Strawberry Cheesecake

Baking a cheesecake is truly a labour of love. It takes time and precise measurements to bake the perfect cheesecake with a chewy crust and smooth, creamy filling. We have tried a couple of ways to make this stunning strawberry cheesecake, and here’s how you can make it easily at home.

To make the crust of our cheesecake, we used Brights Butter Cream sandwich biscuits, provided to us by one of our partners, S&O (Standard and Origin). The cream of this biscuit tastes exactly like fresh buttercream and it is well balanced with the slightly salty and sweet flavour of the biscuits. Brights Butter Cream sandwich biscuits are also 100% vegetarian and low in fat, making it a healthy, filling snack.

Serving Size: 5-7

Ingredients:

For the crust

• 2 packets Brights Butter Cream sandwich biscuits (total 24 biscuits)

For the cheesecake filling

• 300g softened cream cheese (at room temperature)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp Greek yoghurt
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

For the strawberry sauce topping

• 1 cup chopped strawberries (cut into quarters)
• 2 ½ tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:

1. To prepare the biscuit crust, first remove the cream from 2 packets of Brights Butter Cream sandwich biscuits (total 24 biscuits) and set it aside.
2. Then, add the plain biscuits to a blender and blend for 1-2 minutes or until it becomes fine crumbs.
3. Add the biscuit crumbs to a bowl along with half of the cream filling (which you removed and set aside earlier). Using your hands, evenly combine the cream with the biscuits until it forms large crumbs and starts to clump when pressed together.
4. After that, line the bottom of a springform pan of around 6-7 inches (this is a tray with removable sides, mainly used for making cheesecake) with baking paper. Cut the baking paper to fit the exact size of the tray’s bottom.
5. Add the biscuit crumbs to the cheesecake tray and press together to spread it evenly on the bottom. Bring the sides of the crust up to around 1 or 1.5 inches of the tray (you can use a glass to press it together more evenly).
6. Bake the biscuit base at 170 degrees for 15 minutes until golden in colour. Once baked, take it out of the oven and leave it to cool down for at least 10 minutes.
7. Next, prepare the cheesecake filling. For this, first add 300g softened cream cheese and ½ cup sugar to a large bowl. For a smooth and firm cheesecake, make sure that the cream cheese is at room temperature. Mix using a hand-held electric mixer at low speed for 5 minutes or until it becomes smooth and creamy.
8. Then, add in 1 ½ tbsp Greek yoghurt and 2 tsp lemon juice. Continue mixing at low speed until it is just combined and smooth.
9. Crack an egg to a separate bowl and whisk using a fork. Then, gradually add in the egg into the batter and continue mixing at low speed to combine.
10. Lastly, add in 1 tsp vanilla essence and fold everything together using a spatula. This is to make sure that the filling isn’t over mixed and to release any trapped air bubbles.
11. Pour the filling on top of the cooled biscuit crust and smooth the top using a spatula.
12. To prepare the cheesecake for baking, take two large sheets of aluminium foil (around 1.5 feet each) and place on the counter in a cross shape, one on top of another.
13. Place the cheesecake tray in the middle where the aluminium foil sheets overlap and carefully wrap it around the tray, leaving out some of the edges to fan out (but make sure it is sturdy and covers the outside of the whole tray).
14. Take a large tray (can be square or rectangular in shape) that is a few inches deep and can fit the cheesecake tray comfortably in it with some space on the sides. Place the foil-wrapped cheesecake tray in it and put both trays together on the middle rack of the oven.
15. Carefully, pour hot water into the large tray, up until an inch high.
16. Bake the cheesecake for 15 minutes at 220 degrees Celsius.
17. Then, without opening the oven, decrease the heat to 110 degrees Celsius and continue baking for another 1 hour and 5 minutes. Once baked, the cheesecake will be firm but with a slight wiggle in the middle and turn slightly golden in colour.
18. Take the large tray out of the oven. Take the cheesecake tray from the hot water-filled tray and remove the aluminium foil (be careful as it will be hot). Let it cool down for 30-45 minutes. Then, cover the top of the tray with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours to set.
19. Now, on to preparing the strawberry sauce topping. First, add in ½ cup chopped strawberries (cut into quarters), 2 ½ tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice to a saucepan.
20. Stir and cook the strawberries at medium low heat for 6-7 minutes or until it becomes saucy and soft.
21. Mash the chunks in the sauce using your spatula and add in the other ½ cup chopped strawberries. Mix well and remove from the heat. Let the sauce cool down for 5-10 minutes.
22. Once the cheesecake has set, remove it from the refrigerator and pour the strawberry sauce on top. You can remove the sides of the springform pan before serving.