Eat Well, Live Happy: Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes

I found another recipe a while ago that I finally made for Easter as well. It's a Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcake recipe - the pictures on the recipe website are what sold me! This was also very simple to make - and is already one of my favorite cheesecake recipes! The most time-consuming part is getting all the seeds out of the raspberries (you could also use seedless raspberry preserves if you prefer). If you like Nilla Wafers more than Graham Crackers (or just want to make this recipe even easier), you could put a Nilla Wafer in the bottom of each cupcake liner instead of making the crust. I got 30 mini cheesecakes out of this recipe and I had a decent amount of the raspberry puree left over, so next time I will put a little more in each one. This is a great recipe and would be perfect for Valentine's Day!

Note: The crust recipe makes enough for about 40 cheesecake cupcakes. It works well if you make another 1/4 recipe of the filling.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes

CRUST:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 Tablespoons sugar

RASPBERRY SWIRL:
6 ounces fresh raspberries
2 Tablespoons sugar

FILLING:
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 325°.

Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Stir together with a fork until well blended and all the dry ingredients are moistened. Press 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Use a small drinking glass to easily and evenly press the crumbs down. Bake until just set, 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.

To make the raspberry puree, combine the raspberries and sugar in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth and then pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

To make the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Blend in the sugar until smooth. Mix in the salt and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

To assemble, spoon 3 tablespoons of the cheesecake batter over the crust in each cupcake liner. Dot a ½ teaspoon of the raspberry puree in a few dots over the cheesecake filling. Use a toothpick or a wooden skewer to lightly swirl and create a marbled effect.

Bake until the filling is set, about 22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. (They will look quite puffed initially but will return to normal quickly). Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

Yield: 32 cupcakes.