Rasberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcake

Recipe by 'The way the cookie crumbles'

The truffles and drizzle make for a nice presentation, but the swirled cupcakes are plenty tasty and pretty on their own.
For the crust:
1½ cups (about 8 full crackers) graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons sugar
For the raspberry swirl:
6 ounces (¾ cup) frozen or fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the filling:
4 (8-ounce) cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ cups (10.5 ounces) sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line 32 muffin wells with paper liners.
2. For the crust: In a food processor, process the graham crackers and sugar until evenly ground. Add the butter and pulse to combine, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Press 1 tablespoon of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of each liner. Bake until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, maintaining the oven temperature.
3. For the raspberry swirl: Combine the raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, then pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. (Or press the raspberries through a food mill, stirring the cornstarch and sugar into the puree.)
4. For the filling: Beat the cream cheese on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and salt, then the vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. To assemble, spoon 3 tablespoons of the cheesecake batter over the crust in each cupcake liner. Dot ½ teaspoon of the raspberry puree in a few dots over the cheesecake filling. Use a toothpick or a wooden skewer to lightly swirl the puree.
6. Bake until the filling is set, about 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
http://www.crumblycookie.net
Raspberry Truffles (seen on Annie’s Eats, but I didn’t use her recipe)
6 ounces fresh raspberries
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2½ tablespoons heavy cream
1. Gently wash and dry the raspberries.
2. In a small heavy saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. (Do not rapidly boil.) Pour
the cream over the chocolate. With a fork, gently stir, starting in the center and working toward the edge, until
the ganache is smooth.
3. Let the mixture stand at room temperature until it’s thick enough to hold a shape, about 45 minutes, then,
using a pastry bag with a small opening, pipe into the stemmed opening on the raspberries.
Chocolate Drizzle (adapted from Tartine’s Chocolate Friands)
I didn’t make this separately, I just stirred in more cream to the ganache leftover from the raspberry truffles. I’m
offering it here separately as a good chocolate drizzle recipe.
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
⅓ cup heavy cream
In a small heavy saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. (Do not rapidly boil.) Pour the
cream over the chocolate. With a fork, gently stir, starting in the center and working toward the edge, until the
ganache is smooth.