Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce
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Because I love making cheesecake, even though I don’t really care to eat it. And because I had both cream cheese, raspberries and lemon juice, I felt the need to make lemon cheesecake. Josh was approving of my decision. He welcomes any day I choose to make some. I had never made this variety before but it sounded like a nice light and refreshing spring cheesecake. It turned out to be just that with a delightful lemon flavor.
Just as eating cheesecake isn’t for everyone, neither is making it. But if you’re up for trying and following my instructions, I promise you will end up with a wonderful end result. These suggestions apply to making any cheesecake.
Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 1/2 C graham crackers
- 3/4 C unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 Tb granulated sugar
Filling:
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 C granulated sugar
- 1/2 C sour cream
- 1 Tb lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs
Sauce:
- 1 12 oz bag of frozen raspberries
- 1 Tb granulated sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F°.
- Using a food processor, chop up graham crackers into fine crumbs. *Tip: 2 1/2 C is roughly 2 of the 3 wrapped packages from a box of graham crackers. If you don't have a food processor, toss your graham crackers in a gallon size bag and smash away. You can use a meat tenderizer with the flat side or a rolling pin.
- Toss crumbs into a medium bowl. Add in butter and sugar. Mix well. If making mini cheesecakes, put 1/2 C of crust mixture into the bottom of your mini springform pans. If making a large cheesecake, toss all of your crust mixture into the bottom of your pan. Use a flat or rounded instrument to help press and smooth your crust. Some cheesecakes call for crust going part way up the side of your pan while others do not. You can do either with this. I chose to keep my crust flat without it going up the sides of my pan at all. Bake for 5 minutes. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Scrape away from the sides of your bowl. Add in sugar, mix until combined. Add sour cream, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix well, remembering to scrape the sides of your bowl often. You may find that you need to help loosen any mixture from your beater occasionally. Add in eggs and mix well. Scrape one more time and do another quick mix.
- Before adding filling to your pan or pans, wrap the bottom and sides tightly with foil. Use multiple pieces if necessary to get good coverage.
- For one large cheesecake, transfer entire filling mixture to your pan. For mini cheesecakes, use a large cookie scoop to fill each pan. This method will help in making sure that you have the same amount of filling per pan. Never fill to the top edge of the pan, always leave a bit of breathing room.
- Find a baking dish or roasting pan that is big enough for your cheesecake(s). It should be as high as your springform pan or taller and also big enough that you aren't crowding mini cheesecakes or causing springform pans to touch your exterior pan. Place filled and wrapped cheesecake(s) in your larger dish or pan.
- Grab the largest glass measuring cup you have, or heat safe pouring container. Fill it up with hot water. Place your pan with cheesecake in the oven. Pour hot water carefully into the pan without getting it in the cheesecake. You want the water to be no more than half way up the side of your springform pan.
- For mini cheesecakes, cook for 35 minutes or until set but still wiggly. For one large cheesecake, cook for 70 minutes.
- Carefully remove entire pan from the oven. You can remove the individual cheesecake(s) instead and leave the water bath in the oven but DO remember to remove it before you cook again.
- Let cheesecake cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before removing foil. Carefully remove foil at that point. Continue cooling cheesecake on the wire rack for an additional 20 minutes or more. Transfer to the fridge for 2-4 hours or overnight.
- When it is time to eat. Run a knife around the edge of your cheesecake. Release your springform pan and force it to go larger. Then carefully remove the edge. To make clean slices, clean your knife after every slice. A warm knife may help as well.
- Place entire bag of frozen raspberries in a large fine strainer, over a large bowl. Allow to thaw out. This may take several hours. When your raspberries are mostly thawed you can begin pushing down on the raspberries with a large spoon. Pushing and spreading out the raspberries will cause any juices to get sent through the strainer. You want any and all juices in the bowl and all seeds left in the strainer. Discard seeds remaining.
- Add sugar and lemon juice to raspberry purée. Mix well and top off desserts as desired. You can refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to a year, or so I read. If you are considering topping off a cheesecake with this raspberry sauce, reserve a cream cheese container. An 8oz container is the perfect size for storing this amount of raspberry sauce.
Notes
An original recipe from Baked by Rachel
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cheesecakes are so yummy, i can eat them all day long`:’
Well, it’s 2am and I should really be in bed by now, but now all I want to do is go and make cheesecake! Good job ;)
What size [in inches] are your mini and large spring form pans?
Here are links to the exact pans I use. Mini: http://tinyurl.com/cxtkf7a Small (as used in this particular recipe): http://tinyurl.com/q2glk83 and full size: http://tinyurl.com/oponhvg Hope that helps! :)
THX1 i have an 8″ and a 9.5″ … so either would work. Can’t wait to give it a try this week..
Just made this!!! A little water leaked/condensation was on the inner part of the aluminum foil, Hopefully the crust won’t be soggy – we will see tomorrow! The sauce took forever to make ugh! haha
Enjoy! :)
I made this, but 70 mins at 350 was way too long, wish I had looked sooner, it has some browning on top and no giggle left :( hopefully tastes okay still. I previously made your gingerbread cheesecake and it turned out perfectly. Can I use the 325 for 45 mins then oven off for an hour method for any cheesecake? I was hoping for the same perfect results as your delicious gingerbread cheesecake.
Times aren’t always exact and you should always begin checking early for most recipes. There are so many factors with cooking and baking that could change the total time, from the oven temperature to the size of your pan etc. I hope you still enjoyed it though! :)
Is there an easy way to remove the bottom of the springform pan from the cheesecake before serving?
You can usually remove it carefully by inserting a spatula below the crust.
If I use the 9″ full size pan, will this recipe create a normal height cheesecake? or do I need to add to the recipe? I thought you’d said you used the 4″. I want to try this recipe but don’t have the 4″ pan.
Thanks!
There are instructions included for making a larger full-size cheesecake. However, it’s been quite a while since sharing this recipe, you may be better off turning them into bars and following the general instructions from this post: white chocolate peppermint cheesecake bars, since they have similar ingredient amounts. A full size cheesecake would likely be on the thinner side which is why I’m recommending bars instead. Good luck! :)
do you know why my cheesecake is so brown on the top compared to yours?
There are a few reasons this can happen. It may have been overcooked, especially if your oven is running hot. Be sure to use an internal oven safe thermometer to verify the temperature compared to what you’re setting it at and adjust accordingly. It could also be sitting too close to the upper heating elements. If you notice any browning in the future and catch it early enough, you can always gently cover with foil to prevent further browning.