How to Use Up a Few Red Raspberries: Red Raspberry Cheesecake
We have one red raspberry bush which bears just enough from one picking for a few berries on cereal or to make a nice topping for ice cream, but rarely enough to make a pie or a raspberry crunch unless I save them up for several days or freeze them first, or get some elsewhere.
I’ve been looking for an easy way to make a good cheesecake base, and finally decided to try using my normal Cherry Delight recipe, cutting it in half for the crust and the cheesy middle, with a cooked berry topping. The result was a wonderful variation on the Cherry Delight, but not quite having typical luscious cheesecake properties (or taste) in the middle. Next time I will have to just try a standard cheese cake recipe which looks a little daunting. Does anyone have a good cheesecake recipe to recommend?
Until then, if you want a colorful dessert for a festive picnic or party this weekend, this might be a relatively easy way to go.
Substitute for sour cream. My other experiment here was making my own sour cream, since I didn’t have any on hand and didn’t want to run to town. I used vinegar plus Half and Half which worked fine. (It does need 24 hours to turn to sour cream, and you keep it out of the fridge during that time. So plan ahead.)
Here I garnished the cheesecake with a handful of blueberries to add additional color and antioxidants.
Red Raspberry Cheesecake
Crust
1 cup graham crackers, crushed
¼ cup butter
½ Tablespoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon plain gelatin
Cream cheese mixture
4 ounces prepared whipped cream
4 ounces creamed cheese
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream
(Or to make your own sour cream, substitute ½ cup heavy or half and half cream, plus ⅛ cup vinegar – let sour for one day or about 24 hours.)
Berry topping*
½ cup fresh or frozen berries, crushed
2 Tablespoons water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Small amount of water/juice/cornstarch to shake in small container.
Cooking berry mix in small sauce pan.
Combine water, berries and sugar. Drain off about 1 ½ tablespoons juice to mix with cornstarch. Put juice in container with cover and add cornstarch. Shake until dissolved and smooth.
Heat berry/sugar mixture (there should still be some liquid with the berries) on stove until it comes to a boil, plus as it heats, more juice comes out of the berries. Add in cornstarch mixture, stirring all the while. Cook 2-3 minutes or until the cornstarch turns clear. Cool.
* Or, if you have plenty of berries, you may want to just put fresh or slightly sugared berries on the top without crushing and cooking them.
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FREE SAMPLER PDF. Check out the wonderful options for using fresh foods in season, like these berries, in the popular cookbook, Simply in Season, now updated with gorgeous recipe photos. There’s even a free PDF sampler you can view or download, here.
findingharmonyblog 
I’ve made an ice cream with a raspberry puree and lemon. It’s delicious
Whoa, that does sound delicious. I will have to check it out. Thanks, Amanda.
I’ve made lots of different flavours, so if you want inspiration, get in contact
Here is a fairly simple recipe for cheese cake that is delicious.
cream well to soften… 3 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
beat until stiff….4 egg whites
blend into egg whites as you are beating….1 c. sugar
combine egg whites with cream cheese, add….1 tsp vanilla.
Pour into 8″ spring form pan, buttered and clustered with 2/3 c. graham cracker crumbs. (original recipe called for Zwieback crumbs…interesting) Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
When finished baking, mix together and spread over top…2 c. sour cream, 2 T sugar, 1/2 t. vanilla.
Bake 5 minutes longer at 475. I have skipped this part (the sour cream) especially if you are going to put fruit on top.
Chill 2 hours.
I also have scaled down this recipe for the two of us using 2 pkg cream cheese, 3 eggs and 2/3 c sugar and baked in a 9″ pie plate.
On a different note–I am curious about the small sauce pan you are cooking the raspberries in. It looks like one that came with my West Bend cookware from the 1960’s. I bought the set from a salesman, I think when I was just out of high school. [smile]
Elaine, thanks for this lovely recipe and it does sound relatively simple. I don’t have a spring form pan. But I will look into it! I guess that is pretty much standard equipment for anyone making cheesecake in the oven. I like your scaled down recipe–which is what I worked from in taking the cherry delight recipe from a 9″ x 12″ pan to a typical pie pan.
I like that you picked up on my small sauce pan. So indispensable. Mine was made by Regal, received as a wedding gift, I think, but probably very similar. My main set of pots and pans we got circa 1981 made by Townecraft and sold on the home party pan. That’s another story for someday!
Thanks for your wonderful note.
I’ll have to apprecia-BAKE your recipe today: Too hot in Florida for much cooking or baking. I do notice your red-white-blue color scheme. Happy Fourth with your family, Melodie.
Yes, I hope you have a lovely Fourth of July too, heat or not. I loved the summers I lived in Florida because we almost always hit the beach for an all day outing (we lived 50 miles from Panama City) and my sister’s husband’s family usually went with us. We would put up sheet tents and hang out and burn up (not very wise about sunscreen in those days.)
Sorry to hear it is too hot for heavy duty cooking & baking. The beauty of this one is it takes no baking, but I would like to try Elaine’s baked cheesecake above sometime.