My daughter Hannah’s two most favourite things to eat are chocolates & strawberries. But she also loves the combination of chocolates with raspberries, so on her birthday this year, I decided to bake for her a chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Must admit cheesecakes are pretty tricky, but once you get a knack, these become pretty easy. A spring foam pan comes in handy as cheesecakes usually tend to stick to the sides of the pan. Some people tend to use a water bath (putting the cake pan inside a bigger pan covered in water). But if you are using cornstarch as an ingredient, this is not really necessary. Another tip a friend once gave was to preheat the oven to 350° F before baking, & then turn the oven down to about 325° F once you put the cake in for baking. And also after the allotted time for baking, turn off the oven & leave the cake inside to cool, leaving the oven door a little open. This way the cake will not break. But even if it breaks a little on top, not to worry, u will not even notice once you finish decorating the cake & they taste so yummy too 🙂
Ingredients
Instructions
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Butter the sides of a 9 & !/2 inch spring foam pan & place a wax paper inside.
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In a medium pan, take 2 cups cookie crumbs, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tbsp. sugar & 1/4 tsp. cinnamon pd. & mix well. Press this into the bottom of the spring foam pan.
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Puree 2 cups of frozen thawed raspberries with 1/2 cup water in a blender. Strain the puree to remove seeds. Then in a saucepan, bring the pureed raspberries, 4 tbsp. sugar & 2 tsp. cornstarch to a boil. Let the sauce thicken for a few minutes, then turn off heat & let the sauce cool.
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Combine 2 cups of dark chocolate chips & 1/2 cup of cream in a glass bowl. Put a saucepan of water for boiling & put the glass bowl on top of the pan of boiling water, stirring constantly until the chocolate melts completely. (Alternatively, you could put the chocolate chips & cream in a microwave safe glass bowl & microwave until the chocolate melts, making sure to stir the contents every 10 seconds or so).
- Preheat your oven to 350° F.
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In a large mixing bowl, beat in 3 packages (about 750 gm.) until smooth. Mix in 1 cup of sugar & beat. Gradually add in 3 eggs, 1 at a time & mix well on low speed. Finally blend in the melted chocolate & 2 tsp. vanilla extract.
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Pour half of this mixture into the springfoam pan over the crust. Spoon 1/4 cup of the raspberry sauce over this. Pour remaining mixture into the cake pan & top it again with 1/4 cup raspberry sauce. (Keep the remaining sauce for serving with the cheesecake later). With a sharp knife, make a few swirls around the top.
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Put the spring foam pan in the oven & then turn down the temperature to 325° F & bake for 60 minutes. Then turn off the oven & let the cake remain in the oven for at least an hour or so until the cake & oven cools completely, leaving the oven slightly open.
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Take the cake out of the oven & run a sharp knife around the edges so that it does not stick to the sides. Let the cake cool in the refrigerator for at least 10 hours.
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Melt a bar of your favourite dark chocolate (I used Godiva) along with 2 tbsp. cream or half & half in a microwave safe bowl. Decorate the chocolate raspberry cheesecake with the melted chocolate. Place a few fresh raspberries on top. Refrigerate again for at least 30 minutes.
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For serving, dip a knife into some warm water & then slice the cake. Pour a little raspberry sauce over the slices & enjoy! :)
