In spite of being a serious part time baker, I had so far never attempted the famous and much loved cheesecake in my own kitchen. This rich and creamy dessert dates back from several thousand years in Greece. It is believed that the first cheesecake was baked to feed athletes during the first Olympic games in 776 B.C. The recipe was successively passed down from the Greeks to the Romans and thereafter to different countries in Europe who brought their own twist by adding their native ingredients to the cheesecake. Italians use ricotta cheese, while the Greeks use feta. Germans prefer cottage cheese and the Japanese use a combination of cornstarch and egg whites.

The American version of cheesecake, as we know and love it today, was not born until the 18th century. The staple ingredient in our present day cheesecake is cream cheese, a soft, mild-tasting cheese accidentally invented by a New York dairy farmer. So far my only venture with cream cheese was to whip it into a deliciously creamy frosting for moist oil cakes like carrot or red velvet cupcakes. For my very first cheesecake trial, I had a tough time choosing between the classic New York style and a lighter cake topped with strawberries by my friend Sheetal. I’ve had her recipe for years and I feel it is now time for it to go public on my blog. Thank you for this wonderful foolproof recipe dear!

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

Ingredients:

For the Biscuit Crust

90 g plain biscuits

40 g butter, melted

For the Cream Cheese Filling

250 g cream cheese

200 ml double cream

2 eggs, room temperature

80 g caster sugar

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 teaspoons lemon juice

For the Strawberry Sauce

200 g fresh strawberries

3 teaspoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons caster sugar

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 170oC. Line the base of a 20cm spring form pan with double layer of parchment paper.

  • Crush the biscuits and mix well with melted butter. Spread the biscuit crumbs over the base of the pan.

  • Press it down to form a uniform layer and place the pan in the refrigerator for about 30 to 40 minutes.

  • Meanwhile prepare the filling by beating all the ingredients well with a hand held mixer until smooth.

  • Spread filling over the biscuit base and bake at 170oC for 40-45 minutes until the filling is almost set.

  • For the strawberry sauce, combine the chopped strawberries with lemon juice and sugar and set aside.

  • Once the cheesecake is baked, remove from oven and leave it to cool completely to room temperature.

  • Top the cooled cake with the strawberry sauce and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.

  • Remove the chilled cake from fridge and top with fresh strawberries and chocolate curls before slicing.

My First Cheesecake