Raspberry Cheesecake

This raspberry cheesecake starts with a classic graham cracker crust and features a luscious swirl of real raspberry sauce, made simply with berries, lemon juice, and sugar—no artificial ingredients or colors. Baked in a water bath for 1.5 hours and chilled overnight, it's a perfect make-ahead treat for any season or special occasions like Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Mother’s Day.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword raspberry cheesecake, raspberry swirl cheesecake

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 45

Total Time 2

Servings servings

Calories 607kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

Raspberry sauce

2 cups raspberries fresh or frozen
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Crust

2 cups ground graham crackers (you can use GF graham crackers)
½ cup unsalted butter melted
1 ½ tablespoon powdered sugar

Cheesecake filling

24 oz cream cheese full-fat room temperature
¾ cup Greek yogurt full-fat
1 ½ cups sugar
5 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Garnish

fresh raspberries
fresh mint leaves

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the raspberry sauce

Add raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a saucepot. If using frozen raspberries, thaw them before using them.
Cook the raspberries over medium heat, mashing them with a fork for 6-7 minutes.
Remove the raspberries from the heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Push the raspberries with a silicone spatula to extract all the pulp. Discard the seeds.
Return the strained sauce to the saucepot and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove the raspberry sauce from the heat and set aside.

Make the crust

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a 9x3-inch springform pan or a taller cake pan (about 9x3 inch) with parchment paper, including the bottom and sides. Please use a cake pan with a detachable bottom.
Combine ground cracker crumbs with powdered sugar. Pour in melted butter and stir until you have a “wet sand-like” mixture.
Place the prepared ground cracker crumb mixture into a prepared springform or cake pan. Using a small glass, press the crumb mixture up to the sides and bottom of the springform or cake pan. I used a measuring cup (¼ cup) for this.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and set it aside to cool while you make the cheesecake filling.

Make the cheesecake filling

Cream together cream cheese and sour cream. You can use a stand or handheld mixer for this.
Add sugar and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy.
Gradually add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
Finally, whisk in the cornstarch and stir until you have a smooth and lump-free batter.
Pour the cheesecake filling into the prepared crust.

Make the swirl

Gently add two teaspoons of raspberry sauce, in the form of dots, onto the surface of the cheesecake. Use more if needed. Run the bamboo skewer through each dot to make a heart-shaped swirl. The pattern will be pretty even if it's not uniform. Read more below on how to create a pattern:
To create a beautifully uniform raspberry swirl on your cheesecake, start by adding dots of raspberry sauce in a structured pattern. Instead of placing them randomly, arrange the dots in four evenly spaced concentric circles around the center of the cheesecake.
Once your dots are placed, take a bamboo skewer or toothpick and gently drag it through the center of each dot, following a continuous circular motion around the cake. This technique will create a symmetrical swirl effect, giving the cheesecake a professional, polished look. If you'd like a more intricate design, alternate the direction of your swirls—dragging some inward toward the center and others outward toward the crust.
This method ensures a balanced and visually appealing pattern while still making this cheesecake uniquely beautiful!

Baking time

Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform or cake pan with aluminum foil. Place the cheesecake in a larger baking dish. Fill the baking dish with warm water until it has 2 inches of water (shorter than the springform or cake pan with the cheesecake).
Bake the cake for 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Let the cake cool in the oven with the oven doors open. Once cooled, remove the cake from the oven. Discard the aluminum foil and continue to chill the cake overnight in a fridge.

Serve

Cut the cake into slices and serve garnished with fresh raspberries and mint leaves.
⬇️ NOTE: You can find helpful step-by-step photos for this recipe below the recipe card. ⬇️

Notes

Recipe notes

All ingredients should be at room temperature, especially eggs!
Cream cheese – Only use full-fat! You can also swap out some of the cream cheese for mascarpone.
Full-fat Greek yogurt – No low-fat or fat-free versions. You can also swap Greek yogurt with full-fat sour cream.
If you do not have ground graham crackers, grind the whole crackers using a food processor. Alternatively, add cookies or crackers to a zip-lock bag and then roll the cookies with a rolling pin. You can also use cookies similar in texture to graham crackers. Swap with cookies like Biscoff or Oreos. If using Oreas remove the cream before crushing them.
If you cannot find fresh or frozen raspberries, use raspberry jam. Combine ⅓ cup of the raspberry jam with two teaspoons of lemon juice. Make sure you are using seedless jam.
Make it gluten-free by replacing regular graham crackers with gluten-free ones. You can even use GF Oreos for the crust (scoop out the cream center!)

Baking tips

Gently tap the mixing bowl (with the cheese cream and Greek yogurt batter) on the kitchen counter a few times to get rid of the air bubbles from before you bake.
A perfectly baked raspberry cheesecake will still be jiggly in the center after baking. However, the cake will have a perfect texture after cooling and refrigerating overnight.
The overbaked cake will have cracks on the surface.

Nutrition