Raspberry Cheesecake with Homemade Gluten-Free Graham Cracker Crust

Adapted from Ina Garten’s Raspberry Cheesecake and Elizabeth Barbone’s Honey Maid Graham Cracker Recipes

Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time:  1 hour
Cook time:  13 hours 30 mins
Total time:  14 hours 30 mins

A deliciously creamy and zesty cheesecake with fresh berries on top and a buttery, crumbly gluten free homemade graham cracker crust. It cooks for about 1½ hours but you need to cool it overnight so I added 12 hours to the cooking time.

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Gluten-Free Graham Cracker Crumbs (this recipe will yield more than you need for the cheesecake crust but it is great to save the remainder in a ziploc bag or airtight container for future use):

• 1½ C brown rice flour (I use Arrowhead Mills)
• 1/2 C cornstarch
• 1/3 C packed dark brown sugar
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 5 T cold butter
• 6 T milk
• 3 T honey

Gluten-Free Graham Cracker Crust:

• 1 C gluten-free graham cracker crumbs
• 1 T sugar
• 3 T butter, melted
• Cheesecake Filling:
• 11/2 lbs (3 8oz pkgs) of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 C sugar
• 3 whole large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1/8 C sour cream
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 t vanilla extract

Raspberry Topping:

• 3/4 cup raspberry jam
• 1 pint fresh raspberries or assorted fresh berries

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Graham Cracker Crumbs:

1. Place dry ingredients in food processor and pulse to combine
2. Add the butter and pulse until coarse (no large pieces should remain)
3. Add milk and honey
4. Pulse until dough forms
5. Lay out a piece of parchment paper (12×16) and dust with rice flour
6. Roll dough out until it covers paper (about 1/8” thick), continuing to brush rolling pin and dough with rice flour, as needed
7. Place parchment paper with dough on baking pan and bake for about 15 minutes, until evenly brown
8. Remove, cool and place in ziploc and roll over with rolling pin until crumbled

Graham Cracker Crust:

1. Combine sugar, gluten-free graham crackers and melted butter until moistened
2. Place in springform pan and press into the bottom and up the sides
3. Bake for 8 minutes and cool to room temperature

Cheesecake Filling:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Cream the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, with paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes
3. Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well
4. Scrape bowl and beater, as necessary
5. Reduce speed to low and add sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla
6. Mix thoroughly and pour onto cooled crust
7. Bake for 10 minutes
8. Lower oven temperature to 225 degrees and bake for another 45 minutes
9. Turn the oven off and open the door wide
10. Allow cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 20 minutes
11. Take out of the oven and allow to sit at room temperature for another 2 hours or so, until completely cooled
12. Wrap and refrigerate overnight
13. Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

Raspberry Topping: melt the jam in a small pan over low heat.

1. Allow to cool to room temperature and spread over the top of the cheesecake
2. Arrange the berries on top of the cake
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve