Shelly's Recipe

ROYAL RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

Category: Cheesecake

Crust
1 1/4 cups fine graham-cracker crumbs (about 9 whole crackers)
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling
1 (I 2 oz) bag frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
3 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
3 large eggs plus yolk from I large egg, at room temperature
1 cup (6 oz) white chocolate chips, melted as directed on package
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
12 drops red food color

Garnish: fresh raspberries and mint leaves

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

Crust: Mix crumbs and sugar in a bowl. Stir in butter with a fork until moistened. Pat over bottom of pan.

Filling: Stir and press raspberries with back of a wooden spoon through a strainer set over a bowl (you should have 1 1/2 cups puree). Discard seeds and pulp.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs and yolk until blended, scraping down sides of bowl twice. Beat in melted chips, then 2/3 cup of the raspberry puree (refrigerate rest to serve with cake), the lemon juice, vanilla and food color. Pour over crust.

Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 and bake one hour longer or until cake is almost set at center. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack, then refrigerate at least two hours or until cold.

To serve. Release pan sides. Remove cake from pan with a wide spatula; slide onto serving plate. Garnish with raspberries and mint. Serve with raspberry puree.