How to Make Strawberry Cheesecake

There are two ways to add strawberries to a cheesecake. The traditional method is to top the cheesecake with the berries. You may also puree the berries and add it to the batter before cooking. This method makes a striking cheesecake but the cooked berries lose a little of that fresh berry taste. You may wish to top your strawberry filled cheesecake with fresh berries.

Here we are presenting a recipe for each. The white chocolate cheesecake is our favorite cheesecake recipe. It's rich and smooth as you would expect a white chocolate cheesecake to be but not so rich that it is overbearing. Be sure to use a good quality white chocolate.

This is a great cheesecake recipe. The white chocolate makes this cake particularly rich. Use a good quality white chocolate with high cocoa butter content.

We topped this scrumptious cheesecake with orange glazed strawberries. The glaze is a simple sugar syrup with orange zest added. This makes a marvelous dessert.

You will need a ten-inch springform pan. Our glass-base springform pans are perfect. We used a square springform pan.

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

For the filling:4 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups white chocolate wafers or 8 ounces of white chocolate baking bars

Directions

Preheat the oven 325 degrees.

1. In a 10-inch springform pan, mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar together. Press the mixture across the bottom of the pan and up the sides to form the crust. Put the crust in refrigerator while you mix the filling.

2. With the paddle attachment of your stand-type mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Melt the chocolate. Drizzle in the melted chocolate while the beaters are running. Pour into the crust.

3. Bake for 50 minutes or until the cake is done. Let cool on a wire rack. After ten minutes, loosen the sides with a spatula and remove the ring. Refrigerate the cheesecake to cool completely.

Baker's note: Drizzle in the chocolate while it is still warm. If the chocolate cools too rapidly, you will have clumps in the cheesecake.

For the glazed strawberries:1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
zest from one orange
2 drops red food coloring
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1. Mix the water and sugar together in a saucepan. Add the zest. (Use only the outer portion of the orange peel; the white inner pulp is bitter.) Stir and cook until the sugar is dissolved and syrup starts to simmer. Cook for two more minutes. Set the syrup aside to cool.

2. Just before serving, mix the syrup with the strawberries. Top the cheesecake with the strawberries.

This makes a beautiful cheesecake. The swirl is made by adding fresh strawberry puree to half of the batter and then swirling the two batters together with a vertically held knife.

You can enjoy this as it is or top it with more strawberries.

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

For the filling:4 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup fresh strawberry puree
three drops red food coloring

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine crumbs, sugar, and butter in a 10-inch springform pan. Form the crust by pressing the crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan and half way up the sides of the pan. Bake the crust for seven or eight minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. In a stand-type mixer and with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together. Add the cream and flour. Mix until fluffy. Mix in eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.

3. Divide the cream cheese filling into two parts. Add the strawberry puree and food coloring to one-half of the filing and mix well. Pour the pink filling into the cooled crumb crust. Spoon the white filling onto the pink filling in bands. Swirl with a vertically-held knife to create a marble effect.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 65 minutes or until done. Remove the cheesecake to cool on a wire rack. After five minutes, carefully remove the pan ring. Refrigerate the cheesecake to chill well before serving.

Baker's notes:

We used AmeriColor professional food color gels to tint the strawberries a deep, bright red. The resulting batter was a bright pink. If you are using other colors, you may need to add more coloring.

If you wish to top the cheesecake with additional strawberries, add two tablespoons granulated sugar to one cup of sliced strawberries and toss. Let sit for about fifteen minutes and the sugar will draw some of the juices from the berries.