Strawberry Cheesecake

This Strawberry Cheesecake is a stunner! An incredible rich-yet-light cheesecake recipe, finished with a gorgeous strawberry topping that tastes as amazing as it looks.

You’ll love how the sauce slowly drips down the cheesecake with every bite, and how the filling is creamy and rich, but it’s a bit fluffy rather than heavy and dense. And because I love the biscuit base so much, I’ve made it go aalll the way up the sides….

Strawberry Cheesecake

This has been my go-to cheesecake recipe for many years now. It’s the cheesecake that rendered a group of girls silent when we were on a weekend away. And that’s saying something with my friends!

I’ve shared this cheesecake recipe in all its naked glory. Because it really is the sort of cake that’s rich enough and so good (and that BISCUIT BASE!!) that you don’t need to trick it up with anything – just serve a plain slice and it will be devoured.

But it’s that time of the year for excesses. Where we take a cake that’s already perfect as it is, and take it over the top with a glossy Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake….

PS You’re going to go a little bit bonkers when that Strawberry Sauce is on the stove. The smell is outrageous!

I did say that this Strawberry Cheesecake is pretty straightforward, but I never said it’s a quick and easy recipe! Here are the 3 main components:

1. Cheesecake biscuit base and walls: blitz and press. No baking required;
2. Cheesecake filling – plonk and mix. The easiest part!
3. 4 ingredient strawberry sauce – couldn’t be easier (hardest part is trying not to “taste test” too much)

The Cheesecake Biscuit base

Oh that buttery base!!! I love it so much, I make an entire wall of it. Actually, the practical reason for the biscuit wall is to hold the Strawberry Topping in. But even without topping, I always make my cheesecakes with biscuit walls!

It’s as simple as blitzing (or bashing) biscuits into crumbs then stirring in melted butter. The biscuit base can be made with pretty much any type of plain biscuit – or even plain flavoured biscuits (like gingersnaps!). Arnott’s Marie Crackers or Nice biscuits (Australia), digestives (UK), and in the States, Graham Crackers are ideal.

Cheesecake Filling

The easiest part! The ingredients in the cheesecake filling are simply cream cheese (Philadelphia all the way!), sugar, lemon zest (this really gives it a special touch), vanilla, a tiny amount of flour (for stability – keeps it fluffy) and eggs. It’s a plonk-and-mix deal.

This cheesecake has sour cream in it which lightens it up a bit. While rich, it has a slightly aerated texture which is quite different from a New York cheesecake which is much denser and calls for twice as much cream cheese as this recipe!

No need for water bath

Some recipes say to bake cheesecake in a water bath, swearing that this a) makes the cake more moist; and b) is the secret to avoiding cracks.

Out of curiosity (because some people are so adamant!) I made this exact cheesecake with and without a water batch just to compare. Logistical issues aside (because no springform pan is 100% leakproof, it requires double layers of heavy duty foil and even then, I was still wary).

Both cheesecakes looked exactly the same – no cracks, and tasted exactly the same. Except one was a heck of a lot more of a hassle to get in the oven.

So it’s confirmed. NO WATER BATH! 

PS Santa, may I please have new matching oven mitts for Christmas?

Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake

4 simple ingredients – strawberries, sugar, lemon juice (or water) and vanilla. Plonk in saucepan, simmer for 10 minutes, stand over stove and inhale the incredible smells. Stir through halved strawberries (nice to soften them a bit), cool then spread on cheesecake.

Don’t fret about getting the strawberry sauce consistency 100% right straight off the stove. Cook the sauce until it’s the thickness you want for your cheesecake (ie slow ooze – watch the video!), then it will thicken more as it cools. THEN use the teeniest touch of water to loosen it up to the desired consistency. That’s the safest way to get the sauce consistency perfect. 👍🏼

That Strawberry Topping for the cheesecake…. it is unbelievable. Not only does it make the cheesecake look stunning, it tastes incredible. The addition of a sauce to an already amazing cheesecake really does take it over the top.

As regular readers know, I specialise in “brown foods”. Think – stews, roasts, curries.

So when I make things as beautiful and colourful as this Strawberry Cheesecake, the immature child within can’t help getting overly excited and sending these photos to everyone in the RecipeTin family and more friends than she cares to admit.

And their reactions made my head swell. 😂

Make this. You WILL be praised for days on end! – Nagi x

More Cheesecake recipes

• Classic Baked Cheesecake
• No Bake Mango Cheesecake
• Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
• Peanut Butter Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Loaf
• Mini Nutella No Bake Cheesecakes

And more strawberries

• Chocolate Covered Strawberries
• Fresh Strawberry Bars
• Strawberry Crumble
• Strawberry Ice Cream (No Churn)

STRAWBERY CHEESECAKE
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

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Strawberry Cheesecake

Author: Nagi

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 55 mins

Total: 1 hr 25 mins

Cakes, Dessert

4.95 from 18 votes

Servings12

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Recipe video above. A light-yet-rich cheesecake, creamy but not dense-creamy like New York cheesecake. Topped with the most utterly incredible Strawberry Sauce topping - it's a match made in heaven! Don't be daunted by the number of steps - they are straightforward, I've just broken it down. Watch the video!

Ingredients

Cheesecake Biscuit Base:

• 200 g Arnott's Marie crackers or other plain biscuit (Aus) or 28 Graham Cracker squares (Note 1)
• 120 g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , melted

Cheesecake Filling:

• 1 lb / 500g cream cheese , softened (Note 2)
• 2 tbsp plain flour (all purpose flour)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup / 125g sour cream (full fat, sub sour cream)
• 1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 3 eggs , at room temperature

Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake:

• 500 g / 1 lb strawberries , half diced and half halved
• 2 tbsp lemon juice OR water (Note 3)
• 1/2 cup (110g) white sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water

Instructions

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 160C/320F (standard) or 140C/295F (fan/convection).
• Get a 20cm/8" springform cake tin. Turn the base UPSIDE DOWN (Note 4), butter lightly and place a square piece of parchment/baking paper on the base. Then clip into the springform pan - excess paper will stick out, see photos in post and video.
• Butter and line the side of the pan.

Cheesecake Biscuit Base:

• Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor.
• Blitz until fine crumbs (Note 5). Add butter, briefly blitz until dispersed and it resembles wet sand.
• Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls.
• Use something with a flat base and vertical edges (I used a measuring cup) to press the crumbs up the wall almost to the top of the sides, and flatten the base.

Filling:

• Use a mixer or beater to beat the cream cheese until smooth - about 30 seconds on medium high,.
• Add flour, beat until just combined (10 sec).
• Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 - 15 sec).
• Add eggs one at a time, beat in between until just combined (10 sec each). Don't over beat, do not want to aerate the batter.
• Pour into prepared crust.
• Bake for 55 minutes. The top should be a very light golden brown, not cracked, and near perfectly flat. It should jiggle slightly when you gently shake the pan.
• Cool the cake in the oven with the door open 20 cm / 8" (Note 6), then refrigerate for 4 hours+ in the pan.
• Remove sides. Use overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.

Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake:

• Place chopped strawberries, vanilla, sugar and lemon juices in a saucepan. Stir then bring to simmer over medium heat.
• Simmer for 10 minutes until strawberries breakdown.
• Add cornflour and stir - it will thicken quickly.
• Add halved strawberries and cook for 1 minute to soften.
• Sauce should be syrupy - remove from stove and cool. Will thicken as it cools.
• Once cool, stirl. Adjust thickness to make it the right "oozing" consistency (see video, Note 7) with a tiny touch of water (be careful!).
• Spoon onto cheesecake so it's covered with a single layer of strawberries. Flip strawberry halves so they are facedown. Refrigerate 2 hours+.
• Slice and serve with remaining Strawberry Sauce!

Recipe Notes:

1. Biscuits: Any plain crackers will work fine here, you need 2 cups of crumbs.
Australia: Arnott's Marie Crackers, Arrowroot and Nice are ideal, I've made it with all these.
US: Use 28 squares / 14 full sheets, yes I measured it with my last Graham Cracker packet I brought back from my last trip.
UK: Digestives are ideal, I LOVE digestives! 

The crumb should be like wet sand so when pressed, it stays packed firmly, especially up the wall. It's delicate when uncooked but once the filling is cooked, it becomes much more stable.

2. Cream Cheese - In the UK and some parts of Europe, block cream cheese isn't available. If you can only get spreadable cream cheese in tubs (softer than block), skip the sour cream.

3. Lemon Juice or Water - Depends on sweetness of strawberries. If they aren't that sweet, use water instead.

4. Inverted cake pan with overhang paper: The base of springform pans have a slight ridge. By inverting it, there is no ridge which makes it easier to slide the cheesecake on a serving platter without ruining the crust. There is no risk of batter leakage as the crust is thick enough to hold it all in.

5. Crumbs: OR crush in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin or large can.

6. Cool in oven: This helps stop the surface from cracking.

7. Strawberry topping should be like jam consistency, not a set jelly. It should ooze slightly when cut.

8. Different measures: Cups and spoons vary slightly between countries (US and CAN are different to most of the rest of the world). I have made this recipe using both US and Australian measures, using Australia Marie crackers and US Graham Crackers. The Graham Cracker crust is slightly crunchier because the biscuit doesn't crush to a fine sand like Marie Crackers do. Both are delicious!

9. Make Ahead / Storage: Cake is at its best consumed within 4 days, after that I feel like it starts getting denser but still really fab, most people wouldn't notice a difference! Ideal to top the day or or day before. After 2 to 3 days, the top does start to "sweat" but it's not very noticeable.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 489kcalCarbohydrates: 55g (18%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 28g (43%)Saturated Fat: 15g (75%)Cholesterol: 114mg (38%)Sodium: 284mg (12%)Potassium: 184mg (5%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 41gVitamin A: 18.9%Vitamin C: 29.8%Calcium: 8%Iron: 8%

Keywords: Strawberry Cheesecake

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LIFE OF DOZER

He’s been waiting all year for a moment like this – when a whole piece of Strawberry Cheesecake fell on the floor!!

(But no, he didn’t get the whole thing. Can you imagine the other mess I’d have to deal with if I did let him?!)