Lucinda’s Raspberry Chambord Cheesecake
(adapted from White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake recipe at the Chambord website)
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups fresh raspberries, plus more for serving
Filling
24 oz. Cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Chambord Liqueur
1 lemon, both juice and zest
1/2 tsp salt
2 T flour
3 eggs
Topping/Foam [optional]
2 cups Chambord Liqueur
1/2 cup heavy cream
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Prepare 9″ springform pan by lining bottom with parchment and surrounding outside with heavy duty aluminum foil.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a small bowl. Add melted butter and combine with a fork. Press the mixture into the bottom and partially up the sides of your prepared pan. (A straight-sided measuring cup is helpful for getting an even crust.)
Arrange raspberries on top of the crust. (Or arrange half of the raspberries on top of the crust and stir half of them into the filling just before pouring over crust.)
In a standing mixer, beat cream cheese for 20-30 minutes. About half way through the beating, once the cream cheese starts to get light and smooth, add the sugar. Continue beating until you are sure the sugar has dissolved. Add vanilla, Chambord Liqueur, lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Beat until smooth. At this point stop the mixer, scrape down the bowl and beaters and beat again until everything is smooth. [I didn’t do this and ended up with some lumps.]
Add flour and beat until combined (once the flour is added you want to beat as little as possible). Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one just until combined.
[If you are going to add raspberries to the filling, remember to stir them in gently now.]
Pour filling over crust and raspberries.
Bake for approximately 60 minutes. Turn off oven and let cake continue to cook and then cool in the oven. After an hour or so take it out of the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Only then can you refrigerate the cake, which you will need to do for another 6-12 hours at least.
I stop at this point and just enjoy the cheesecake the next day.
The original recipe topped it with a foam made from 2 cups Chambord Liqueur (heated until reduced by half) combined with 1/2 cup heavy cream (heated separately) and combined and then blended in a blender until foamy.
With or without the foam, you can top with additional raspberries, blueberries, and/or blackberries.
Notes:
- For twenty years I made cheesecake with a hand mixer. Needless to say, I never beat the cream cheese for 20-30 minutes as this recipe recommends. The cheesecakes were somewhat heavier and not as smooth, but certainly edible. Moral of the story: if you have access to a standing mixer, use it. All that air beaten into the cream cheese is just heavenly!
- Some folks recommend using either a water bath or a pan of water in the oven to prevent cracking. I can’t be bothered and/or haven’t had a problem with cracking and/or don’t care if there are cracks. Using slow heat and cooling in the turned off oven seems to solve most of the problems with cracking and/or sinking.
Going to give your recipe a try for my Christmas meal. Thanks for all the special notes that should help me get it right!
I have been baking cheesecakes for over 20 years. I am very disappointed with the topping. Poor directions and incorrect measurements. I wasted 2 cups of chambord. I finally made a second batch using my common sense. If you are going to post a recipe why not be honest. I don’t understand peoples logic. I have given out recipes for years and have never not given a correct one. Thank you.
Janet
I’m sorry you were disappointed in the topping, but if you had read the post carefully, you would have seen that I clearly stated that I did not use the topping. I listed the topping as [optional] and before the topping instructions I said “I stop at this point and just enjoy the cheesecake the next day. The original recipe topped it with a foam made from 2 cups Chambord Liqueur (heated until reduced by half) combined with 1/2 cup heavy cream (heated separately) and combined and then blended in a blender until foamy.”
I could tell based on my many years of cooking that I wouldn’t like the foamy topping. I included it only because the original recipe (from the Chambord website) included it and I thought perhaps some people might like it. It was clearly marked as optional. I certainly wasn’t dishonest in any way. From what you say, I’m glad I didn’t bother with the topping.
I’m sure by now you know that all recipes, especially those you find on the internet, require your own use of knowledge and judgment.
I stand by my adaptation of this recipe. The cheesecake method works great. I’ve adapted it to other cheesecake recipes and they have also turned out light and fluffy and delicious.
An alternative topping you might try is to blend 1 pint sour cream, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Pour on top of the cooled (but not yet chilled) cheesecake and put the whole thing back in a 375° oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool, and then chill in the frig overnight as indicated.
Happy Cooking!
this recipe counds heavenly! I will test run it with my coworkers who have loved every cheesecake I have taken to work. I would like to add some chocolate, prehaps white, or to use some of the batter to mix with dark chocolate and dollop in. Would you add the chambord before the dark chocolate or after?
The original recipe, which is no longer posted at the Chambord website, included “3.5 oz white chocolate, melted” in the filling. It was added in the step with the Chambord, lemon juice, and vanilla (so after the sugar has dissolved, but before the flour and eggs). You might also consider drizzling melted chocolate over the final product (after chilling, before or while serving).
I no longer eat gluten or dairy, so I have not made this recipe in many years. I hope it works out for you. Enjoy!