Raspberry Marble Cheesecakes for Martha Stewart's Cupcake Club

So I'm cutting it fine here...midnight is fast approaching (here in Wales) and I wanted to be sure to post up my Raspberry Marble Cheesecakes for the Martha Stewart Cupcake Club - after all this recipe was chosen by me this month! but yesterday I was busy all day baking up a special Valentine's treat for Byron and the 15th just crept up on me! 

I was also a bit cheesecake-d out as chance would have it.  I selected this recipe way back before Christmas when I hadn't baked or eaten cheesecake in aaaages and then a few weeks back I made my s'mores cheesecake and this week we've been finishing off some delicious Valentine's cheesecakes that The English Cheesecake Company sent us! so I wasn't too excited to be baking these if I'm completely honest...

but all that changed once the baking had begun, and once I had made the raspberry puree.  Oh man, it smelt so amazing! I seriously wanted to eat it by the spoonful, and I couldn't help myself so I did - but I wouldn't advise it...I hadn't added any sugar to it yet and it was pretty tart! As I was inhaling the amazing raspberry goodness, I had a fantastic idea! Baked vanilla cheesecake is a little boring by itself, so I decided to throw a few tablespoons of that delicious raspberry puree into the mix...not only did it turn it a lovely shade of pale pink but when I tasted some it tasted like raspberry milkshake! Seriously it took my baking session to new heights of enjoyment! Unfortunately - the cheesecakes are cooling in the fridge so I won't be able to try them 'til morning but judging by what I licked from the bowl, they're going to be super tasty! 

I even decided to get a little festive with my swirling of the puree, and since I was still all loved up from Valentine's I used a toothpick to create little heart shapes on the cheesecakes!

Raspberry Marble Cheesecakes:

Makes 12

From Cupcakes By Martha Stewart

95g crushed Hobnobs

21g unsalted butter, melted 

85g raspberries

1 tbsp caster sugar

450g cream cheese

200g caster sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.

Line cupcake tin with cupcake cases.

Crush Hobnobs in food processor.  Melt butter in microwave and stir into the Hobnobs.  

Press 1 tablespoon of crust mixture firmly into the bottom of each cupcake case.  Bake until set, about 5 minutes.  

Blend up raspberries in a food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Pass the puree through a sieve into a small bowl, pressing with a flexible spatula to remove as much liquid as possible.  Throw away the seeds (or eat them like I did, yum!) Whisk in one tablespoon of sugar.

With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  With mixer on low speed, add remaining 200g sugar in a steady stream.

Add salt and vanilla.  (At this point I added 3 tbsp of the raspberry puree mix).

Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each.

Spoon 3 tablespoons of filling over the crust in each case.  Dollop a few spots of raspberry puree on top of the mix.  Using a toothpick drag it through the spots to form heart shapes, or swirl it in any direction to create a random swirl pattern.

Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set for about 22 minutes.  Martha advises you use a water bath to ensure they don't crack - I didn't and mine were fine.  

Transfer to wire racks to cool completely and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

If you want to check out all the other bakers who baked along with us this month then you can do so here.