I make - Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

This is a raspberry version of My Favorite Cheesecake recipe. Can you see how creamy and unctuous this is? This recipe has converted a non-cheesecake eater to a willing one. To let you on a secret, light cream cheese works just as well as full fat version, if that makes you feel better. This is my first cheesecake this year. You will see it often here. 

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake, slightly adapted from El Mundo Eats

Raspberry Swirl 

150 g fresh raspberries
2 tbsps sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsps cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsps water

Biscuit base*
160 g gluten-free digestives, finely ground (or up to 200 g)
30 g salted butter, melted

Cheesecake filling
300 g cream cheese, room temperature (if your block is 340 g, use all)
100 g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp orange extract or zest
pinch of salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsps lemon juice
2 eggs, beaten
185 g double cream/yogurt mix, 50%:50% (or sour cream)

First, make the raspberry coulis by heating raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a milk pan (small pot). Simmer until raspberries become soft and easily squashed by a rubber spatula and the mixture starts to thicken. Mash the raspberries with a fork or rubber spatula. Drizzle in cornstarch slack and bring the pot back to boil. Simmer until the consistency is like thick honey. Heat off and pass the raspberry mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds. Use a spoon to press the puree through the sift and scrape the seedless coulis off to a bowl. You need to be patient with this as it can take 10 minutes to extract all coulis without any seeds. Cool the coulis while you prepare the cheesecake.

Start with the biscuit base by lining a baking tin  (24.5 x 17 x 4.5 cm or 9½" x 6½" x 2") with greaseproof paper and crushing the digestives to fine crumbs. 160 g for a thin base and 200 g for a thicker one. Drizzle in just enough melted butter to look like a wet sand. 30 g is enough for me when using 160 g of biscuits. You may need more butter if using 200 g of biscuits. Put the biscuit butter crumbs in the pan and press tightly use a back of a spoon. Chill the base while you prepare the filling.

Preheat the oven at 140ºC.

To make the filling, beat cream cheese in a bowl with a hand held mixer until creamy (just a few seconds, no need to overbeat). Now add in sugar, vanilla and orange extracts, cornstarch and lemon juice and mix for 30 seconds. Fold in beaten eggs with a rubber spatula with minimum strokes possible. The goal is not to incorporate excess air which cracks the cooked cheesecake. Finally fold in cream/yogurt mixture. Pour all cream cheese mixture onto the biscuit base pan and smooth the top.

Now drop the raspberry coulis by spoonfuls over the top. Make swirls with a tip of a knife or a spoon and then gently shake the pan to even out the top surface.

Bake in a preheated oven (no fan) at 130ºC for 50-55 minutes until the edges have set but the center lightly jiggles when shaking. Turn the oven off and keep the oven door ajar to cool the cheesecake for 2 hours (you can wedge a towel or an oven mitten at the door). Remove from the oven and cool completely. Then chill in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight. 

*You can use a shortbread crust as well by combining 150 g flour, 2 tablespoons of icing sugar and 90 g salted butter. Bake at 180ºC for 20 minutes, cool to room temperature before filling.