Raspberry Cheesecake has a crisp crust full of creamy raspberry cheesecake swirled with bright, tangy lemon cheesecake. Top this delicious dessert with raspberry sauce and raspberry whipped cream. This cheesecake tastes like a refreshing glass of raspberry lemonade!
Why you’ll love this Raspberry Cheesecake:
- Raspberry Lemonade flavor – Every bite tastes just like raspberry lemonade! It’s light and refreshing, with a bit of tart flavor from the raspberries and lemon.
- Creamy Cheesecake – This cheesecake has the most creamy & luscious texture – you won’t be able to mess it up, I promise!
- Approachable Recipe – Even though there are a few steps in this nutella cheesecake recipe, the whole thing is completely doable no matter your skill level as a baker!
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found at the bottom of this post.
- Cream Cheese – Use full fat cream cheese, in the block style. This needs to come to room temperature before you bake.
- Eggs – Use large eggs at room temperature.
- Sour Cream – Use full fat sour cream, at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract – Use real vanilla extract for best results.
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter for the crust if you prefer.
- Raspberries – Use fresh or frozen raspberries. If using frozen, do not thaw them first.
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Gluten-free – Use gluten-free graham crackers to make this gluten-free!
- Dairy-free – Use your favorite dairy-free products to make this a dairy-free cheesecake.
- Raspberry Preserves – Use store-bought raspberry preserves instead of the homemade raspberry sauce, if desired. I recommend preserves as they have a nicer flavor & texture than raspberry jam from the store.
How to Make this Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Make & Bake the Crust. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Press into a greased springform pan. Bake for 8 minutes and set aside. Tip: Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until you have fine crumbs, or buy a box of graham cracker crumbs.
Step 2: Make the Cheesecake Batter. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on high speed with an electric mixer (or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) to smooth it out. Then, mix the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into the cream cheese mixture. You’ll have a silky batter. If there are a few tiny lumps, that’s ok.
Step 3: Divide the batter and add flavors. Portion some of the batter into a medium bowl and add the lemon juice and zest. Add a little yellow food coloring (optional) if you want it to be a brighter yellow. Stir in the raspberry sauce to the remaining batter.
Step 4: Swirl the batters. Layer the two batters into your pan, adding alternating dollops of each flavor, until all the batter is used up. Use a butter knife to swirl the batters together.
Step 5: Bake & Cool Cheesecake. Bake as directed in the recipe card below. The colors of the batter will dull a bit on top, but it will still be vibrant on the inside! Cool as directed in the recipe card.
Step 5: Make Raspberry Sauce. Cook raspberries in a saucepan with a little sugar, water, and corn starch to thicken. Strain to remove most of the seeds and then chill until ready to serve cheesecake.
Step 6: Make Raspberry Whipped Cream (optional). Beat together heavy cream, a bit of raspberry sauce, vanilla, and powdered sugar until thick.
Serving + Storing this Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake:
Pour raspberry sauce over the top of the cooled cheesecake, and pipe on whipped cream or serve with the whipped cream on the side. Enjoy the cheesecake immediately once decorated! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Expert Success Tips:
- Room Temperature Ingredients – It is imperative that you let your cold items come to room temperature. Cold ingredients will create a lumpy batter.
- Don’t Over Mix – Over mixing the cheesecake batter when you’re adding the eggs can cause the cheesecake to buckle a little bit in the oven. It will still taste great, but won’t look as pretty.
- Don’t Over Bake – Follow the doneness cues given in the recipe card below to avoid over baking the cheesecake. Don’t panic if it browns the slightest bit on top – that will often happen without it being over baked inside.
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
Yes. I recommend baking it in an 8×8 or 9×9 square pan, to make these as Raspberry Cheesecake Bars. Bake for 30-42 minutes, checking for doneness in the same way.
Yes! That’s the nature of cheesecake. Allow your cheesecake to come to room temp after it’s baked, and then transfer to the fridge to chill at least 6 hours or up to 1 day before serving.
You can try freezing it without the raspberry sauce on top, however, you may lose a bit of the crispness in the crust. I don’t recommend using this as your main option – only if you’re in a pinch. Serving fresh is always best!
Recipe Variations:
- All raspberry cheesecake – Don’t divide up the batter, and add an additional 1/2 cup of raspberry preserves to the batter.
Special Tools:
- Springform Pan – This recipe uses a 9-inch springform pan.
- Offset Spatula – I use an offset spatula for so many things, including smoothing the batter evenly into the pan for this recipe.
More Cheesecake Recipes to Love:
- Mini S’mores Cheesecakes
- Perfect Classic Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce
- Nutella Cheesecake with Nutella Ganache
- Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
- Bailey’s Chocolate Cheesecake
- Biscoff Cheesecake
- Boozy Key Lime Rum Cheesecakes
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Raspberry Lemonade Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Raspberry Sauce
- 3 and 1/2 cups raspberries, fresh or frozen If using frozen, do not thaw first
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
For the Crust
- 1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 138 grams
- 7 tbsp salted butter, melted
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
For the Cheesecake
- 32 ounces full fat cream cheese blocks, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large lemon, zested
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup raspberry sauce Use homemade or store bought raspberry preserves, strained
- 3/4 cup freeze dried raspberries, pulsed to a powder in the food processor measure while whole
For the Raspberry Whipped Cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, cold
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp raspberry sauce or preserves
- fresh raspberries, for topping – optional
- lemon slices, for topping – optional
Instructions
- Make Raspberry Sauce: Stir together cornstarch and water in a small bowl to fully dissolve corn starch. Add this mixture and all the remaining ingredients except the vanilla and lemon juice to a medium pot over medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, and mashing lightly to help the berries release their juices. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook at a low boil for 3 minutes. The sauce should thicken during this time, but it shouldn't be globby. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and lemon zest. Pour into a shallow bowl and pop in the fridge to cool quickly. Taste and add 1-3 tbsp sugar if too tart for you. Make Ahead: This can be made up to 3 days ahead. Yield is 1 and 1/3 cup, but you will lose about 2-3 tbsp of volume after straining.Note: You can skip this step and use a jar of raspberry preserves, if desired. I recommend straining it once to remove most of the seeds if they bother you.
- Make the Crust: Heat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with nonstick spray and make sure the bottom is securely fastened. Stir together crust ingredients and press into prepared pan and up the sides a bit (see photos above). Bake this for 10 minutes. Set aside. Keep the oven on at 350. Fill a large pot with water and set it on your stove, and get out a large roasting pan – you'll need this for your water bath later.
- Make the Cheesecake Filling: Remember that your cold ingredients need to come to room temp before you start. In a large mixing bowl, cream the softened cream cheese until nice and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the sugar and mix until just incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed after each until just incorporated. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure no chunks of unmixed batter are hiding. Add the vanilla and sour cream, and mix until just incorporated. Remove 2 & 1/2 cups of batter (560 grams) and add to a medium bowl. Fold in 2 tbsp of lemon juice & the zest with a silicone spatula. Fold the raspberry preserves & freeze dried raspberry powder into the larger bowl with the plain batter. Alternate adding dollops of the two batters to the baked & cooled crust until it's all been used. Use a butter knife to swirl the batters together for a pretty design.
- Prepare the Water Bath + Bake: Bring the large pot of water to a boil. Set your springform pan on a rack positioned in the center of the oven, and place the roasting pan on the rack below, or wrap the base of the cheesecake pan in foil and place it inside a 10-inch cake pan inside the roasting dish. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, so it comes halfway up the sides of the pan (the cake pan). Both of these methods ensure no leaks.Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes to 1 hour 51 minutes. When done, the cheesecake will have only a slight wobble in the center, and a knife inserted into the edge will come out clean, and will have a bit of thick batter when inserted into the center. Turn off the oven and crack the oven door open. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 1 hour before removing it.
- Cheesecake Cooling: Once the hour is up, remove the pan from the oven. It should be cool enough to handle. Remove the foil and set the springform pan on a wire rack. Let cool completely at room temp, then cover with foil and refrigerate at least 6 hours or up to 1 day before removing from the pan and serving.
- Make the Whipped Cream: Add the whipped cream ingredients to a medium bowl and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. If you want to pipe this, you'll need to stabilize it – see note below.
- Serve & Store: Pour raspberry topping over the top of the cheesecake and top with the whipped cream, fresh raspberries, and lemon slices if desired. Slice and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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