This strawberry cheesecake is not your typical cheesecake. It has coffee in it but it is not overwhelming or anything. As you know any baked cheesecake is a labor of love so be prepared to put in effort for this one. It has a slight bitter tang to it because of the coffee and is a really interesting dessert.
Making the crust
First of all, for any cheesecake you need a springform cake pan which comes with a removable bottom. I always stick to the regular 9-inch sized springform pans. It is always best to line the bottom with parchment paper for easier removal of the filling. The crust I usually use is made of Graham crackers. I like buying the Graham crumbs because it saves me time from actually crushing the Graham crackers myself. The Graham crumbs are mixed with butter and sugar and then pressed into the bottom of the lined springform cake pan.
The strawberry cheesecake filling
The cream cheese has to be softened and at room temperature first. This will help prevent it from being lumpy; your cheesecake batter has to be ultra smooth. Also, if you don’t have sour cream, plain yogurt is a good substitute. I used a water bath where you wrap the bottom of the cake pan with foil and place the cake pan in a bigger pan filled with hot water. This allows the cheesecake to bake evenly and not dry out. I don’t think it is mandatory. If you have a time to do it, great! If not, I don’t think it is a big deal.
The strawberry sauce topping
The sauce is made from blended strawberries and cornstarch, which is then cooked on the stove. It has a syrup texture but much thicker thanks to the cornstarch. This allows it to stick to the strawberry cheesecake rather than being so runny that it slides off the cheesecake. It is best served cold so you can make this sauce a day or before. Cheesecakes also taste better as time goes on so bake this 2 or 3 days ahead.
You can also check out my no-bake mini strawberry cheesecake recipe featured on Foodtalk.
Ingredients
Crust
1&1/4 cup Graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Coffee cheesecake filling
3x250g package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons instant coffee
1 tablespoon warm water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Strawberry sauce topping
4 cups strawberries, trimmed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.
- Wrap the under side of a 9-inch spring-form cake pan tightly with foil. Line the bottom of the pan with a parchment paper circle.
- Mix the crust ingredients together in a bowl and press half into the bottom of the springform pan and the remainder along the sides of the pan to form a crust.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool and leave the oven on.
Coffee cheesecake filling
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300F/148C.
- Mix the instant coffee with the tablespoon of hot water until it completely dissolves.
- Using a hand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Add the granulated sugar, salt, sour cream, flour until combined.
- Whisk in the vanilla extract and the eggs one at a time.
- Stir in the coffee mixture from step 2 into this same bowl. This is your coffee cheesecake batter.
- Pour this batter into the baked crust.
- Water bath: Fill a large baking tray with 2 inches of hot water. Place the springform cake pan gently into the baking tray.
- Bake the cheesecake batter 300F/148C for 1 hour, turn off the heat and then leave it in the oven with the door shut for another hour.
- Afterwards, run a sharp knife around the inner edges of the cake pan.
- Remove the pan from the water bath and let it cool on a wire rack.
- Once it's at room temperature, wrap the top of the pan with cling wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight (see notes for storage).
Strawberry sauce topping
- Blend half the strawberries with the cornstarch together until smooth.
- Pour this purée into a saucepan, and add the half cup granulated sugar, lemon juice and bring to a boil on medium heat for about 20 minutes.
- The sauce will have thickened up and gotten darker in color at this stage. Take it off the heat and stir in the remaining sliced strawberries.
- Let it cool completely and serve it generously over the strawberry cheesecake. Save any sauce leftovers in an airtight jar for up to a week.
Notes
Cheesecake can last in the fridge for a week and in the freezer for up to 3 months. Slice it up and wrap it up individually with cling wrap and store it in an airtight container.