Double Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I created this recipe for Grant's birthday. He loves raspberries and chocolate, especially together....so I combined three different recipes to get exactly what I thought he would want. It was really tantalizing, I have to say. Grant was very happy, so my mission was accomplished. Next time, I will double the raspberry sauce to have some to serve on the side, because we all thought a little extra burst of raspberry flavor would be nice.

Recipe:

Raspberry sauce
1 c. fresh or frozen raspberries, mashed
1 T sugar
1/2 T cornstarch
1/2 T water

Crust
1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar

Cheesecake
4 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
6 ounces (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled to just above room temperature

Glaze
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken up, or 1/2 cup chocolate morsels
2 T butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

In small saucepan, heat raspberries with 1 T sugar until boiling.

In small bowl, mix 1/2 T cornstarch with 1/2 T water. Add to hot mixture, stirring quickly to avoid lumps. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl to remove seeds, if desired. We desire.

Combine crust ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour mixture into a greased 9-inch springform pan and press flat.

Preheat oven to 325°. Put softened cream cheese, whipping cream, and sugar in a large bowl. Mix at medium-low speed just until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and mix on low speed until blended.

Divide cream cheese mixture evenly into two bowls. Add melted bittersweet chocolate to one, stirring to mix. Add raspberry sauce to the other, stirring well.

Pour chocolate cheesecake batter into prepared pan, smoothing into a flat layer. Gently spoon raspberry batter over the chocolate batter.

Bake 60-80 minutes or until edges are puffed and top looks dull and is dry to the touch. Center should move slightly when side of pan is tapped. Turn off oven. Let cheesecake stand in oven for an hour. Cool to room temperature; refrigerate overnight.

For glaze: Scald the butter and cream in a saucepan (or in a Pyrex cup in the microwave). Pour the chocolate in and stir until melted and completely smooth. Add the extract and sugar and stir until smooth. Spread over cheesecake while ganache is still warm. Chill until ready to serve.