How to Make a Strawberry Cheesecake

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been pretty busy doing absolutely nothing. So when I started to feel guilty enough, I decided that baking a cheesecake from scratch was a good punishment for my lazy behavior. Baking a cheesecake is super tricky, it can only go two ways – complete failure or absolute perfection.

As this was my first time making a cheesecake, I was nervous the whole day. For me, the hardest part was the cooling part. You can’t possibly be sure your cheesecake is gonna be an actual cheesecake and not a lumpy disaster until you cut a slice. And you can’t cut a slice right away, you have to torture yourself for a few hours.

However, I am very happy and proud to say that my cheesecake turned out an absolute perfection! This was definitely a boost of confidence and now I feel like I can move mountains!

If you’re nervous about making your first cheesecake (and you should be a little, is’s okay) I’ve got one advice for you. Follow these instructions carefully and you’ll be just fine. Don’t skip a step, don’t skip the cooling time, don’t even skip 15 minutes of your cooling time or you might sabotage your piece of heaven.

Print Recipe

How to Make The Perfect Cheesecake

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

50 minutes

Passive Time

a lot

Servings

8 people

Ingredients

For the crust

• 170 g vanilla biscuits

• 5 tablespoons melted butter

For the cheesecake

• 900 g full-fat creem cheese (I used Philadelphia)
• 90 g sugar
• 1 tablespoon conrstach
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 45 g sour cream
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk

Strawberry Topping

• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
• 64 g sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cornstach

Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 50 minutes Passive Time a lot Servings 8 people Ingredients For the crust 170 g vanilla biscuits 5 tablespoons melted butter For the cheesecake 900 g full-fat creem cheese (I used Philadelphia) 90 g sugar 1 tablespoon conrstach 1/8 teaspoon salt 45 g sour cream 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 large eggs 1 large egg yolk Strawberry Topping 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries 64 g sugar 1/3 cup water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon cornstach

Instructions

We’ll start with the biscuits crust.

1. Preheat the oven to 170C and take the cream cheese out of the fridge. You want the cream cheese to be at room temperature.
2. Coat the pan with butter. Using your fingers, coat a small pat of butter all over the bottom and sides of your springform pan.
3. Wrap the pain in foil. We will bake this cheesecake in a water bath so this step is quite important in order to keep the cheesecake protected against water getting into the pan. Cut 2 large pieces of foil, put the springform pan in the middle and fold the edges of the foil up and around the sides of the pan.
4. Prepare the crust. Using a food processor or a rolling pin, crush the biscuits until they turn into fine crumbs. Melt 5 tablespoons of butter and mix it into the biscuits crumb. The mixture should now look like wet sand and hold together when you press it in your fist. If not, add extra tablespoons of water, one at a time, until the mixture holds together. Transfer it into the springform pan and using the bottom of a glass, press it evenly into the bottom, forming a crust.
5. Bake the crust. Bake the crust for about 8 minutes. Let it cool on a cooling rack while you prepare the filling.

Okay, we’re done with the crust. Now let’s get to the fun part. The cheesecake cream!

1. Mix the cream cheese, sugar, cornstach and salt. Put them together in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (if you don’t own a standing mixer, go get one! 🙂 joking, you can use an electric handheld mixer and a large bowl, but seriously, if you can, get one, it’s life changing). Mix on medium-low speed until the mixture turns creamy and no visible lumps of cream cheese remain.
2. Mix in the sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla. Keep beating on medium-low speed until combined and creamy.
3. Mix in the eggs and yolk, one at a time. With the mixer set on medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time.
4. Stir a few time by hand. Using a spatula, stir the whole batter a few times making sure everything is incorporated. The finish batter should be thick, creamy and silky.
5. Pour the batter over the cooled crust. (check to see if the crust is cooled, but it should be at this point) Spread it into an even layer.
6. **important step** Transfer the pan to the water bath. Transfer the pan to a roasting pan or any other baking dish that’s big enough to hold it. Bring a few cups of water to boil and pour the water into the roasting pan, making sure not to splash any water onto the cheesecake.
7. Bake the cheesecake for about 50 minutes. Check it from time to time, the cheesecake is done when the outer 2-3 inches look slightly puffed and set, but the middle still jiggles when you shake the pan.
8. Cool the cheesecake. Don’t rush this process, cooling the cheesecake is part of cooking the cheesecake. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for about 1 hour. After 1 hour, take it out of the oven and run a knife around the edge of the cake, making sure it’s not sticking to the sides. Let the cheesecake cool completely on the rack.
9. Chill the  cheesecake for AT LEAST 4 hours in the refrigerator. I know it’s hard, but this step is just as important as baking the cheesecake.
10. Top the cheesecake with strawberry topping and serve.

Strawberry Topping

This is super easy to make and incredibly delicious.

1. Chop the strawberries and put them in a small saucepan. Add the sugar and 1/3 cup water, stir to blend. Heat mixture over medium high heat until it starts to boil. Reduce the heat to medium.
2. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water until a thick liquid forms.
3. Pour the liquid into the pan and stir continuously until well blended. Cook the strawberry mixture for another 2-3 minutes until it becomes thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

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