Shelly's Recipe

RASPBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE-HAZELNUT COOKIE CRUST

Category: Cheesecake

Chocolate-Hazelnut Cookie Crust
12 oz unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 3/4 cups ground hazelnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter with the sugar until light. Add in the egg and mix well.

Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, ground hazelnuts, and cornstarch.

Add this to the creamed mixture and blend.

Form the dough into a bowl and wrap in plastic. Chill for about 4 hours.

This makes WAY more than you need for the crust. So press the crust onto the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan that has been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with baking spray. Prick bottom with fork. Make the crust about ¼ inch thick. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes. Let cool. Follow the directions down in the cheesecake portion.

For the extra dough…make cookies:

Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut with a cookie cutter(I chose to make hippos but any shape will do).

Chill the cookies for 10 minutes and preheat oven to 325F.

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a rack.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Filling
1/3 cup raspberry jam
2 1/2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 tbsp flour
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups raspberries, pureed and strained
Preheat oven to 350.

Cream the cheese and sugar until soft. Add in eggs one at a time. Mix until incorporated and scrape down the bowl down occasionally. Add flour and mix well. Stir in the vanilla.

Spread the raspberry jam over the cooled crust coming about 1/2 inch from the edge.

Pour in 1/3 of the cheesecake batter. Then drizzle half of the puree on top. Repeat with more cheesecake batter and then puree. Pour the last third of the batter on.

With a thin knife marble the cheesecake. If you want to make the sort of heart like I did, make a V with the puree and then shape it into a heart the best you can with the knife.

Bake in a water bath at 350 for approximately 2 hours. Remove cake from water bath. Cool to room temperature and then chill over night.