Raspberry Cheesecake

For Easter I wanted to make a special dessert. We all love cheesecake, but I wanted to try something new. I found a few different recipes and took bits and peices from them. I didn't want a really tall cheesecake so I halved the amount of cheesecake-y goodness and used an 8 inch pan. If you were using a bigger pan you would use the same amount of crust  and just double the cheesecake portion. Anyway this is what I did:

1 1/2 c Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 Tb Sugar
1/3 c Butter (melted)

Wrap the bottom and sides of a spring form pan with 2 layers of foil (to prevent leaking). Mix  the above ingredients together and press into the bottom of a spring form pan. ( This will make a thick layer, you could probably do 1/2 to 2/3 of the amount)

Bake crust at 325 for 10 mins.

2 pkgs Cream Cheese - softened (I use Philadelphia)
3/4 c Sugar
1/2 c Sour Cream
Pinh of Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
2 eggs

1/2 can of Raspberry Pie filling

Beat cream cheese until smooth, then mix in the sugar, sour cream, salt, vanilla, and eggs until well combined. DO NOT OVERMIX.

Pour into baked crust. Spoon raspberry filling randomly on top of the cheesecake. Using wooden skewer or knife swirl in "U" shapes kind of like this:

Red line first, then purple- no laughing at my drawing :)

Put  entire pan inside a larger roasting pan, then pour HOT water around the cheesecake so that it comes about half way up the side to make a water both. Bake until set but still slightly wobbly in the center~about 60 mins. Remove from water bath and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before refrigerating. When you are ready to serve it run a knife around the edge of the pan before removing the sides.