Blackberry Swirl Cheesecake

(Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes)

This recipe is actually for raspberry swirled cheesecakes, but I am a much bigger fan of blackberries, so I made a little change. A very delicious change =)

Ingredients:
For the crust:
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp. sugar

For the topping:
fresh blackberries (about 10)
2 tbsp. sugar

For the filling:
2 lbs. cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325˚ F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Stir together with a fork until well blended and all the dry ingredients are moistened. Press 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Bake until just set, 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.

To make the blackberry puree, combine the blackberries and sugar in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, then pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

To make the cheesecake, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Blend in the sugar until smooth. Mix in the salt and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

To assemble, spoon 3 tablespoons of the cheesecake batter over the crust in each cupcake liner. Dot a ½ teaspoon of the blackberry puree in a few dots over the cheesecake filling. Use a toothpick or a wooden skewer to lightly swirl and create a marbled effect.

Bake until the filling is set, about 24 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 4 hours before serving.