I realize raspberry season in our part of the country is still a number of months away. I still see nothing wrong with using some of those frozen ones from last year’s crop. If there’s one thing I love, it’s an easy dessert that is still totally delicious. Combining raspberries and cream cheese is a match made in heaven.
Vividly pink and exquisitely perfumed makes raspberries so hard to resist. I think I’ve tried to use them in everything imaginable. For one company event some years ago, I was trying to come up with a sauce that would take my cream puffs to the ‘next level’. I decided to put some Chambord raspberry liqueur in it. Chambord is created using black and red raspberries, vanilla, citrus peel, honey and hints of fragrant herbs. I definitely could say I think I ‘nailed it’ with that raspberry drizzle.
Although the red raspberries seem to be the most popular and well known, I have tasted the gold ones as well. Fall Gold raspberries ripen in the late part of the season, becoming very large and sweet. If you get a chance, they are certainly worth trying.
It seems strange that raspberries are actually a member of the rose ‘family’ and not considered a true berry. Regardless, they are certainly delicious to eat and always give such great eye appeal to everything they are used in. Cheesecake has become such a global favorite, you might say, it’s a work of art that comes easily.
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MINIS
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- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 4 Tbsp butter, melted
- 280 gm (2 cups) frozen raspberries
- 454 gm cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- 2 large eggs
Ingredients
Base
Filling
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- Preheat oven to 350 F. Have 2 mini 12-cup cheesecake pans available (the ones with the removable bottoms) OR use a 12 count cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar & melted butter. Mix until a crumby mixture forms. Evenly distribute the mixture into either 24 mini cheesecake pan cups or 12 regular paper lined cupcake cups & press firmly into an even layer.
- Bake the graham cracker crusts for 5 minutes. Remove the baked crusts from the oven & let cool while you make the filling.
- Add the frozen raspberries to a medium saucepan. Let the berries simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the berries break & begin to dissolve into a syrup.
- Remove from the heat & strain the berries to remove the seeds. Allow the syrup to chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese & sugar until smooth. Add the sour cream, vanilla & raspberry syrup (reserve a small amount to use when decorating baked cheesecakes if you wish). Mix until completely combined.
- Add the eggs & mix again just until combined.
- Evenly distribute the cheesecake filling into pans of choice. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the centers are still slightly jiggly but not runny.
- Remove from the oven & allow to cool at room temperature. Move to the fridge & let them chill for at least 2 hours before removing from pans & papers.
- If desired, top with whipped cream, some reserved syrup & fresh raspberries before serving.