Half the Sugar Baker
I’ve been scared of making cheesecakes for a while now because they always seemed like so much work, but the truth is they’re actually really easy to make! This one doesn’t even need a water bath. This cheesecake is super creamy and it’s not too dense, plus it’s made with less sugar than traditional ones that you find in stores. Fun fact – I actually made this raspberry cheesecake for my sister because I lost a bet to her and I told her I would bake her anything she wanted!
Notes and tips:
- It’s really important that your cream cheese is at room temperature when you start beating it because if it’s too cold, it will be too stiff and you will have a very frustrating time trying to get it smooth (trust me, I know from experience).
- This recipe uses whole milk/full fat greek yogurt which makes the cheesecake slightly lighter
- Having the eggs at room temperature will also help make it easier to incorporate them into the cheesecake batter
- In order to achieve the swirl effect on top of the cheesecake, I just poured the raspberry mixture on top of the cheesecake before baking and used a knife and cut across the top a couple of times.
Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
Prep time: 25 minutes Cook time: 75 minutes Servings: 1 10 inch cheesecake
Ingredients
For the raspberry topping:
- 20 ounces fresh raspberries
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- juice from 1/4 of a lemon
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon of water
For the graham cracker crust:
- 170 grams of graham crackers (or 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
- 32 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup full fat greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- zest from 1/2 a lemon
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
Preparation
- Prepare the raspberry topping: Add the raspberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice to a medium pot and mix together. Then heat up the pot over medium heat while stirring. In a separate bowl, combine the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. Once the raspberry mixture is boiling, add the cornstarch slurry and stir constantly. Boil for 2 minutes before turning the heat down to medium-low. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes, then pour the raspberry mixture into a separate bowl to cool. The mixture should be thick and coat the back of a spoon. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325ºF and grease the bottom and sides of a 10 inch springform pan.
- Prepare the crust: Add the graham crackers to a food processor or blender and blend until very fine crumbs form. Then add the brown sugar and blend again briefly to combine.
- Pour the graham cracker crumbs into a bowl and combine well with the melted butter. Then pour the crumb mixture into the prepared springform pan and press firmly into an even layer over the bottom. Set aside.
- Prepare the cheesecake filling: In a large bowl, add the cream cheese and beat with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Then add the 1/2 cup sugar and beat until incorporated.
- Add the greek yogurt, vanilla extract, salt, and lemon zest to the cream cheese and beat until everything is well combined.
- In a separate bowl, briefly beat the 4 eggs. Then pour 1/4 of the eggs into the cream cheese mixture and beat until incorporated. Continue doing this until all of the beaten eggs are used. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is well mixed.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the springform pan on top of the crust. Then pour the cooled raspberry mixture over the cheesecake in an even layer. For a swirl pattern, you can drag a knife through the top of the cheesecake. To ensure against leaks, you can put the cheesecake on top of a baking sheet.
- Transfer the cheesecake to the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 75 minutes. When done baking, remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it rest on top of the oven for 10 minutes. The cheesecake should wobble like jello when you gently shake the pan and bounce back when touched. Be careful not to overbake.
- After 10 minutes, use a knife to loosen the crust from the pan and allow the cheesecake to cool for another 2 hours before transferring to the refrigerator to cool overnight. Then remove from refrigerator and enjoy!
Note: This recipe is modified from Sugar Spun Run’s recipe which you can find at https://sugarspunrun.com/best-cheesecake-recipe/#recipe
