Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

Raspberry Sauce

1. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, and water. Use a fork to crush the berries a bit. Stir frequently, cooking until the berries start to release their juices. Increase heat to nearly medium, to bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the berries are broken down and the liquid is deep pink to light red in color and slightly thickened.
2. Remove saucepan from heat and pour raspberry mixture through a very fine mesh strainer into a bowl. If your strainer is not fine enough to strain the seeds, line it with a double layer of cheesecloth first. Use a spatula to press on the raspberry mixture in the strainer, to get as much juice as possible from the berries. Measure out 2 teaspoons of raspberry seeds from the strainer and add them to the raspberry juice. Discard the rest of the seeds in the strainer. Set raspberry sauce aside to cool - you should have about ⅓ cup of raspberry sauce.

Crust

1. Place oven rack in center of oven and preheat to 325°F. Very lightly spray a 9" springform pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add melted butter and stir until evenly combined.
3. Add the crust mixture to prepared 9" springform pan. Press mixture evenly up the sides, about 1¼" up (so the crust is as tall as the cheesecake filling), and onto the bottom of the pan. A flat-bottomed glass is helpful to gently and evenly press the crust mixture into place. Set crust aside.

Cheesecake Filling

1. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until completely smooth. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl as needed, to ensure the mixture is free of lumps.
2. Add sour cream and vanilla to cream cheese mixture and mix on low speed until evenly combined.
3. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. With mixer on low speed, very slowly drizzle the beaten eggs into the cream cheese mixture. When nearly all combined, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix again to fully and evenly combine.

Assemble

1. Pour cheesecake filling over prepared crust and smooth the top with a spatula.
2. Add six 1-teaspoon sized dots of prepared raspberry sauce to the top of the filling, spacing the dots out as much as possible. Use the tip of a chopstick, or something similar in your kitchen drawer, to gently swirl the raspberry sauce through the cheesecake filling to create a pretty, swirly pattern. Cover and refrigerate remaining raspberry sauce; save for serving time.
3. Place cheesecake in oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until cheesecake is mostly set, with just the center being a little bit jiggly.
4. Now turn off the oven, crack the door open 3"-4", and let cheesecake sit in the oven undisturbed for 1 hour. Then remove cheesecake to a cooling rack to cool, until it is no longer warm. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator to chill and set for at least 6 hours. For the thickest, creamiest cheesecake texture, definitely chill overnight.
5. Serve slices of raspberry cheesecake with fresh raspberries and reserved raspberry sauce. Dollops of freshly whipped cream are always welcome, too!