Raspberry Ricotta Cheesecake

I love cheesecake. I don't think I began appreciating cheesecake until I had a piece of Red Velvet cheesecake from Junior's.
It
Was
Divine
!!!
It's been a couple of years since then, but I still remember it. So soft, so creamy, so sinful. When I was working in the city, Junior's was only 3 blocks away from the office, so I stopped by a lot to indulge in some cheesy sweetness. My second favorite is their Tiramisu cheesecake. If you're ever around Junior's, definitely make every effort to try it, and it will require effort because the tourists are not making it easy.

Anyhow, enjoying cheesecake, and making one are two entirely different things. I've read too many "horror stories" of them not turning out good at all, and was wary of trying. But New Year's Eve dinner required a dessert and I just went for it. And since I was stocking up on food at Costco, I got a big pack of ricotta, thinking it would be easier to work with than cream cheese. I miscalculated some things, but the end result was successful. Firm, but creamy, without sticking to your teeth.

I used the simplest recipe possible, which I got from an AF member right here. The original recipe is for a Coconut-flavored cheesecake, but since I already had a coconut-themed desert made, I went with raspberry.

Serves: 8 to 10. Prep time: 20 mins. Bake time: 1.5 hrs.
For crust:
6-8 graham crackers
1/4 cup of butter
1 tbs of raspberry jam/filling
1 tbs of coconut flakes

For cheesecake:
32 oz of ricotta
5 eggs
1/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup of raspberry jam/filling

Icing:
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup raspberry jam/filling
1 tsp coffee creamer

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350F.
1. Crush your graham crackers into course crumbs. You can do this in a food processor or if you don't have one, like me, then you can just place them in a zip bag and beat them with a mallet. It's quick and kind of fun.
2. Melt the butter on low hear, but don't brown it. Once it's melted, toss in the crumbs and take off the heat.
3. Add the coconut flakes and the raspberry filling. Mix well, until uniform mixture forms. Place that in a 9'' baking pan/spring-form pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Cheesecake:
Preheat oven to 425F.
1. Drain the ricotta. I skipped this step, which caused some problems, so I advise you do this.
2. Combine the ricotta and sugar and mix well until creamy.
3. Add the vanilla, the salt and the raspberry. Mix well, until everything is incorporated.
4. Start adding the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. It would be good to whisk them before adding so they combine better.
5. Pour into the spring-form pan, over the crust, and place into a hot oven for 10 minutes.
6. After 10 minutes pass, turn the heat down to 250 and bake for another hour and a half, or until it is firm.
7. Let it cool thoroughly, then place in the fridge overnight.

Icing:
1. With a rubber spatula, combine sweetened condensed milk and raspberry filling. It's going to be somewhat thick, so thin it out with with your coffee creamer. I always have French vanilla flavor in my fridge, so that's what I added.
2. Use the same spatula to coat the cheesecake with the mixture. Then place in the fridge until it's time to serve.