Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce

We love cheesecake. The recipe for this cheesecake comes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and the raspberry puree from Baking and Boys. The puree would also be good swirled into the cheesecake before baking.


The Ultimate Cheesecake from: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Crust:
3 cups (40 squares)ground graham crackers
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
2 cups sour cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Mix the crust ingredients together. Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 10 inch springform pan that has been lightly greased. Refrigerate while making the filling.
Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar then the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and zest. Blend in sour cream, but don't over stir. Pour into the crust. Bake 50-55 minutes. It will jiggle slightly. Loosen the sides and let cool 30 minutes. Chill for 4 hours.

Raspberry Puree From: Baking and Boys

2 cups of frozen raspberries, thawed
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Mash all of the ingredients together. Strain with a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Pour over cheesecake right before serving. A little lemon zest would also be good in this.