This Strawberry Cheesecake is a stunner! Based on my classic Baked Cheesecake which I describe as a magically rich-yet-light, 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! It takes time but it’s not complicated. I’m going to walk you through each part, there are process photos and a recipe tutorial video too.
Here are the 3 main components:
Cheesecake biscuit base and walls: blitz and press. No baking required;
Cheesecake filling – plonk and mix. The easiest part!
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 for this Strawberry Cheesecake. 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.
PRO TIP: Inverted base & paper overhang
To make it easier to remove finished cake: Flip the base of the springform pan. Grease then top with a square sheet of paper. Secure sides of pan so excess paper is sticking out. Then you can easily move the cheesecake as follows:
use the paper overhang to grip, and slide the cake off the base onto the cake stand;
finished cake will slide safely off the inverted base (because it has no lip); then
once the cake on the paper is on the cake stand, slide the paper out from under the cake. Voila!
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 Strawberry Cheesecake recipe!
PRO TIP: Don’t overbeat, it can cause craters
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
5 simple ingredients – strawberries, sugar, cornflour/cornstarch, 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 – as in, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. 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
Strawberry Cheesecake
Watch how to make it
Accidentally forgot to include adding cornflour/cornstarch in the strawberry topping in the video! Whisked it in off camera. 🙂
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Strawberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
Cheesecake Biscuit Base:
- 200g / 7oz 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 sour cream (full fat, sub sour cream)
- 1 1/2 cups caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 eggs , at room temperature
Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake:
- 500g / 1 lb strawberries , half diced and half halved
- 2 tbsp lemon juice OR water (Note 3)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 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 just smooth, no longer than 20 seconds on speed 4. (You do not want to aerate cheesecake filling as it causes cracks when it bakes)
- Add flour, beat for 5 seconds on speed 4 until just incorporated.
- Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 sec max, speed 5).
- Add eggs one at a time, beat in between until just combined (5 sec each), and after the last one, beat just until the egg is fully incorporated.
- 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.
- Mix cornflour with water, then add into saucepan and stir.
- 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:
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:
More Cheesecake recipes
And more strawberry goodness …
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?!)
Nada says
I always love your recipes. All of them work for me. Since I live in Istanbul, I had to modify some ingredients but it turned out great. I can’t thank you enough for your clear instructions. You make cooking and baking accessible.
Nagi says
Thanks so much Nada! N x
Doris says
HI Nagi, once again another success from your recipes. They are so easy and absolutely delicious! I made this last week, added a little less sugar as I don’t like things too sweet and it was just perfect. I’m looking to make another one, but with a different fruit topping. Any suggestions as to what might work? Thanks!
Nagi says
Hi Doris, I’m so glad you loved it! Any berries would work great here! N x
Janine Cadet says
How should I adjust baking time / oven temp if I only have a 9inch springform?
Olivia D says
I made this cake for my dad’s birthday and it was delicious! I only had one small issue – when I was trying to slide the cake off the baking paper, the middle was stuck and I cracked the cake trying to take it off. Just to let you know, this is the first cheesecake I’ve made and I might have greased the pan a bit too much. Could you let me know where I went wrong so it’s easier when I make it again? Thank you for the amazing recipe (and the video was super helpful)!! :)))
Nagi says
Hi Olivia, sorry you had issues sliding it off – you should be able to just gently slide it off the paper. Were you using parchment paper and definitely not waxed paper?
Denise Parker says
I don’t think I cooked it long enough. It’s been cooling in the oven but it’s still pretty jiggly. Anything I can do to fix this?
viktoriya kingsman says
Hi Nagi, the cake came out beautifully. I used slightly less sugar and yogurt. It didn’t crack at all. Everyone is stuffing their faces. Thank you
Jo says
Easy to make and came out technically perfect… but both hubby and I felt it was too sweet and missing a tang.
I usually prefer New York style denser cheesecake so will stick with those in future 🙂
Nagi says
Hi Jo, sorry you found it too sweet, you could always add slightly more lemon to give that tang 🙂 N x
Stephany says
Hi Nagi! If I don’t have a springform pan, what can I use instead??
(I have one on order but it’s going to take at least a week…hubby wants cheesecake today!)
Nagi says
Hi Stephany, springform is the best to use here to easily remove the cake from the pan unfortunately. N x
Stepahny says
Nagi, I finally got my springform pan! I’ve since made this cheesecake TWICE! Once with Strawberries and once with Blueberries. I am NO baker…but this came out AMAZING! It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I also sub’s Biscoff cookies for grahams…made it the ultimate crust! Thanks for your recipes, I legit use them ALL the time! Love your cooking style! 😉 <3
rose says
Hi Nagi,
Where do I get the springform pans from in AUS?
Mya says
Amazing cheesecake!! I made with spreadable cream cheese and without sour cream as notes state and it was amazing. Although it did crack slightly I covered it up with strawberry and raspberry sauce! Definitely will make again
Lola says
OMG this is the best cheesecake recipe. Hubby and his family literally fell in love with this cheesecake. Thank you very much Nagi.
Dee says
Well Well Well What can I say Nagi! A winner first time I made it(and and my first cheesecake) for a group of friends and it was demolished in minutes!!
I feel really confident that your recipes will always be a hit. That you soo much .
P.S. Boo Boo my Spoodle was drooling the whole time and ended up with a the crumbs
Kim Bambrough says
What a fantastic recipe Nagi! The most delicious cheesecake i have ever tasted! Your recipe is perfect. Every part of this cheesecake was spot on, I was amazed i could do it. Making your blueberry muffins tomorrow then to prepare the marinade for your Chicken Donor Kebab recipe which we love. It never stops does it!
Steven says
I can’t see cooking times on the receipe? Have I missed something?
Nagi says
Hi Steven, step 6 under the filling heading – N x
Ruby Dsouza says
Baked a cheesecake for the first time. The recipe was simple, quick and delicious.
Nagi says
I’m so glad you gave it a go Ruby ❤️
Vivianna says
Hi! Im planing to make this for my husbands birthday… only one question… what size pan did you use how many inches or centimeters diameter you use…. thank you
Nagi says
Hi Vivianna – it’s all in step 2 ☺️
Miranda says
Hi Nagi. Thank you for another great recipe. Would you happen to have a low calorie low sugar option of the cheesecake?
Yuhki says
Made this several times already, tried it on its own, with strawberry topping, and with blueberry topping. My man loves it! Been recommending this to my friends too because it’s simple to make and comes out soooooo good. Thanks, Nagi!
PS love the bgm in the tutorial. Can’t get it out of my head tho! 😂
Nagi says
Hi Miranda, does such a thing exist??? Using cheese is pretty much going to mean calories unfortunately, I think if you’re going to indulge you just need to bite the bullet 😉
kerry says
Hi Nagi ive just found you! loving your recipes & many to try soon. can i use frozen strawberries? Im currently living in cambodia & strawberries definately not available. also lemons very expensive here but lots of limes so im going to sub. can i use yoghurt in place of sour cream too or will the taste be quite different? thankyou
Coral says
Made 3 of these cakes for my family for Christmas. Best. Cake. I’ve. Ever. Made! I don’t know how to bake very well so I was scared it was going to be a disaster…. and then family members were calling me up asking for more!! Thank you so much for the delicious recipe!
Nagi says
YESSSS you nailed it Coral!
Jillian says
Can I use frozen strawberry’s to make the topping or does it need to be fresh ?