Easy Cheesecake Recipe with Strawberry Topping
I have made many cheesecakes in my life. I have had great success and equally great failure during this learning experience. Cheesecake is just such a funny thing to make, and if you’ve ever made one- you know exactly what I mean. Don’t beat the batter too long. Add the eggs all at once or one at a time? Water bath or no water bath? Leave the oven door open at the end? Make sure it still jiggles in the middle! Pray it doesn’t crack. Boy! This is a lot to consider for one little cheesecake!
So, armed with my experience and some science, I set out to make a simpler, no-fail type of cheesecake. One that even beginning bakers could excel at and impress with. I started by using a 13×9 inch pan instead of a traditional springform pan. If I’m being honest, that springform pan just really scares me sometimes. I know it’s necessary for the mile-high bakery style cheesecakes, but I found that a cheesecake in 13×9 inch pan is easier to cut, serve, and tote. I was hesitant about how the cheesecake would bake, but it set up beautifully, and was delicious! This was adapted from recipes found on Cook’s Country and Cooks.
You could easily make any fruit compote for topping or even a chocolate syrup. I still had some Strawberry Sauce in my freezer from last year. Here’s the Strawberry Sauce Recipe.
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 12
- Crust:
- 2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
- 3 TBSP sugar
- 6 TBSP butter, melted
- Cheesecake:
- 4 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 4 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 TBSP lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- Crust:
- Combine crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl with a whisk.
- Add melted butter, and stir until crumbs resemble wet sand and can be easily pressed into a 13x9 inch pan.
- Bake crust only at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool.
- Cheesecake:
- Put the cream cheese in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) and beat for two minutes on medium speed until smooth.
- Add all of the sugar, and beat for another minute until well combined.
- Add the salt, heavy cream, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix on low until incorporated.
- Add the eggs and yolk all at once, and mix until combined.
- Pour cheesecake batter over baked graham cracker crust and bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
- Cool cheesecake completely, and refrigerate until cold, about three hours.
- Note: The cheesecake is done when the edges are set, and the cake still jiggles in the middle. The cake will continue to bake and set up as it cools out of the oven. Resist the urge to bake it until it doesn’t move anymore. At this point, the cake is overbaked and is at high risk for cracking.
