Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe

Mmm…cheesecake. I love everything about it. 

The thick graham crust. The rich, sweet-sour-creamy filling that melts in my mouth. The topping (whether it's strawberry, chocolate, oreos, or plain sour cream--everything just tastes great on top of perfectly baked cheesecake!). I love how the flavors in every layer complement each other, creating this cheesy, creamy, little piece of heaven on earth. 

Strawberry cheesecake is a classic and one of my topping favorites. Browsing through all the strawberry cheesecake recipes I could find, I settled with this recipe and I was happy with the result.

Strawberry cheesecake with canned filling and real strawberries

The first time I made this, I used real strawberries, with canned strawberry filling. The second time I ran out of fresh fruit; I just added natural strawberry jam (Mountain Maid jam, bought during my recent trip to Baguio City) with my reliable Comstock strawberry filling to get that fresh-strawberry goodness. 

The topping artillery: Mountain Maid strawberry jam and Comstock filling 

Strawberry Cheesecake with Canned Filling and Natural Jam

Even my mother-in-law, who isn’t a big fan of sweets, couldn’t get enough of this strawberry cheesecake. She just had to request me to bake this again! 

So if you’re a cheesecake fan, you will probably enjoy baking and eating this recipe. If you’re not a fan, well, this just might make a fan out of you. I mean, just look at my mother-in-law!

So let’s cut to the “cheese” and get started! 

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

Ingredients:

For the Graham Cracker Crust:

• 1 cup (100 grams / 8 oz) graham cracker  crumbs or crushed digestive biscuits
• 1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar
• 5 tablespoons (70 grams) butter, melted (TIP: Melt the butter first before measuring—melted and room temperature butter don’t weigh the same. Spoon an estimated amount—say 5 tablespoons—melt and measure)   

For the Cheesecake Filling:

• 2   8-ounce packages (450 grams) full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or vanilla flavoring)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest (outer yellow skin) (optional – I didn’t use this)
• 1/2 cup (110 grams / 4 oz) sour cream, at room temperature (you may use low-fat reduced our cream)

For the Strawberry Topping:

• 8 ounces (1/2 pound) (225 grams) unsweetened frozen strawberries, thawed
• 3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated white sugar, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon (3 grams) unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1 tablespoon cold water

OR if you don’t have fresh strawberries:

• 1 can strawberry filling (with real strawberries)
• Strawberry jam (use as much as needed)
• 1 teaspoon (3 grams) unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1 tablespoon cold water

Directions:

Strawberry Cheesecake: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place your oven rack in the center of the oven.

Lightly butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray (I used vegetable lard), an 8 inch (20 cm) springform pan.

Place the springform pan on a baking sheet.

Graham Cracker Crust:

In a bowl stir the graham cracker crumbs with the sugar and melted butter until all the crumbs are moistened. 

Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom of your pan (I use the flat bottom of a measuring cup). Bake for about 6-8 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Reduce your oven's temperature to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

Cheesecake Filling:

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese on low speed until creamy and smooth.

Add the sugar and salt and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest, and sour cream and beat until incorporated. 

Pour the filling over the crust.

Bake for about 50 - 55 minutes or until firm yet the center of the cheesecake is still a little wet.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Carefully run a knife or spatula around the inside edge of your pan to loosen the cheesecake (this helps to prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).

Let cool completely and then cover and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Strawberry Topping:

Place the thawed strawberries and sugar in a food processor or blender and process until smooth (can also use an immersion blender. You will have about 

1 cup or 240 ml/8 oz of strawberry sauce.) Place the sauce in a medium sized saucepan and heat until warm.

Meanwhile, in a small cup, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let stand about 2-3 minutes or until the gelatin has become soft and spongy.

Add the gelatin to the warm strawberry sauce and heat (over low heat), stirring constantly, until the gelatin has dissolved.

Remove from heat and let the strawberry sauce cool to room temperature. As it cools, skim off any foam that may formed.

Then slowly pour the strawberry sauce over the top of the cheesecake. Cover and place in the refrigerator for several hours, preferably overnight, before serving.

Or do what I did without the real strawberries:

Place the strawberry filling and strawberry jam in a medium saucepan and heat until warm.

In a small cup, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water and let stand about 2-3 minutes or until the gelatin has become soft and spongy.

Add the gelatin to the warm strawberry sauce and heat (over low heat), stirring constantly, until the gelatin has dissolved.

Remove from heat and let the strawberry sauce cool to room temperature. As it cools, skim off any foam that may formed.

Then spread strawberry sauce over the top of the cheesecake. Cover and place in the refrigerator for several hours, preferably overnight, before serving.

If desired, pipe in some frosting for design. Best served chilled.

(Serves about 10-12)

Idiot's Guide to Buying a New Juicer

NOTE: This was my first post about juicers.  I wrote a second juicing post, Idiot's Guide to Buying a New Juicer Part 2, an updated, more "informed" (thanks to further research) guide on juicer-buying. 

For my 34^th birthday, my husband bought me a new juicer. We found a (seemingly) good buy at SM North Appliance Department store (Quezon City, Philippines):

It’s called The Jumpstart Juicer, a product tie-up between juicer-maker John Mills Limited (JML) of London and juicing advocate Brendan Mccarthy’s Jumpstart 7-Day Weight Loss Program. It was on sale at PhP 3,500 (regular price: 7k plus), and it’s a 3-in-1—the juicer comes with a blender and a food chopper (a mini-food processor of sorts, as they claim it can crush ice, grind whole cookies into bits, and the like).

It also comes with a BOOK about Mccarthy’s 7-day juice only diet, complete with very informative stuff on fruits, vegetables, and how consuming just juices made of these will keep us full for an entire 7 days, PLUS  recipes of juices targeted at whatever effect you want to achieve (detox? Stressbuster? Kidney / Liver Helth? Colon cleanse? It’s all here) and diet-friendly recipes for soups, smoothies, and even baby food. (I will share a few of these recipes in the future)

But wait, there’s more. The salesguy says, the buyer has lifetime warranty on the juicer’s motor, including whatever spare parts that require changing. You can come back anytime to their booth in SM to avail of free service AND parts.

Sounds like a very good buy, right? It’s a centrifugal turbo juicer, it’s not Matsone or Breville or Hurom, but for the price of 3,500, the whole package was very appealing. And the fact that it’s not made in China is a plus for me (no offense to the Chinese, but based on my numerous past experiences, stuff made in China break down faster than you can say "Kung hei fat choi"). So I jumped in and picked this one. And I’ve been using it quite successfully for two consecutive days.

But it’s too early to tell if this juicer will indeed do the job well. For now I can only say that I wish it had a bigger and more securely locked juice container. Compared to my old juicer, Fuji Tech,  Jumpstart’s juice container is not as sturdy.  

Then, on the third day I encountered a slight problem—all of a sudden the juicer seemed… very rattly. So much so that the loosely-locked juice container just toppled over and the juice spilled out! Now I’m not sure if this is my fault, if I hadn’t assembled the darn thing right, but I checked everything and all parts seemed to be in their proper place. The voltage was also correct—I plugged it on a 220v power source. So I’m not quite sure what happened. But I plan to go back to JML at SM North to consult the problem. I really hope that the fault is on my part—otherwise I’d feel really bad that I had allowed myself to get swayed by salestalk into buying something unworthy of our hard-earned money. I will post more updates on this juicer as I go along. Hoping that this juicer won’t let me down. As I was scouring around for JML Jumpstart feedback, I encountered this very insightful article about the benefits of buying a slow juicer. According to the article i mentioned, these are the things we should look for when buying a juicer: - able to juice all greens, herbs, and grasses (with high yield) - good to juice fruits, including soft varieties - cold pressed, to produce superior juice (because heat can kill enzymes in fruits and veggies, we don't get the maximum nutrient potential from fruits and veggies when we use high speed juicers) -  low speed (rpm or rotations per minute), to minimize oxidation and produce more long-lasting juice - able to make nut milks (um, i haven't explored that one yet) - easy to clean (amen!) - low noise   Just when we think that we're saving money from purchasing a more affordable centrifugal juicer, the article contends that we actually are spending more-- because slow juicers make more juice, and more juice means you spend less on fruits and vegetables. So if you're planning on making juicing a lifelong habit, I think investing in a cold press slow-juicer would be a smart move. (Sigh. I haven't even evaluated my new juicer's performance yet and I already feel stupid, not doing my research first before buying).  So maybe, just maybe, a really good windfall comes this way (so that I wouldn't feel too guilty making a dent on my savings), I will buy myself a reputable (albeit pricey) slow juicer. Because I want to be a juicer for life. We spend so much on junk food everyday, anyway. Why not invest on something that will make us healthier? In case my Jumpstart Juicer fails me, I'm setting my sights on this one: Hurom Slow Juicer DA 1000      And in case you’re also interested in buying your own juicer, I have compiled a list of what users on the worldwide web think are the best juicer brands and models  in the Philippines: 1. Matstone 8-in-1 Slow Juicer Combo - Retail price (on sale now) PhP 12,600  2. Hurom DA1000 Slow Juicer - Retail price PhP 11,000 3. Hurom  HU100 - Vertical slow masticating juicer - Retail price PhP 12,975 4. Breville Juce Fountain Max- Centrifugal high-speed juicer - Retail price (on sale now) PhP 8,370  5. Black & Decker JE55 - Centrifugal high-speed juicer - Retail price PhP 6,061 6. Koii Power Juicer HXT 168 - Centrifugal high-speed juicer - Retail price PhP 5,700 7. Geepas Juice Extractor GJE 3255 - Centrifugal high-speed juicer - Retail price (on sale) PhP 2699 Lesson learned: In this day and age when information is so easily accessible, do your RESEARCH first, before you buy.  Oh well. At least I have a brand new inspiring book and a whole new catalog of juice and soup recipes to try. Will post a few recipes from the Jumpstart Program as soon as I have sampled them. And yes, I AM thinking about taking on that 7-Day Weight Loss (Juices Only) Program. And give a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account. Who knows? I just might succeed. (Here's hoping!!!)

Tuna and Garlic Pasta Recipe

Here’s another quick and simple meat-less recipe for the Lenten Season— a legacy from my dear departed sister-in-law, who used to cook this for her half-Italian kids.

Garlic (lots of it!), tuna, and penne pasta are the basic ingredients. And 30-40 minutes is all the time you need to prepare this. I fell in love with this simple but flavorful recipe at first taste, I just had to learn to cook it—not a big feat,

as you will see, cause it’s so amazingly easy to do.

Thank you, Ate Jonna, for this recipe.  Each time I cook your tuna and garlic pasta, it’s always an homage to you.

TUNA AND GARLIC PASTA ALA JONNA 

Ingredients

• 1 400 gram package penne pasta
• 2-3 100 gram / 6 oz cans of tuna (I use Century Tuna flakes in vegetable oil or water)
• 2 whole BULBS of garlic, diced  
• 2-3 tbsps ground black pepper
• 3-4 tbsps Salt  
• 3 tbsps packaged basil (I use Mc Cormick basil that comes in bottles) or 5-6 leaves fresh basil      
• A handful of Parsley
• 2 cups Olive oil or vegetable oil

Directions 

To cook the pasta:

•       Boil 4 cups of water
•     Once the water is boiling, add the pasta. Water should be enough to cover your pasta by around 1 ½ inches.  Boil under high heat until it’s al dente (cooked and firm). 

•     While pasta is cooking, add 2 tbsps of salt and 1 tbsp ground black pepper, for more flavor.   
•       Don’t forget to stir the pasta every now and then while boiling so that pieces don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

(How to know when pasta is cooked? Cut a piece in half; if the color inside (the pasta’s cross section) is the same as the outside, then it’s cooked. If the inside appears whiter than the outside, it’s still raw.)

• Once the pasta is cooked, drain and set aside. Do not wash pasta with water. It will keep the flavors of the tuna and garlic sauce from being absorbed by the pasta.   

To cook the tuna and garlic mixture:

• Saute diced garlic in olive or vegetable oil until under low heat, until slightly golden. Use a pan that’s big enough to accommodate the pasta.

•          Add tuna to the garlic. Mix well while sauteeing.

•          When the tuna is somehow tender, season with the remaining salt, pepper, and the basil.

•          Finally, add the pasta to the sauteed tuna and garlic. Mix well under low heat.
  
   

•          Add parsley for extra flavor (and design!)

Salmon and Egg Salad Recipe

Not a big salad fan? Here’s a salad recipe that might somehow change your mind— proven to please salad lovers and meat lovers alike. And since we have the rest of the Holy Week ahead of us, this salad recipe would be a nice addition to your no-meat Holy Week (salad) menu.

What makes the yummy difference: salmon belly.

Salmon got my interest when I read somewhere that it’s one of the world’s most nutritious foods. So instead of the usual canned tuna in my salad, I did a little experiment and used salmon instead.

And the result was unexpectedly delicious.  Soft, pink, flavorful salmon belly, mixed with your fresh greens. Combine it with eggs, and a customized fusion of condiments, you’d be done with your plateful of salad before you know it. At least that’s what happened to me. And to my husband, who by the way, is not a big fan of fish or veggies, and is the pickiest adult eater I know.

This one is very easy and quick to prepare. If you want a healthier version, poach or steam the salmon instead of frying (I opted to fry it so because I don’t like the overwhelmingly fishy flavor,  and frying reduces the fishy-ness by half). Use vinegrette or parmesan cheese instead of thousand island dressing.

Have a blessed Holy Week! Hope you enjoy eating your Salmon and Egg salad as much as we did!

SALMON AND EGG SALAD

Ingredients

• 2 handfuls Romaine Lettuce (you can add more, if you like lettuce)
• At least 100 grams Salmon belly (or more)
• 2 large Eggs, soft or hardboiled, sliced
• ½ of a medium sized bulb of Red Onion
• 1 large Tomato, sliced (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoons Vinegar
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• A dollop of Thousand island salad dressing  
• Ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Ginger (optional)
• Garlic (optional)

Instructions

• Boil the eggs.

• Thaw the frozen salmon belly in water.  Then massage salt and pepper into the fish meat. You may add ginger and/or garlic for extra flavor. Leave alone for at least 10 minutes.

• While letting the flavor sink into the fish, toss the lettuce, onion, and tomato together.

• Fry the salmon belly under low heat. Fry until the meat is just about cooked (do not deep fry).

• Slice the cooked salmon into small bits.
• Cut the boiled eggs into thin slices.
• Mix the cooked salmon and eggs with the rest of the salad.

• Season with thousand island salad, pepper, and salt to taste. Toss well and serve.