be very smooooth and creammmy! Pour batter over prepared crust and gently tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles.
Raspberry Sauce:8 oz. frozen raspberries, thawed, or you can use fresh
3 T. sugar
Blend raspberries in food processor until smooth. Press pureed berries through a fine mesh strainer and discard seeds. Mix sugar with berry puree. Use about 2/3 of sauce to swirl into the top of the cheesecake. Save the last 1/3 for topping the cheesecake when it is served.
Place cheesecake pan into larger pan, add boiling water until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. Carefully place pan in oven, bake for 45-55 minutes until the cheesecake is almost done. It should giggle in the middle but still hold together. Close oven door, turn off heat and let it rest and cool down in the oven for an hour. This lets the cheesecake finish baking and cool down nice and slow so you don't get that big ugly crack across the top of your cake. After an hour put the cheesecake in the fridge. When fully chilled, serve with raspberry sauce.
