Our raspberries just started to ripen over the past weekend, almost two weeks later than normal. But that comes as no surprise after it took so achingly long for our Midwestern winter, followed by a cold and extra rainy spring, to finally depart.
Which makes these vibrant and tasty garden delights seem all the more well deserved!
Picking and enjoying fresh raspberries from the yard feels very natural to me. Growing up on the farm, we had a large raspberry patch, and spent a great deal of time tending to it. I can still envision Mom gently washing the buckets of berries at the sink and the late night bowls of vanilla ice cream toppled with ruby heavenlyness.
When Blake and I were considering buying our current home, the already established raspberry patch was a definite plus in my book. And, since moving in, our family has enjoyed every last bite!
When our berries hit their peak week of producing, we can pick almost a gallon bucket of berries every day. It’s impossible for us to consume them all before they spoil. While we eat plenty of fresh berries every day, and give them away to grateful friends and neighbors, there still needs to be a plan to make sure none of them goes to waste.
We freeze some for future use. And we make a couple batches of our favorite quick and easy Raspberry Blackberry Freezer Jam. It’s so fabulous smeared on a piece of buttery toast, a warm popover, or a fresh steaming yeasted waffle.
And when I’m feeling really indulgent…
I make this Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake!
I love that this Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake filling includes sour cream; I think it adds beautiful texture and tang. This cheesecake is super creamy and luscious, delicately tangy, and swirled with the softly sweet taste and scent of fresh raspberries. The beautiful berry marbling always elicits oohs and ahhs. Every time I make it, I’m reminded of the expression on my mother-in-law’s face when I made this for the first time on her birthday many years ago. I thought she was going to cry.
This cheesecake really is special enough for tears of joy. And I do hope you’ll find that out for yourself by giving this tried and true recipe a go.
Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
Ingredients
Raspberry Sauce
- 6 ounces fresh raspberries
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon water
Crust
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling
- 24 ounces brick-style, full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
Instructions
Raspberry Sauce
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and water. Use a fork to crush the berries a bit. Stir frequently, cooking until the berries start to release their juices. Increase heat to nearly medium, to bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the berries are broken down and the liquid is deep pink to light red in color and slightly thickened.
- Remove saucepan from heat and pour raspberry mixture through a very fine mesh strainer into a bowl. If your strainer is not fine enough to strain the seeds, line it with a double layer of cheesecloth first. Use a spatula to press on the raspberry mixture in the strainer, to get as much juice as possible from the berries. Measure out 2 teaspoons of raspberry seeds from the strainer and add them to the raspberry juice. Discard the rest of the seeds in the strainer. Set raspberry sauce aside to cool – you should have about ⅓ cup of raspberry sauce.
Crust
- Place oven rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Very lightly spray a 9" springform pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add melted butter and stir until evenly combined.
- Add the crust mixture to prepared 9" springform pan. Press mixture evenly up the sides, about 1¼" up (so the crust is as tall as the cheesecake filling), and onto the bottom of the pan. A flat-bottomed glass is helpful to gently and evenly press the crust mixture into place. Set crust aside.
Cheesecake Filling
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until completely smooth. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl as needed, to ensure the mixture is free of lumps.
- Add sour cream and vanilla to cream cheese mixture and mix on low speed until evenly combined.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. With mixer on low speed, very slowly drizzle the beaten eggs into the cream cheese mixture. When nearly all combined, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix again to fully and evenly combine.
Assemble
- Pour cheesecake filling over prepared crust and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Add six 1-teaspoon sized dots of prepared raspberry sauce to the top of the filling, spacing the dots out as much as possible. Use the tip of a chopstick, or something similar in your kitchen drawer, to gently swirl the raspberry sauce through the cheesecake filling to create a pretty, swirly pattern. Cover and refrigerate remaining raspberry sauce; save for serving time.
- Place cheesecake in oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until cheesecake is mostly set, with just the center being a little bit jiggly.
- Now turn off the oven, crack the door open 3"-4", and let cheesecake sit in the oven undisturbed for 1 hour. Then remove cheesecake to a cooling rack to cool, until it is no longer warm. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator to chill and set for at least 6 hours. For the thickest, creamiest cheesecake texture, definitely chill overnight.
- Serve slices of raspberry cheesecake with fresh raspberries and reserved raspberry sauce. Dollops of freshly whipped cream are always welcome, too!
Nutrition Information:
I’m making this cake today for a friend’s birthday..fingers crossed it looks and tastes as good as your one..In the oven now…the long wait begins…..
Thanks..
Hello! Do let me know how this turns out for you. I can smell it baking from here!
Hi turned out really good…have put up a picture on my flickr page…thanks a ton..everyone loved it. & looking forward to more cooking from your awesome blog….cheers…
It looks great – YAY! Thanks so much for returning to let me know!
I love the comment from “Mom” – sounds like something I would post on my daughter’s blog. :)
The cheesecake is gorgeous, and the raspberries make such a beautiful presentation. That is my favorite kind of cheesecake – one without flour – because it is so creamy. The raspberries would provide such a nice flavor combo.
A raspberry bush (or any kind of established berry bush) would be a BIG draw to me if I was looking for a house. ;)
So nice to hear from you, Linda – thanks!! And, yes, I love comments from Mom. :)
OH MY GOODNESS!! I am such a cheesecake fanatic and this is simply gorgeous!! I can’t wait to make this one weekend.
So nice to hear from you! I’d love to know what you think of this!
What a sweet looking cake! Your photos are lovely! Glad to find your blog! Now following RSS..
Thank you – for your lovely comment, your following along via RSS, and for just plain introducing yourself! :)
looks great i bet it is delicious
This looks absolutely heavenly! We had a large raspberry patch growing up. I have lots of fond memories of the hours I spent in the berry patch with my family. I am definitely saving this recipe to try in a couple of weeks when I get fresh berries from my parents. :)
Oh my gosh, this looks amazing and how blessed you are to have that supply of raspberries!
Wow! This cake is gorgeous. You have a gift for cheesecakes. Love the vivid colors. I’d like to invite you to share your recipe on A Well-Seasoned Life’s Sweet Indulgences Sunday.
http://www.wellseasonedlife.com/2011/07/sweet-indulgences-sunday-13.html
Thanks, Kim – and nice to meet you!
That cheesecake looks absolutely amazing and is such a sight to behold. I doubt I’ll be able to get my grubby little hands on fresh raspberries, but I’m hoping frozen might do for this recipe?
Hi Melissa – I definitely think frozen raspberries would work for this, since it’s a puree. It might not have that brightness to the red, but I think you would get mostly the same effect and flavor.
What a GORGEOUSLY perfect cheesecake! You must have been so chuffed when it turned out so beautifully, well i know i would have been anyway! :) I can only imagine how wonderful it tastes too, cant resist anything raspberry :) Such a lovely post
It’s so beautiful :)
Very pretty… I’m sure it’s just delicious!
Thank you, Emily – lovely to hear from you!
This cheesecake looks just beautiful! I walked through the farmers’ market today and was just overwhelmed by the beautiful raspberries. What a perfect use for them!
So nice to hear from you, Katie! Raspberries are such a treat, and this is a lovely way to treat your family and friends.
Even your Dad thought the cheesecake looked irresistible!
I was just thinking… “I wonder if Farm Girl has some ideas for raspberries”.
I am going picking next week. Thank you!
Every time I am looking for ideas I go to your site first and you always have something I love!!
What a lovely note – thank you so much, Liz! Hope you like the cheesecake!
Wow! I’ve never seen a more beautiful cheesecake! I would love to try this if I could find fresh raspberries.
Stunning!
Gorgeous!!
This is the most gorgeous cheesecake I’ve ever seen! I’d bet it tastes amazing too.
Thanks, Miss! Hope you’re having a great weekend!
WOW, this just looks amazing. I love a good cheesecake and this one is calling my name.
Carolyn/A Southerners Notebook