Rasbperry Cheesecake Pots

I saw this photo on foodgawker the other day and thought "mmmm that look good!" Raspberries were on sale for 77 cents per container (practically a steal!) and I knew it was fate. I was going to make Raspberry Cheesecake Pots for dessert.

Raspberries are a favorite. I would have them growing in my backyard if they didn't tend to take over the whole area. Instead, I will settle for amazing deals like this, the farmer's market, and going to our favorite U-Pick place for farm fresh organic berries (I just hope the U-Pick has a longer season this year than last!).

eating my props is becoming a bit of a habit for someone

This is the perfect summertime dessert recipe. Delicious berries. Cold dessert. No turning on the oven. I love the individual serving sizes because it makes for such a pretty presentation. I had a few issues with taking my photos for this recipe. Because they turned out so pretty, I just couldn't stop snapping away.

You could really use any berry or fruit for this recipe. Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries. Why stop there? How about Mango or Peach? Or maybe a combination of berries. I think it would be beautiful to make a few batches of different cheesecakes and layer them in tall skinny glasses. How pretty would layers of peach and blackberry cheesecake be?

That is the beauty of recipes like these. They are so easily adapted into something new once you have the basic formula down. And it is pretty basic. No hard to find ingredients or awkward techniques. Making the recipe took less time than taking the pictures.

Perfect for the busy days of summer when you want something sweet and don't want to spend a lot of time on it. I can't wait to make these for friends and family while doing a little summer entertaining. YUM.

Now, if you'll excuse me...there is one left and I need to go eat it before someone else does!

Raspberry Cheesecake Pots
adapted from Donna Hay as seen on Real Mom Kitchen

4 graham crackers
1 T. butter, melted
8 oz. cream cheese
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 oz. fresh raspberries (reserve 4 for garnishing)
sweetened whipped cream for garnish
mint leaves (optional) also for garnish

Preheat oven to 350º (I used the toaster oven). Crush the graham crackers to create crumbs. Add melted butter, stir well to combined. Spread on baking sheet. Toast in the oven 3 – 5 minutes until crumbs start to brown. Cool.

Process the cream cheese, sugar, cream and vanilla in a food processor until smooth. Add half the raspberries and process until just crushed.

Spoon a half of the graham cracker crumbs into four 1/2 cup-capacity dishes, layer on a few blackberries. Divide cheesecake mixture evenly between the dishes and top with the remaining graham cracker crumbs. Garnish with whipped cream, raspberries, and mint (if desired). Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Serves 4.

notes: I found it hard to process the raspberries without completely pureeing them, so next time I will probably take the cream cheese out of the processor and use a mixer to stir/slightly beat in the berries. Also, I forgot to add the berries on the bottom layer after the graham cracker so my layers were: cracker, cheesecake, berries, cracker, whipped cream, garnishes.