How To Make a Strawberry Cheesecake?�

Birthday cakes are the most important as well as delightful thing about birthday parties. Be it of a child, an adolescent or an adult, the idea of birthday cakes can put a smile on anyone’s face. In Brisbane, there are many unique and creative variants of this popular piece de resistance. One such unique birthday cake is the strawberry cheesecake. Although this delicacy is an usual specialty of confectioneries, making one at home is not difficult at all.

Ingredients

• Crumbs of vanilla wafer cookies – 1¼ cups
• Unsalted butter – 2 tablespoons
• Granulated sugar – 1¼ cups
• Flour – 1 tablespoon
• Cream cheese – 226 grams
• Lemon zest – 1 teaspoon (finely grated)
• Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
• Heavy cream – ¼ cup
• Eggs – 3
• Egg yolk – 1

For the topping

• Strawberries – 680 grams (hulled and cut in large dices)
• Granulated sugar – 1 cup
• Lemon zest – 1 teaspoon (finely grated)
• Fresh lemon juice – 1 tablespoon
• Water – 2 tablespoons
• Cornstarch – 1 tablespoons (note that water or cornstarch may or may not be needed)

Procedure

First, the oven has to be heated to a temperature of 163°C and then a rack is arranged in its middle. After that, the sides and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan is coated with butter. Next, the melted butter and wafer crumbs are mixed thoroughly in a bowl and poured out into the pan. The mixture is press down evenly in the bottom and a little bit up the sides.

The flour and sugar are mixed in a bowl and kept ready. The cream cheese is placed in a standard mixer with paddle attachment and beaten at medium speed till it becomes smooth. While the mixer is running, the flour-sugar mixture is slowly poured in it and combined thoroughly. The mixer has to be stopped as often as required to scrape the bowl’s sides. After that, the mixer is slowed down a bit and the vanilla and lemon zest are added. Then the cream is poured in gently and mixed until uniformly combined. The egg yolk and the eggs are added one by one and incorporated evenly.

The filling is now poured in the prepared crust, layered uniformly and baked for about 45 to 60 minutes until the cake’s edges become brown. The oven is then switched off and allowed to cool with the cake inside it for an hour. After that, the cheesecake is taken out, placed on a cooling rack and covered with a baking sheet. The baking sheet is removed after every 30 minutes to wipe off any condensation formed on the underside and the process is continued for 1½ hours. Then the baking sheet is taken away and the cheesecake is refrigerated for 4 hours.

Now the sugar and strawberries are placed in a medium saucepan and stirred until the strawberries get coated with sugar. They are mashed until half the strawberries are pulped and some small chunks remain. The pan is then heated at a high temperature and stirred every now and then until bubbles start forming around the edge. Any foam is skimmed and discarded. The lemon juice and zest are poured in, combined thoroughly and boiled till a foamy layer forms on the surface. Now the heat supply is turned off and the sauce is poured into a container, secured tightly and refrigerated for 3 days. When the cheesecake is ready to be served, the sauce is poured on top of it and served.