So there’s this trend going around for cooking things in mason jars that I didn’t quite understand until now. I mean, why would you want to eat a fancy dessert out of a jar? Think of it this way, mason jars are like see-through ramekins with lids! So if you have a particularly pretty layered dessert, it will look even lovelier in a mason jar, and if you want to give it as a gift, it comes with a convenient lid for easy transporting. In the case of making cheesecake, using a mason jar has an added advantage. Many cheesecake recipes (like the popular classic cheesecake on this site from Dorie Greenspan) require the use of a springform pan placed in a water bath. As careful as you can be with wrapping the pan with foil, water sometimes leaks in, resulting in a soggy crust. There are no leakage issues when you use a mason jar, and you have convenient single serving containers. Single serving cheesecakes baked in jars also cook much faster and cool much faster than large cakes, which usually require chilling overnight in the fridge. Now as single servings go, these are rather generous, given the richness of the cheesecake. Feel free to share one with your sweetheart (I did!) You can probably easily double the recipe without having to double the raspberry sauce (it’s a generous amount). If you want, strain the raspberry sauce through a sieve to remove the seeds, and then return the sauce to the pan and continue to gently simmer until the the sauce is syrupy. Set aside to cool. Place in a medium bowl and stir in the melted butter. Divide evenly among the mason jars, packing the chocolate “crust” at the bottom of each mason jar in a layer about 1/4 to 1/3-inch thick. At this point you can put in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes to bake the crust in, which will make it easier to pour in the cheesecake filling without it mixing in with the crust. (Or if you don’t care if the bottom is a little messy, you can skip this part.) Add the sour cream and beat another minute, until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the cooled raspberry syrup from step one, and beat until incorporated.
