Raspberry Cheesecake
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Raspberry Cheesecake is rich, creamy, and swirled with a homemade raspberry sauce that’s bursting with fresh berry flavor. It starts with a buttery Golden Oreo crust that’s filled with a vanilla cheesecake with a hint of lemon mixed in and beautiful raspberry swirls that make every slice look as good as it tastes.
If you’re looking for a cheesecake that’s perfect for summer holidays and special occasions but simple enough to make at home, this raspberry swirl cheesecake is it! The tart raspberries and lemon balanche the rich cheesecake perfectly, while the Golden Oreo curst adds just the right amount of sweetness.
Why You’ll Love This Raspberry Cheesecake Recipe
- Homemade raspberry sauce from fresh raspberries
- Buttery Golden Oreo crust
- Great make ahead dessert
What Makes This Recipe Special
Many raspberry cheesecakes use raspberry preserves or pie filling, but this recipe starts with a homemade raspberry sauce made from fresh raspberries. Straining the sauce removes the seeds while leaving behind all of the fresh berry flavor and gorgeous color.
Instead of swirling all of the raspberry sauce into the top, it’s layered throughout the cheesecake. That means every slice has ribbons of raspberry running through the bottom, middle, and top.
The Golden Oreo crust is another favorite part of this recipe. Its vanilla flavor lets the raspberries shine while adding a buttery, slightly crunchy base.
Ingredients
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all ingredients and quantities.
Fresh raspberries – Fresh raspberries create the best raspberry flavor and color for the homemade sauce. The variety of raspberries that I grow is royalty purple so they’re much darker than the fresh raspberries are the super market.
Lemon juice and zest – A small amount of lemon brightens the raspberry flavor without making the cheesecake taste like lemon.
Golden Oreos – The golden Oreos create a buttery vanilla crust that’s a delicious change from a traditional graham cracker crust.
Cream cheese – Use full-fat, room temperature cream cheese for the smoothest cheesecake.
Sour cream – Use full-fat sour cream. Be sure to mix it well to incorporate any liquid that’s sitting on top. The sour cream adds a tanginess and a silky texture to the cheesecake.
Heavy whipping cream – This keeps the cheesecake from becoming too dense.
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitute the Golden Oreos for regular chocolate Oreos or with a graham cracker crust.
- Substitute the raspberries with blackberries or blueberries.
- Make these into raspberry cheesecake bars by baking them into a 9×9 baking dish. They will take a lot less time to bake up too. Start checking them at about 45 minutes.
- Add a white chocolate ganache on top.
NOTE: This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations
How to Make Raspberry Cheesecake
Step 1: Cook the raspberries with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and lemon juice untuil slightly thickened.
Step 2: Blend the mixture until smooth in a food choppr/processor or blender.
Step 3: Strain the mixture with a fine mesh strainer. There will be some seeds that slip through, but it will strain most of them out. Let the mixture cool while preparing the crust.
Step 4: Crush the Golden Oreos (with the filling inside) into fine crumbs. Mix with the melted butter and firmly and evenly press into the bottom of a prepared pan.
Step 5: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the sugar, flour, and lemon zest. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Step 6: Add the lemon juice, vanilla, sour cream, and heavy cream. Beat just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step 7: Mix in the eggs one at a time just until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl before adding another egg.
Step 8: Pour half of the cheesecake batter on top of the crust. Drizzle half of the raspberry sauce on top of the batter. Spoon the cream cheese on top of the raspberry sauce and drizzle the remaining raspberry sauce on top. Swirl the sauce into the batter.
Step 9: Place the cheesecake in a water bath. Bake until the edges are set and the center has a slight jiggle. Cool the cheesecake gradually in the turned-off oven before chilling overnight.
Tips for Best Results
- Be sure to have your cream cheese at room temperature.
- Don’t skip straining the sauce. This removes most of the raspberry seeds creating a siulky smooth swirl.
- Beat the eggs just until combined. Be sure to adds the eggs one at a time as well.
- Swirl the raspberry sauce gently. Overmixing the raspberry sauce into the cheesecake batter can muddy the beautiful raspberry swirl.
- Chill the cheesecake overnight. This gives the cheesecake plenty of time to firm up and the best flavors.
Why I bake Cheesecakes in a Water Bath
A water bath may seem like an extra step, but it’s one I don’t like to skip.
The steam keeps the oven moist and helps the cheesecake bake more gently. That means fewer cracks, a creamier texture, and more even baking from center to the edges.
I also like placing my springform pan inside a slightly larger pan before setting it into the roasting pan. This saves on aluminum foil and gives the cheesecake a layer of protection against water seeping into the crust.
How to Store and Freeze
Once the cheesecake is cooled to room temperature, cover it with plastic wrap or foil and place in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
For the best texture and flavor, enjoy it within the first 3 days.
To freeze the whole cheesecake, wrap it tightly in its pan with two layers of plastic wrap and a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. To freeze individual slices, place them in a freezer container. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before adding the whipped cream and serving.
Recipe FAQs
This is a great question. After you’ve cooked the sauce for 3 minths, run a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan. You’ll be able to see the pan for about 2 to 3 seconds before the juice comes back together. We are then going to puree the skins so they’re not strained out of the sauce which will help it become thicker as well.
Yes, but you’ll likely need to cook the raspberry sauce longer because of the additional liquid in the berries. Look for the sauce to be able to separate like I describe the question above to know when your sauce is done. You won’t need to thaw them first.
Yes!
If you try this recipe, be sure to leave a rating below and also share it on Instagram, and tag me! You can also find me on Facebook and stay up to date on recipe releases by joining the Newsletter!
Raspberry Cheesecake
SAVE THIS RECIPE
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Ingredients
Raspberry Sauce
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
Crust
- 20 Golden Oreos with filling, crushed to fine crumbs
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Cheesecake
- 24 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 large eggs
Instructions
Raspberry Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, add the sugar, cornstarch, zest, lemon juice, and raspberries. Using a spatula, stir and gently press the raspberries against the bottom and sides of the pan to help release the juices.
- Place over medium heat and allow the sauce to come up to a boil. Once the mixture is up to a boil, let boil for 3 minutes, stirring continuously until slightly thickened.
- Place the mixture in a mini food chopper, food processor, or blender to puree the skins into the sauce. The seeds won’t blend up.
- Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the raspberry sauce into the strainer. Press the sauce through the strainer until only the seeds remain in the strainer. Scrape the seeds into the garbage.
- Cover the sauce with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill if you’re making this ahead of time or at room temperature if you’re making the cheesecake next.
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease the sides of a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick baking spray and line the sides of the pan with a 3-inch wide parchment paper strip.
- Wash out the food chopper/processor/blender and dry.
- Add the Oreos with the filling in the food chopper and pulse until just fine crumbs are left.
- Add the Oreo crumbs and melted butter into a medium bowl and stir until well combined.
- Pour the crust mixture into the prepared springform pan and gently press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the springform pan.
- Place in the fridge to set up while you work on the cheesecake.
Cheesecake
- To a large mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until smooth.
- Add in the sugar, flour, and lemon zest. Mix until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add in the lemon juice, vanilla extract, sour cream, and heavy cream. Beat just until everything is combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat each egg just until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding the next. Once all of the eggs are combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir in any egg remnants.
- Pour half of the cheesecake batter on top of the graham cracker crust.
- Place the raspberry sauce in a disposable piping bag or sandwich bag or just use a spoon and drizzle half of the raspberry sauce on top of the cheesecake batter.
- Spoon or slowly drizzle the remaining cheesecake batter on top. Try to cover as much of the raspberry sauce that’s in the middle as possible.
- Drizzle or spoon the remaining raspberry sauce on top of the cheesecake batter.
- Using a skewer or butter knife, swirl the raspberry sauce into the cheesecake batter. Try not to dig up the crust while swirling the cheesecake.
- Give the cheesecake a couple of gentle taps on the counter to help remove any air bubbles that have formed.
- Place the springform pan inside a slightly larger pan to protect the cheesecake from water leaking through the bottom Alternatively, tightly wrap the outside of the springform pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- Place the nested pans or the foil-wrapped springform pan inside a large roasting pan. Pour about 1 inch of hot water into the roasting pan being careful not to splash water onto the cheesecake batter.
- Place the pans in the preheated oven and bake for about 1 hour 40 minutes to 1 hour 50 minutes or until done. To test the recipe, gently jiggle the pan. The edges of the cheesecake shouldn’t move and the center would just slightly jiggle like set up jello.
- Turn off the oven and open prop the door slightly open. Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for about an hour. Remove from the oven and if it’s not cooled to room temperature, let it continue to cool on the counter until it reaches room temperature.
- Cover the cooled cheesecake and place it in the fridge overnight or for 8 hours until it’s set up and chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)