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.
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| 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 |
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| 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)
