Chocolate raspberry cheesecake with raspberries

Description

The raspberries add beautiful, elegant color and sweet-tart berry flavor to contrast with the rich chocolate cheesecake. Calorie and fat content of this cheesecake can be adjusted by using regular, low-fat, or fat-free cream cheese.

  • 8 Ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 Packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese at room temperature
  • 2 Packages (8 ounces each) reduced-fat cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 Cups sugar
  • 2/3 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 Tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 Packages (6 ounces) Driscoll's Raspberries, divided
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable shortening
  • 4 Eggs
  • 20 purchased chocolate wafer cookies (such as Famous Chocolate Wafers)
Directions
  1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F.
  2. PLACE cookies into bowl of a food processor.
  3. PULSE cookies until crushed into fine crumbs.
  4. ADD butter.
  5. PULSE several times to combine ingredients.
  6. PRESS crumb mixture firmly into bottom a 9-inch spring-form pan.
  7. BAKE 5-10 minutes or until crust is firm and fragrant.
  8. SET ASIDE crust to cool completely.
  9. PLACE cream cheese into bowl of an electric stand mixer.
  10. BEAT cream cheese on high speed until completely smooth WHILE PAUSING to SCRAPE beater and sides of bowl frequently with rubber spatula.
  11. BEAT IN sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla.
  12. BEAT IN eggs one at a time and SCRAPE DOWN sides of bowl with rubber spatula after each addition.
  13. BRING TO BOIL a large pot of water WHILE CONTINUING with recipe.
  14. WRAP outside of spring-form pan with three layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil WHILE making sure foil reaches top of pan and does not tear.
  15. POUR half of batter into spring-form pan.
  16. ADD 1 package raspberries in a single layer.
  17. PRESS DOWN raspberries slightly into batter.
  18. POUR remaining batter over raspberries WHILE making sure berries are completely covered.
  19. PLACE spring-form into a large roasting pan.
  20. PLACE roasting pan into oven.
  21. POUR boiling water carefully into roasting pan until water is halfway up side of spring-form pan WHILE making sure no water spills into spring-form pan.
  22. BAKE 1 hour 30 minutes or until cheesecake is just barely set in center.
  23. REMOVE spring-form pan carefully from roasting pan.
  24. ALLOW cheesecake to cool several hours on a wire rack.
  25. PLACE cheesecake in refrigerator to chill at least 4 hours or overnight.
  26. PLACE shortening into a medium microwave-safe bowl.
  27. HEAT shortening in microwave on medium power until just melted. Do not overheat.
  28. ADD chocolate chips.
  29. STIR to combine ingredients.
  30. REPEAT heating and stirring in short increments until chocolate is melted and completely smooth. Do not overheat.
  31. LINE an 8-inch x 4-inch loaf pan with aluminum foil.
  32. POUR melted chocolate mixture into lined pan.
  33. PLACE chocolate mixture into refrigerator to cool and set for several hours or overnight.
  34. UNMOLD chocolate from loaf pan.
  35. REMOVE aluminum foil from chocolate.
  36. SHAVE chocolate curls with vegetable peeler directly onto cheesecake.
  37. GARNISH cheesecake with remaining raspberries.
Lighten Up Tip
  1. Use 4 packages reduced-fat cream cheese or 2 packages reduced-fat cream cheese plus 2 packages fat-free cream cheese. Crust can be omitted by spraying spring-form pan with cooking spray.
Calories 342
Total Fat 21.41 g
Saturated Fat 12.18 g
Cholesterol 108.04 mg
Sodium 274 mg
Total Carbohydrates 32.51 g
Dietary Fiber 3.19 g
Protein 6.92 g