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?!)
it was perfect ,im going to do it again for the weekend, ths nagi
I’ve never made a baked cheesecake before and this one was magnificent!!!! Any hints from anyone re ratio of butter to gluten free ginger biscuits for the base?
Lovely cheesecake. I prepared it the day before for family lunch I’m hosting. I made the mistake of topping it with sauce after chilling it for 4 hours in the fridge instead of waiting to top it immediately upon serving. The sauce dripped down the sides at 3 points where the crust wasn’t the sturdiest, but I wiped the base and I’m sure it’ll be fine. Next time, I won’t top until ready to serve. 🤦♀️😂
This cheesecake was delicious! I followed the recipe to a T and it turned out perfect. Another successful recipe of Nagi’s.
We’re at the stage now that I seem to only cook Nagi’s recipe’s. When my family ask for the recipe I said “It’s another from my good friend Nagi” haha like we’re best friends sharing recipe notes
This cheesecake is so yummy that even family that don’t like any cheesecake, ate this one and thoroughly enjoyed it !
Another wonderful success with Nagi’s recipes.
Hi ! can this recipe be down in a 9 inch pan instead of an 8 inch ?
I used a 9 inch and kept the times the same. I did skip the sour cream and skimped on the sugar but it turned out perfectly and it was the first time I made one that didn’t crack. Delish!
This was absolutely incredible. I let the cheesecake set in the fridge from 3pm until 8am the next day and it set perfectly, then I made the strawberry topping and let that set on the cake for a few more hours before slicing it up. God it was phenomenal. I sent the recipe to my Mother and she’s going to make it for a dinner party as she is a cheesecake Queen. 11/10!
Just made this for a party and it was a huge hit. I used a slightly bigger tin so used more biscuits and butter for the base. The base crumbled a bit but you know when people are scraping up the crumbs of the broken base that you did well! Will make again!
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I made this for a party and not only did everyone love it, but it beat out my usual “go-to” cheesecake recipe and I will never go back to that again. However, the go to recipe was a chocolate swirl cheese cake and I wonder if I can do that with your recipe but maybe leaving out the lemon? Do you think it will be equally light, fluffy and delicious? Thanks in advance!!!!! and kisses to Dozer 🙂
This has got to be the best cheesecake ever and so easy to make. Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes
I’ve made this cheesecake 3 times. Always turns out delicious. The problem I have is, it pools a sticky, watery substance at the bottom of my oven and fills my house with smoke. What am I doing wrong?
I had this happen to me with certain cheesecake recipes, too, Renee. I think the problem is putting too much melted butter in the crust. If the crust is too wet, the excess butter will leak out when baking, drip on the bottom of the oven, and burn. I would try using maybe 1 or 2 tablespoons less butter next time. Take care.
YOWZAH
Im typically the person who says “oh I don’t care for cheesecake” but holy moly this is perfect. I made minimal changes such as using Biscoff cookies for the crust, and adding a little of King Arthur Flour’s Fior di Sicilia extract to the batter (faint citrus/vanilla). I’ll be putting cherries on top but the filling is just so fantastic. I’m definitely a cheesecake person now*
*so long as it’s this exact recipe
Thank you!
Lulu Box is an app that offers free skins and other resources for popular mobile games like Mobile Legends and PUBG. It’s quite popular among gamers who want to customize their gaming experience without spending real money. It’s like getting extra toppings on your strawberry cheesecake for free!
YUMMALINA!!! made this for christmas for my dad who “wasn’t too sure about cheesecake” and ended up keeping a couple of slices for later…. nagi, you’ve done it again!!
Would the Strawberry topping work on a Pavlova please, TIA
Hm, not sure about the base measurement – butter to biscuit ratio didn’t work, and now there’s butter dripping out the bottom of the cake tin! (Luckily I put a tray underneath as I didn’t quite trust the recipe). Did no-one else have that problem? I’m sure I measured accurately….
My oven always seems to require more time to cook. The cheesecake didn’t look even close to ready after 55 minutes (no golden brown, very jiggly), so I added 15. The cake cracked horribly, Is this because I cooked it too long? I was careful to follow all your other instructions. Thank you.
love your recipes Nagi. I wish the instructions for the strawberry layer said diced instead of chopped in step 1…. but am sure it willl still be delicious.
Delicious cheesecake! I made it for my boyfriend’s birthday 2 years in a row and it never cracked, turned out great!
Hi Nagi.
Is it possible if I cook this cheesecake recipe in a muffin tray if so for how long? I have made this once before in a spring form pan and my family just loved it. Thank you!
I also forgot to mention that there is a way to cook your cheesecake in water and that is use a roasting bag , the plastic bags you cook lamb, beef , pork roast’s in just prep your spring form tin and then put the spring form tin into 2 ( insurance) roasting bags and fold/roll the bag down level with the spring form tin’s top , I put it into the oven to cook the base then I fill a lamington tray with water after you have put the cheesecake into it and slide it in to the oven a lot safer than wobbling a tray all over the place with your cheesecake in it and then sliding into the oven suicide if you ask me lol 😂 🤗 this is for peeps who can’t break that method of baking a cheesecake in a water bath , Aussie gal is in the kitchen 🤗🐾🐾