If you ask me, cheesecake is pretty much at the top of the food chain of desserts. Creamy and cool with a simple cracker or cookie crust is the way to go, if you ask me. I’ll take cheesecake over any pie or cake any day. Although I think chocolate chip cookies sit slightly higher on the heirarchy.

Not only is this particular cheesecake delicious, it’s visually stunning. Those pink stripes are raspberry flavored cheesecake. And it wasn’t hard to achieve this look, either.

The recipe comes from my lovely friend Abby’s book, The Everyday Baker, which won a prestigious IACP award this year. Abby is a superstar cookbook author, food writer, and recipe developer. I’ve never made anything of hers that didn’t turn out well the first time, meaning I don’t have to worry about whether the recipe has been well-tested or not. Her first book, The Weekend Baker, is still one of my favorite cookbooks of all time.

So, the cheesecake. It’s got a chocolate-pecan cookie crust, and has a bit of mascarpone in the filling, which adds more complexity to the flavor. And it’s sooo creamy.

If you don’t have a copy of Abby’s book, you can find the recipe here.

• Raspberry Zebra Cheesecake (The Everyday Baker)