Black Raspberry Vanilla Swirl Cheesecake

mmmmmm, yumm!

I was recently asked to bring a cheesecake to a family gathering, something with raspberries. Usually when I get a request like that my mind is either drawn to one of my favorites (White Chocolate Raspberry) or I get the urge to create one that I've never made before. Knowing that my Father In Law loves black raspberries I decided to create this one just for him.

Back in March I had buried some Vanilla Beans in white sugar in a Tupperware container, marked the date on top and stuck it into the cupboard and forgot about them. The ingredient Vanilla Sugar had been dancing around in my mind for a while and I thought I would at least prepare it so I have it on hand when an inspiration hit me. When the label Black Raspberry Vanilla Swirl popped into my head I knew I was prepared. :)

I had an abundance of black raspberries last year and instead of freezing all of them whole I had blended and sieved some of them and froze just the pulp. This came in handy too because the true raspberry flavor came through in the sauce and the whole frozen ones I added after it was cooled made it seem like they were fresh. Win win!

I was pleased with the color and creaminess of this one, and it was so delicious!

Line the bottom of a 10 inch Spring Form pan with parchment paper. Spray with non-stick spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350°.

For the Crust:
 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons cup All Purpose Flour
 9 Tablespoons Almond Meal
 6 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
 9 Tablespoons White Sugar
 1/3 teaspoon Salt
Mix together in a food processor or by hand until small crumbs form. Press into the bottom of a 10 inch Spring Form Pan (lined with parchment paper and sprayed). Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Reduce heat to 300°. Place a small pan of hot water onto the bottom oven rack.

For the cake:

6 (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened

1½ cups Vanilla Sugar

6 large Eggs, room temp.

½ cup sour cream, room temp.

1½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1/3 cup raspberry juice, no pulp

2 Tablespoons Vanilla Sugar

1 Tablespoon AP Flour

In a mixer bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl combine eggs and sour cream, beat till combined. Add into the cream cheese mixture and beat only till combined.

Measure out 3 cups of batter and place into a separate bowl. Fold/add in 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract to this.

Combine the raspberry juice, 2 TBS. vanilla sugar, and 1 TBS. AP flour and mix until no lumps remain and sugar is dissolved. Add to the batter still in the mixer bowl. Gently fold in just until mostly combined.

Pour half of colored batter onto cooled crust.

Pour in vanilla batter, try to cover all the colored batter.

Repeat with the last of the colored batter.

Bake for 60-65 minutes in a 300° oven. When the sides look puffed and dry and the center is still jiggly, turn the oven heat off and prop the door open with a wooden spoon handle for another 45-60 minutes. Remove from oven and run a thin, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight before removing from the pan onto a serving plate.

Sauce:

1 cup Raspberry Juice, no pulp

1/3 cup Vanilla Sugar

½ cup water

1 cup frozen Black Raspberries

2 Tablespoons Clear Jel powder

water to make a thin paste

For the sauce: Combine raspberry juice, water, and vanilla sugar in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Thicken with Clear Jel, not stiff, this should be thickened but still runny. (I ended up not using quite all the clear jel/water mixture I had prepared). When it is cooled add in the frozen berries and stir until combined. Serve over cheesecake.

Have a wonderful weekend!

♥Blessings!♥