This is THE BEST strawberry cheesecake you’ll every try. With a perfectly creamy and rich strawberry filling, and a juicy and syrupy strawberry topping, it’s absolutely bursting with strawberry flavor. Also, it’s incredibly easy to make!
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Yes, I am 100% confident that this is in fact THE BEST strawberry cheesecake you’ll ever make or taste.
You see, I always research a recipe before I go on to create my own version. And strawberry cheesecake recipes have become something of a pet peeve of mine – not because they’re bad but because they often don’t actually make what I consider a proper strawberry cheesecake… at least not a baked one.
Strawberry cheesecakes (like most cheesecakes) fall into two categories: no-bake and baked ones. No-bake versions often contain strawberries in the actual filling, usually in the form of a strawberry puree, either fresh or cooked down until thickened.
The baked versions, on the other hand, often seem to be just plain vanilla cheesecakes with a strawberry topping. Which, don’t get me wrong, is delicious… but it’s still just a vanilla cheesecake with a topping. Not a strawberry cheesecake. (And yes, I do have very strong opinions about cheesecake.)
And if you’ve been around before, then you know that I like to super-charge my desserts with flavor. So, that’s what I did with this strawberry cheesecake – and the result is AMAZING.
Here’s why you’ll LOVE this strawberry cheesecake:
The strawberry filling. By using freeze dried strawberries in the filling, you’ll get a wonderfully intense and fresh strawberry flavor. I go into more detail about why it’s best to use freeze dried strawberries (rather than fresh ones) in the blog post below.
The strawberry topping. Let’s put it this way: this topping is so delicious, I could eat it by the spoonful. It’s made from macerated strawberries whose juices are reduced until thickened and sticky and syrupy, and it’s seriously the best thing ever.
It’s super creamy and rich. The texture of this cheesecake is seriously on point – the filling is velvety-smooth and perfectly creamy, the cheesecake crust is buttery and just-crumbly-enough, and the strawberry topping brings a burst of syrup juiciness.
Incredibly easy to make. Aside from needing a food processor or blender to transform the freeze dried strawberries into a fine powder, you don’t need any special equipment to make this cheesecake (no stand or hand mixer required) I still suggest having one or the other. And the method itself is almost ridiculously easy: just mix it all together and bake. That’s it.
It’s SO GORGEOUS!!! The pretty pink filling, the ruby-red strawberries, the glossy strawberry syrup… it’s all so very beautiful and tempting. (That is, tempting you to have a second slice. You know you want to.
The flavor will blow you away. Because this isn’t just a vanilla cheesecake with a strawberry topping. This is a proper strawberry-packed strawberry cheesecake with an intense strawberry flavor and you’ll love it. Promise you will love it!!
I have a few variations of this cheesecake that I have made, and they have all been wonderful!
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Note: the whole recipe, including the ingredient quantities, can be found at the bottom of this page – just scroll down to the bottom, or click the ‘Jump to Recipe’ button at the top of this post.
How do you make baked strawberry cheesecake from scratch?
Making this strawberry cheesecake from scratch is incredibly easy. You don’t need to use a stand/hand mixer, though you will need a food processor or blender to blend up the freeze dried strawberries (along with the sugar) into a fine powder.
Other than that, you’ll just need a large bowl, a few other kitchen essentials, and that’s it.
(Of course, if you want to use a stand mixer, I honestly encourage it, that’s perfectly fine. You’ll need the paddle attachment, and always use the lowest speed setting to avoid whipping too much air into the mixture. I also don’t recommend using a hand mixer – but more on that below!)
First, prepare the cheesecake crust:
Crush up graham crackers (or a gluten free alternative if you want the cheesecake to be gluten free) until you get fine crumbs. I used a food processor but you could easily put them into a plastic bag and bash them up with a rolling pin.
Add the melted butter and mix well until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Transfer into a lined 9 inch springform pan and, using the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup, compress them into an even layer with an approximately 1 1/2 inch rim around the edge. I use parchment circles for my pans along with the perfect baking spray, and a silicone pan protector.
Bake at 350ºF for about 10 minutes, then allow to cool until warm.
Then, prepare the “strawberry sugar”
In a food processor or blender, combine the freeze dried strawberry slices and caster/superfine or granulated sugar, and process them until you get a fine powder.
Next up, prepare the strawberry cheesecake filling and assemble the cheesecake:
In a large bowl, add the room temperature cream cheese and yogurt.
Mix them together until smooth. Note that I said MIX and not whisk – don’t aerate the mixture and stop mixing the moment they’re evenly combined and smooth.
Add the room temperature eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition until combined and smooth.
Add the vanilla extract
and mix until well combined.
Add the “strawberry sugar”
and cornstarch,
and mix well.
The final cheesecake filling will be velvety-smooth, super creamy and of a pretty light pink color. At this stage you can correct the color by adding a drop or two of red food coloring.
Transfer the strawberry cheesecake filling into the slightly cooled cheesecake base,
and use a small offset spatula to smooth out the top.
AND THEN BAKE! The baking method outlined below doesn’t require a water bath, but I always recommending one. So if you do not want to, then it is totally up to the baker. It still produces a perfectly creamy cheesecake and prevents cracking every single time, resulting in a lovely smooth top.
** TIP I know it can be stressful not knowing how to do a water bath, but it is actually pretty simple. I use silicone springform pan protectors. But, before I had these, I just wrapped foil about 2 inches high around my pan and set it directly in my roasting pan with about an inch full of water.
Why is it best to use freeze dried strawberries in strawberry cheesecake?
Instead of using fresh (or frozen) strawberries that have been cooked down until thick and almost jam-like ( I did with raspberries) , this recipe uses freeze dried strawberries.
Initially, I tested the recipe with a strawberry reduction but the resulting cheesecake was disappointing both in flavor and in appearance – it was very pale, almost greyish in color and the strawberry flavor was barely there. (And believe me, I started out with a small mountain of fresh strawberries.)
I have also used strawberry jam. which was great, but I also found not enough strawberry flavor. So, could you use strawberry extract?? ABSOLUTELY!
Freeze dried strawberries, on the other hand, give a cheesecake filling with a wonderfully intense strawberry flavor and a gorgeous pink color.
That said, still I like to add a drop or two of red food coloring to the strawberry cheesecake filling, just as a fail-safe to ensure a lovely, vibrant filling after the cheesecake is baked. That’s because strawberries (be that in the form of pureed fresh strawberries or in the form of ground freeze dried strawberries) tend to oxidize and lose their color on contact with dairy products, such as milk or cream cheese. This doesn’t affect the flavor at all, but if you want your cheesecake filling to be a nice pink color, I definitely recommend adding a bit of red food coloring.
Finally, it’s best to use freeze dried strawberry slices or pieces rather than freeze dried strawberry powder. In my experience, freeze dried strawberry slices give a much fresher, strawberry flavor.
Now, you might think that using freeze dried fruit is far too expensive. But in actual fact, if you consider the HUGE amount of fresh strawberries you’d need to achieve the same intensity of flavor, using freeze dried strawberries is actually the less expensive option.
Make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature – this is particularly important for the cream cheese, yogurt and eggs (or other add-ins if you’re making another type of cheesecake).
Don’t aerate or over-mix the cheesecake filling. That means that you shouldn’t whisk the filling doing it by hand. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment and set the mixer to the lowest speed setting – again, you want to mix the cheesecake filling, rather than beat or whisk it.
Bake your cheesecake at a relatively low temperature of 300ºF. This bakes the cheesecake very slowly and prevents the filling from over-baking (which is the most common cause of cracking).
Turn off the oven while the cheesecake is still wobbly in the middle. For this cheesecake, this is after about 1 hour in the oven, plus about 15 or 20 minutes to cool. The remaining heat of the oven will fully set the cheesecake without over-baking it.
Allow the cheesecake to cool until warm or room temperature in the turned-off oven with the oven door ajar. This slow cooling process further ensures that your cheesecake won’t crack during cooling.
That’s it! Now, I know that this might seem like a very long and slightly overwhelming list of do’s and don’ts, but trust me – it’s actually incredibly straightforward, as well as 100% reliable and reproducible! In fact, I’ve used this same method to prepare my other cheesecake recipes, and they all tuned out PERFECT.
You need to chill the cheesecake for at least 4 hours (or preferably overnight) before removing it out of the springform pan onto the serving plate. Then, you could serve it as is, but I really really recommend that you also make the strawberry topping. It’s divine and takes this cheesecake to a whole new level of deliciousness.
How do you make the strawberry topping?
To get the most flavor out of the fresh strawberries (that have been halved or quartered depending on their size), it’s best to macerate them. That is, toss them with caster/superfine or granulated sugar, lemon juice and vanilla bean paste and then let them do their thing for a while – I like to do this either at room temperature for 1-2 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Maceration extracts the juices from the strawberries and also enhances their flavor. And, of course, the addition of vanilla makes them even more delicious.
You then need to drain the macerated strawberries, and reduce their juices in a saucepan over medium heat until syrupy (but not quite jam-like). I always like to be on the side of over-reducing (rather than under-reducing) the juices, as it’s easy to dilute them to the right consistency with a splash of water or lemon juice.
Then, mix the slightly cooled reduced juices with the strawberries to make the strawberry topping. Finally, spoon the topping onto the cheesecake so that it’s covered in a single layer of strawberries.
Note that the topping does make cutting the cheesecake slightly messy – so what you could do is cut the cheesecake without the topping, and then spoon the strawberries and the strawberry syrup over the individual slices right before serving.
How long does strawberry cheesecake last?
The cheesecake keeps well in a closed container or wrapped in cling film in the fridge for about 5 days. But, let’s be honest… it really never lasts that long. Especially after you take that first bite and get to experience the sheer explosion of strawberry flavor.
From the creamy strawberry filling to the juicy, syrupy strawberry topping, this cheesecake is simply way too tempting for its own good. And believe me… you’ll be back for that second slice. (Yes, I’m definitely speaking from personal experience.)
**This is one that I used on food coloring for because of an allergy. Notice the gray color vs pink or red.
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Looks delicious!!