• Cooking Time: 50 minutes
• Servings: 16
• Preparation Time: 20 minutes
• Crust
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (about 28 cookies)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Filling and Topping
• 1 package (6 ounces) plus 1 cup Driscoll’s Blackberries
• 2 tablespoons blackberry liqueur or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream

1. Crust
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine chocolate wafer crumbs and melted butter in a medium bowl. Press into 9-inch non-stick springform pan (if pan is not nonstick, brush first with melted butter). Bake about 12 minutes or until firm. Let cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
4. Filling
5. Puree 1 package blackberries in a blender or food processor and strain. Discard seeds. You should have about 1/2 cup puree. Stir in blackberry liqueur and 1 tablespoon sugar. Remove 3 tablespoons puree mixture and toss with remaining 1 cup blackberries. Cover berry mixture and refrigerate until ready to use. Set aside remaining puree mixture.
7. Mix cream cheese and remaining 1 cup sugar in bowl of an electric mixer on low speed until blended. Add vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, on low speed. Add sour cream and mix until blended. Spoon half batter into cooled crust. Drop half blackberry puree mixture into batter, 1 teaspoon at a time. Swirl into filling using a toothpick or wooden skewer. Repeat with remaining batter and blackberry puree mixture. Bake about 50 minutes or until edges are just set and center jiggles slightly. Turn oven off and prop the door ajar with the handle of a wooden spoon. Let cool in oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool completely. Place in refrigerator and chill until cold throughout, 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
9. To serve, make a ring around outer edge of cheesecake with reserved blackberries tossed with puree.

A gorgeous contrast of blackberry puree swirled into a creamy cheesecake. A deep purple blackberry puree spiked with blackberry liqueur dresses up this creamy and simple cheesecake. Berries soaked in the puree are then placed in a simple ring around the top of the cheesecake. If you don’t want to use the liqueur, simply substitute half the amount vanilla extract.