#BloggerCLUE ~ Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits with Raspberry Sauce

Welcome to my second month with the C.L.U.E. Bloggers (CLUE = Cook, Learn, Undertake, Eat).  Blogger C.L.U.E. is a group of like minded food bloggers who get an assignment each month of another member's blog; our mission (should we choose to accept it) is to take the theme for the month and find any recipe on our assigned blog that fits. Make the recipe, photograph the recipe, and share it with you on reveal day! For the month of May I had the fun task of finding a "Berry" recipe from Taking on Magazines. There were SOOOO many amazing recipes to choose from - I was drawn to these Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes with Blueberry Compote (drool), and OH MY this Strawberry Rhubarb Layer Cake, and this Pecan-Berry Coffee Cake!! Yes, please!

What I settled on was this cheesecake parfait - I had just been to Sam's Club and brought home a beautiful 18-oz package of fresh (and SOOO YUMMY) raspberries. I had to restrain myself from eating them all straight out of the container before they could be turned into the beautiful sauce you see below. The original recipe is for a Key Lime Cheesecake Parfaits with Raspberry Sauce and Quaker Oat Granola Cookie Crumble, but I didn't have key lime juice, or even lime juice and honestly was curious how it would work with lemon. I thought about making a batch of oatmeal cookies to crumble to stay a little closer to the original recipe - but I am 9 weeks pregnant. Therefore I am exhausted and hungry all the time. Therefore I went with Nilla wafer cookies which I already had in the pantry! :)

I could not have been any happier with this recipe. The combination of the cool, lightly tangy, incredibly creamy cheesecake base topped with that rich, sweet, raspberry sauce on top was absolute PERFECTION. I could have sat and eaten the entire parfait myself (before dinner)... but I had a little self control... just a little.

These are absolutely beautiful and would be perfect for a dessert to share at a company meal, and of course they are perfect to wow your family with as well! I will definitely try this again when I get my hands on key lime juice; but if, like me, you don't have lime juice - give this one a try with lemon juice, I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed either!!

Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits with Raspberry Sauce adapted from Taking On Magazines

Ingredients
Lemon Cheesecake
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
½ cup lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Zest of one lemon (I used about half a tsp dried lemon zest)
1 cup whipped cream

Raspberry Sauce
18 ounces fresh raspberries
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

For Serving
Whipped Cream
1 Nilla Wafer cookie per parfait

Directions

1. For the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and salt until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream and lemon zest until fully incorporated. Spoon cheesecake into individual serving dishes, smooth until the tops are even. Place in the refrigerator to set.
2. For the raspberry sauce, heat the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sugar melts and sauce has reached desired thickness. Set aside to cool.
3. When ready to serve, crush up a Nilla Wafer cookie over the top of the cheesecake and top with about 1 TBS raspberry sauce. Finish with a dollop of whipped cream on top if desired.

Find the other Blogger C.L.U.E. members posts for today at their websites:

• Blackberry Yogurt Muffins by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
• Blueberry Bars by Lora from Cake Duchess
• Blueberry Buttermilk Breakfast Cake by Heather from girlichef
• Blueberry Lemon Bars by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
• Blueberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffins by Alice from A Mama, Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Blueberry Sour Cream Cake by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
• Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes and Frosting by Kelli from Kelli's Kitchen
• Irish Blackberry Cobbler Cocktail by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Italian Jam Cookies by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Lemon Cheesecake Parfaits with Raspberry Sauce by Rebekah from Making Miracles
• Raspberry Muffins by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Raspberry Oat Bars by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Strawberry and Coconut Tartlets by Anna from annaDishes
• Strawberry Champagne Cocktail by Kim from Liv Life
• Strawberry Fool by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
• Strawberry Lemon Marmalade by Debra from Eliot's Eats
• Strawberry Margaritas by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Strawberry Mousse by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Tapioca Cream Strawberry Parfait by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
• Vanilla Roasted Peaches with Mascarpone and Raspberries by Kathleen from Bakeaway with Me