Lemon Cheesecake Topped w/ Raspberries

As soon as I left London and headed to Toronto for the holidays, the boyf went into survival mode - eating whatever was left in the house and a lot of frozen pizzas. Feeling a bit sorry for him, upon my return I made one of his fave meals and a surprise cheesecake from scratch! I haven't make a cheesecake in years but I must say it turned out pretty good so thought I'd share the recipe.

For the pie crust, I used the same recipe used for my quiche which can be found HERE, the only difference is that I added 1 tbsp of brown sugar and threw in some crushed almond flakes. Pre-heat the oven to 350F/180C, once the shortcrust has been mixed and formed into a ball, roll it out on a lightly floured surface and then place in a 9" springform cake pan. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, remove and allow to cool completely. Reduce the oven to 300F/150C.

For the filling:

2 packs (3 ounces) plain cream cheese - softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 large eggs

zest and juice of one lemon

2 tsp vanilla

mix the cream cheese and sugar together, then beat in the eggs one at a time, eventually adding the lemon juice, zest and vanilla.

Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust in the springform pan and place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes - I added some almond flakes to the top half way through - the filling should be set 1 1/2 inches from the edge, with a wobbly middle - it will continue to set while cooling.

Top with fresh raspberries and enjoy!