Raspberry Cheesecake

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Well, I guess it finally happened. I got this recipe right. I don't make this cheesecake a lot because this is a very dense cake and I prefer my cake on the light side. I had baked this cheesecake once before and it was disastrous albeit mostly my fault. One, I did not butter the sides of my springform pan. Very very important. Two, I baked the cheesecake dry so when it cooled down, I saw the San Andreas fault starting to appear as the cake started to shrink and settle. Good thing it can be covered with the topping but for any cheesecake bakers, the no crack crust is just a matter of personal achievement that seldom happens. To make sure that this did not happen, I had a roasting pan with hot water underneath the baking cheesecake and allowing the cake to cool in the oven as described in the recipe also helps. Three, I finally learned after the countless cheesecakes I've baked that lining the removable bottom of the pan with aluminum foil allows you to transfer the cake easily from the baking pan to the serving plate once the cake has been cooled in the fridge. 

As per my friend's request, I baked this cheesecake for my friend's pastor's birthday. I was hoping I could at least taste the cake again but I guess it's better I couldn't. This recipe is from Ina Garten's show, Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network Channel and as always, her recipes are fool proof. The only change I made was to use raspberry preserves instead of jelly. I dissolved the preserves in about 1/2 cup of water and passed it through a sieve before mixing it in with the fresh raspberries (after it has cooled).
 
For the first time in my blog, I featured a recipe that I too have not tasted personally.  I can only guarantee how good it is from when I made it two or three years ago.  This is indeed one good cheesecake.