Shelly's Recipe

ROYAL RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

Category: Cheesecake

Crust:
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tbsp sugar

Filling
1 (12 oz) bag frozen raspberries, thawed
3 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 large eggs plus yolk of 1 egg, room temperature
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted and stirred until smooth
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
12 drops red food coloring

Garnish: fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 350. Light grease a 9 inch springform pan.

Crust: Combine ingredients and pat over bottom of pan.

Filling: Stir and press berries with back of a spoon through a sieve over a bowl for about 1 1/3 cups puree. Discard seeds and pulp.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs and yolk until blended, scraping down sides of bowl twice. Beat in melted chocolate, then 2/3 cup raspberry puree. Refrigerate remaining puree to serve as a garnish. Add the lemon juice, vanilla extract and food coloring to combine and pour over crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 and bake 1 hour longer or until cake is almost set. Cool completely in pan and then refrigerate overnight.

To serve: release pan sides and remove cake from pan with a wide spatula; slice onto serving plate. Garnish with reserved puree and berries.