Million Hearts Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1.5 cups crushed chocolate wafer cookies (about 28)
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• A pinch of salt
• Special equipment: a springform pan with a diameter of 22 cm, a pipette or a bottle for sauces and a toothpick or a wooden skewer

Raspberry coulis

• 2 cups of raspberries

Filling

• 2 packages of 220g cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• 1 and 1/4 cups heavy cream

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C.
2. In a bowl, combine crushed wafer cookies, butter, sugar, and salt. Spread the mixture in the bottom of a 22cm (9-inch) pan, pressing it down and working it up the sides. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
3. Raspberry coulis:
   Puree the raspberries in a food processor or blender until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve to remove all the seeds. Scoop the coulis into a pipette or small sauce bottle.
4. Filling:
   In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream until medium peaks form. Fold the cheese mixture into the whipped cream, distributing it evenly, being careful not to deflate the whipped cream.
5. Spread the filling on the crust. Gently tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to release any air bubbles. Pipe chickpea-sized dots of raspberry coulis onto the surface of the cheesecake in a spiral pattern, spaced 0.5 cm apart. Starting at the outermost dot, run a toothpick or skewer through the centers of each dot to create hearts spiraling outward.
6. Refrigerate the cheesecake, uncovered, until set, about 2 hours.
   
   Note
   
   To cut the cheesecake into neat slices, warm the knife in a tall bowl of hot water between each cut and wipe it dry..