Raspberry Cheesecake

Raspberries are my family’s favorite fruit, boxes disappear in matters of seconds and there is never enough to go around.  I tried to grow them but the clay soil in my yard and Virginia weather did not  make it so easy, or maybe it was my black thumb.  In Poland it was so easy to grow Raspberries they would take over your yard like weeds.  Someday I tell myself that I will build a big raised garden and grow things, for now thank goodness for a local grocery store.

This cheesecake is really easy to make and if you do not like raspberries or they need to be shipped from Chile and cost arm and a leg you can replace with blueberries.

You will need: 30 graham crackers, 1/2 stick (4tbs) butter, 2 1/2 cups of cream cheese (20 oz), 2/3 cup sour cream, 3 tbs cornstarch, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, 3 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 cups fresh raspberries (more for garnish).

Preheat oven to 325 deg (170 C)

Take graham crackers and crush them into pieces by placing in a bag and hitting with rolling pin (great for excess of negative energy) or if you are peaceful placing in a  food processor.

Sprinkle the crumbs all over 9 inch cake pan.  Melt the butter and pour all over the graham crackers

press the mixture to the bottom of the pan and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes

In the meantime make the filling by placing cream cheese and sour cream in a mixing bowl

Beat until smooth

add 3 tbs cornstarch

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3 eggs

and 1 tsp vanilla and mix until smooth

Add washed and dried raspberries

Carefully mix in (more like fold in) with the batter

Pour over the graham cracker crust

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes.  I covered the baking sheet with parchment paper just in case there is any spills I can just throw away the paper.  Plus my baking sheets are nasty.  Yep.  They have been used for at least a year and no matter what I do I can’t get them to look like new again.

Remove when golden and let cool, then chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or overnight.

I know I just told you to wait till cool and refrigerate but that never works in my house.  The moment a beauty like this comes out of the oven the cake vultures come out.  Actually the cake vultures have been circling the kitchen for the past 30 minutes asking numerous questions regarding the arrival of this cake.

So we do not wait.

We dig in right away.

So our cheesecake looks less then perfect.

But there is always another side and by the time you cover it with berries and sprinkle with more powdered sugar no one will care about little blemishes.  They may even like the sight of berries in between the creamy layers of cheese.