Raspberry Cheesecake

Baking was my first love. Some kids liked Lego, I liked baking cakes and horrifying my mother with the outrageous amounts of dishes I could produce.
Now, there's cake, then there's the cheesecake. Cheesecake is the ultimate cake because it combines cheese and dessert. Who doesn't love cheese and dessert?! Nobody, that's who. This particular cheesecake was a special request from a friend for her sister's birthday, so it had to be as beautiful as possible!! There's just something so satisfactory about making pretty food and making people happy.


(Perfect?) Cheesecake

Ingredients

- 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup of melted butter
- 1/6 of a cup of granulated sugar (crust)
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 3x250g packs of cream cheese
- 1 cup of granulated sugar (cake)\
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon juice

Material

- 9 inch springform pan (I found mine for $1.99 at our local Dollar store, no need to spend big bucks!)


Instructions

- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Take cream cheese out of fridge to allow it to soften
- Mix the graham crackers crumbs and sugar
- Add melted butter to graham cracker mix
- Press mixture into the bottom of your springform pan, patting it down hard and evenly
- Place pan with crust in the freezer for 10 minutes
- In the meantime, beat the cream cheese with the 1 cup of sugar in a large bowl
- Beat in 3 eggs, one at a time
- Add vanilla extract and lemon juice
- Pour mixture over crust in pan and bake for 35 minutes
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes, then cool in the refrigerator for 3 hours or more
- Carefully open springform pan and slowly lift it off. Ta-da! Beautiful cheesecake!
- Top with Raspberry Topping or with any other delicious topping of your choice


Raspberry Topping

Ingredients
- 4x6oz packages of raspberries (or 1 1/3 cup per package)
- 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Instructions

1. - Puree half of the raspberries (2x6oz) in a blender or food processor until smooth (NutriBullet does this in seconds if you have one!

1.  - Press through a mesh sieve with a spoon to remove seeds until you have 1 cup of puree. You can place the sieve over a measuring cup and do it directly into it to save dishes.

1. - Mix raspberry puree, sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan until blended. 

1. - Bring to a boil over medium-high heat

1. - Once it has boiled, cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens

1. - Remove from heat and cool

1. - Once it's warm (no longer hot, but not cold, it makes pouring easier), pour over cheesecake

1. - Refrigerate for 1 hour

1. - Top with remaining raspberries

1. - Serve and enjoy people's dropping jaws when they see your beautiful creation!!!

Official rules of cheesecake

1. If your cheesecake cracks while cooling, IT WILL STILL BE DELICIOUS DON'T FREAK OUT.

2. If the topping doesn't come out as beautiful as you'd hoped, refer to rule 1.

3. Never think of any form of diet while eating cheesecake. It's awesome. That's all that matters.