The Guild Fanucci

Faheud’s Cookbook, Page 01
Raspberry Cheesecake - or- The Little Death
© 2004 George Reed

Ingredients to acquire:

• 5 packages cream cheese. I do not endorse any particular kind, but the cute little Philadelphia brand packages are the right size. Do not get the low fat cream cheese. It will not work right, comes out heavy, and will diminish my high esteem for your indulging in decadence.
• 2 cups granulated sugar.
• ¼ cup granulated sugar. Yes, I listed sugar twice. Well spotted.
• 4 large eggs. 4 Extra large eggs are even better. 4 Jumbo eggs totally rock.
• 1 package mini-chocolate chips. You can also use white chocolate chips. The minis work best.
• 1 package graham cracker crumbs. You can crush your own, but the I’d have to put this recipe in the “Not so easy for people who don’t read, and largely not decadent cookbook.” I think they charge a lot for all the extra type-setting as well, so lets just take the easy way, shall we?
• 2 sticks butter. Salted butter. Unsalted butter adds a very underwhelming flavor.
• 1 pint washed, fresh raspberries. You can use the flash frozen ones, but if so gently rinse the excess juice off. And be very gentle, this is not apple butter you are making.
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. There are two reasons to not use artificial vanilla flavor here. The first is that it leaves a bitter aftertaste you just cannot hide. The second is that its main active ingredient is used in the pesticides favored by chicken farms.
• 2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur
• 1 large cheesecake pan or two little weenie foil cheesecake pans.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl mix the graham cracker crumbs and ¼ cup sugar well. Ensure the sugar is well dispersed.

Melt the butter and pour over the graham cracker crumbs and ¼ cup sugar. Mix very well. Press ½ in thick into the bottom of the cheesecake pan. It is going to make a caramelized crust that is almost like a candy on its own.

The cream cheese should be at room temperature.. Open the packages into a large mixing bowl, and use a power-mixer to whip up the cheese thoroughly. Add two cups of sugar and the eggs, one at a time. If you put all the eggs in at once, on-lookers catch you with egg on your face. And on the floor. And on the ceiling….I’m just sayin…

Once you have a very fluffy mixture, its time to add the vanilla extract. No matter what flavor you are making with the cheesecake, always use the vanilla. It acts as a flavor binding agent, and will also take any harsh edges off the cheese or fruit, etc.

Add the package of mini white/regular chocolate chips. Mix thoroughly. Yes, the chippies will tend to settle, so move quickly.

Fold in the raspberries. Try not to crush them.

Pour the mixture in over the crust{s} leave a little expansion room or prepare to test your automatic oven cleaner later on.

I recommend putting the pans on a cookie sheet and placing them into the oven.
At the very least, have a drip pan on the lower rack.

Cook 10 minutes at 400, and lower to 325. Please do not forget this or you’ll be serving briquettes and blaming me.

Cook around 30-40 minutes at 325. It will have a baked custard consistency but not yet have cracked.

The world has not ended if it cracks, just get it out of the oven. It will still be just as tasty.

The consistency should be very light and fluffy, the flavor will be like those very rich cheesecakes some yokel in NYC charges 75 bucks for. You just did it for about 9.

These babies freeze brilliantly, can be shipped in dry ice, and can be made into little cupcakes for parties. Alternate flavors are Turtle, strawberry, black forest, Grand Marnier, etc etc.