This Strawberry Cheesecake is a stunner! Based on my classic Baked Cheesecake which I describe as a magically rich-yet-light, finished with a gorgeous strawberry topping that tastes as amazing as it looks.
You’ll love how the sauce slowly drips down the cheesecake with every bite, and how the filling is creamy and rich, but it’s a bit fluffy rather than heavy and dense. And because I love the biscuit base so much, I’ve made it go aalll the way up the sides….
Strawberry Cheesecake
This has been my go-to cheesecake recipe for many years now. It’s the cheesecake that rendered a group of girls silent when we were on a weekend away. And that’s saying something with my friends!
I’ve shared this cheesecake recipe in all its naked glory. Because it really is the sort of cake that’s rich enough and so good (and that BISCUIT BASE!!) that you don’t need to trick it up with anything – just serve a plain slice and it will be devoured.
But it’s that time of the year for excesses. Where we take a cake that’s already perfect as it is, and take it over the top with a glossy Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake….
PS You’re going to go a little bit bonkers when that Strawberry Sauce is on the stove. The smell is outrageous!
I did say that this Strawberry Cheesecake is pretty straightforward, but I never said it’s a quick and easy recipe! It takes time but it’s not complicated. I’m going to walk you through each part, there are process photos and a recipe tutorial video too.
Here are the 3 main components:
Cheesecake biscuit base and walls: blitz and press. No baking required;
Cheesecake filling – plonk and mix. The easiest part!
4 ingredient strawberry sauce – couldn’t be easier (hardest part is trying not to “taste test” too much)
The Cheesecake Biscuit base
Oh that buttery base!!! I love it so much, I make an entire wall of it for this Strawberry Cheesecake. Actually, the practical reason for the biscuit wall is to hold the Strawberry Topping in. But even without topping, I always make my cheesecakes with biscuit walls!
It’s as simple as blitzing (or bashing) biscuits into crumbs then stirring in melted butter. The biscuit base can be made with pretty much any type of plain biscuit – or even plain flavoured biscuits (like gingersnaps!). Arnott’s Marie Crackers or Nice biscuits (Australia), digestives (UK), and in the States, Graham Crackers are ideal.
PRO TIP: Inverted base & paper overhang
To make it easier to remove finished cake: Flip the base of the springform pan. Grease then top with a square sheet of paper. Secure sides of pan so excess paper is sticking out. Then you can easily move the cheesecake as follows:
use the paper overhang to grip, and slide the cake off the base onto the cake stand;
finished cake will slide safely off the inverted base (because it has no lip); then
once the cake on the paper is on the cake stand, slide the paper out from under the cake. Voila!
Cheesecake Filling
The easiest part! The ingredients in the cheesecake filling are simply cream cheese (Philadelphia all the way!), sugar, lemon zest (this really gives it a special touch), vanilla, a tiny amount of flour (for stability – keeps it fluffy) and eggs. It’s a plonk-and-mix deal.
This cheesecake has sour cream in it which lightens it up a bit. While rich, it has a slightly aerated texture which is quite different from a New York cheesecake which is much denser and calls for twice as much cream cheese as this Strawberry Cheesecake recipe!
PRO TIP: Don’t overbeat, it can cause craters
No need for water bath
Some recipes say to bake cheesecake in a water bath, swearing that this a) makes the cake more moist; and b) is the secret to avoiding cracks.
Out of curiosity (because some people are so adamant!) I made this exact cheesecake with and without a water batch just to compare. Logistical issues aside (because no springform pan is 100% leakproof, it requires double layers of heavy duty foil and even then, I was still wary).
Both cheesecakes looked exactly the same – no cracks, and tasted exactly the same. Except one was a heck of a lot more of a hassle to get in the oven.
So it’s confirmed. NO WATER BATH!
PS Santa, may I please have new matching oven mitts for Christmas?
Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake
5 simple ingredients – strawberries, sugar, cornflour/cornstarch, lemon juice (or water) and vanilla. Plonk in saucepan, simmer for 10 minutes, stand over stove and inhale the incredible smells. Stir through halved strawberries (nice to soften them a bit), cool then spread on cheesecake.
Don’t fret about getting the strawberry sauce consistency 100% right straight off the stove. Cook the sauce until it’s the thickness you want for your cheesecake (ie slow ooze – watch the video!), then it will thicken more as it cools. THEN use the teeniest touch of water to loosen it up to the desired consistency – as in, 1/2 teaspoon at a time. That’s the safest way to get the sauce consistency perfect. 👍🏼
That Strawberry Topping for the cheesecake…. it is unbelievable. Not only does it make the cheesecake look stunning, it tastes incredible. The addition of a sauce to an already amazing cheesecake really does take it over the top.
As regular readers know, I specialise in “brown foods”. Think – stews, roasts, curries.
So when I make things as beautiful and colourful as this Strawberry Cheesecake, the immature child within can’t help getting overly excited and sending these photos to everyone in the RecipeTin family and more friends than she cares to admit.
And their reactions made my head swell. 😂
Make this. You WILL be praised for days on end! – Nagi x
Strawberry Cheesecake
Watch how to make it
Accidentally forgot to include adding cornflour/cornstarch in the strawberry topping in the video! Whisked it in off camera. 🙂
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Strawberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
Cheesecake Biscuit Base:
- 200g / 7oz Arnott’s Marie crackers or other plain biscuit (Aus) or 28 Graham Cracker squares (Note 1)
- 120 g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
Cheesecake Filling:
- 1 lb / 500g cream cheese , softened (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat, sub sour cream)
- 1 1/2 cups caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 eggs , at room temperature
Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake:
- 500g / 1 lb strawberries , half diced and half halved
- 2 tbsp lemon juice OR water (Note 3)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 160C/320F (standard) or 140C/295F (fan/convection).
- Get a 20cm/8″ springform cake tin. Turn the base UPSIDE DOWN (Note 4), butter lightly and place a square piece of parchment/baking paper on the base. Then clip into the springform pan – excess paper will stick out, see photos in post and video.
- Butter and line the side of the pan.
Cheesecake Biscuit Base:
- Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor.
- Blitz until fine crumbs (Note 5). Add butter, briefly blitz until dispersed and it resembles wet sand.
- Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls.
- Use something with a flat base and vertical edges (I used a measuring cup) to press the crumbs up the wall almost to the top of the sides, and flatten the base.
Filling:
- Use a mixer or beater to beat the cream cheese until just smooth, no longer than 20 seconds on speed 4. (You do not want to aerate cheesecake filling as it causes cracks when it bakes)
- Add flour, beat for 5 seconds on speed 4 until just incorporated.
- Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 sec max, speed 5).
- Add eggs one at a time, beat in between until just combined (5 sec each), and after the last one, beat just until the egg is fully incorporated.
- Pour into prepared crust.
- Bake for 55 minutes. The top should be a very light golden brown, not cracked, and near perfectly flat. It should jiggle slightly when you gently shake the pan.
- Cool the cake in the oven with the door open 20 cm / 8″ (Note 6), then refrigerate for 4 hours+ in the pan.
- Remove sides. Use overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.
Strawberry Topping for Cheesecake:
- Place chopped strawberries, vanilla, sugar and lemon juices in a saucepan. Stir then bring to simmer over medium heat.
- Simmer for 10 minutes until strawberries breakdown.
- Mix cornflour with water, then add into saucepan and stir.
- Add halved strawberries and cook for 1 minute to soften.
- Sauce should be syrupy – remove from stove and cool. Will thicken as it cools.
- Once cool, stirl. Adjust thickness to make it the right “oozing” consistency (see video, Note 7) with a tiny touch of water (be careful!).
- Spoon onto cheesecake so it’s covered with a single layer of strawberries. Flip strawberry halves so they are facedown. Refrigerate 2 hours+.
- Slice and serve with remaining Strawberry Sauce!
Recipe Notes:
Australia: Arnott’s Marie Crackers, Arrowroot and Nice are ideal, I’ve made it with all these.
US: Use 28 squares / 14 full sheets, yes I measured it with my last Graham Cracker packet I brought back from my last trip.
UK: Digestives are ideal, I LOVE digestives! The crumb should be like wet sand so when pressed, it stays packed firmly, especially up the wall. It’s delicate when uncooked but once the filling is cooked, it becomes much more stable. 2. Cream Cheese – In the UK and some parts of Europe, block cream cheese isn’t available. If you can only get spreadable cream cheese in tubs (softer than block), skip the sour cream. 3. Lemon Juice or Water – Depends on sweetness of strawberries. If they aren’t that sweet, use water instead. 4. Inverted cake pan with overhang paper: The base of springform pans have a slight ridge. By inverting it, there is no ridge which makes it easier to slide the cheesecake on a serving platter without ruining the crust. There is no risk of batter leakage as the crust is thick enough to hold it all in. 5. Crumbs: OR crush in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin or large can. 6. Cool in oven: This helps stop the surface from cracking. 7. Strawberry topping should be like jam consistency, not a set jelly. It should ooze slightly when cut. 8. Different measures: Cups and spoons vary slightly between countries (US and CAN are different to most of the rest of the world). I have made this recipe using both US and Australian measures, using Australia Marie crackers and US Graham Crackers. The Graham Cracker crust is slightly crunchier because the biscuit doesn’t crush to a fine sand like Marie Crackers do. Both are delicious! 9. Make Ahead / Storage: Cake is at its best consumed within 4 days, after that I feel like it starts getting denser but still really fab, most people wouldn’t notice a difference! Ideal to top the day or or day before. After 2 to 3 days, the top does start to “sweat” but it’s not very noticeable.
Nutrition Information:
More Cheesecake recipes
And more strawberry goodness …
Life of Dozer
He’s been waiting all year for a moment like this – when a whole piece of Strawberry Cheesecake fell on the floor!!
(But no, he didn’t get the whole thing. Can you imagine the other mess I’d have to deal with if I did let him?!)
Update! Everyone really liked the cake they said it was great. Nice and fluffy in the centre, I left mine a little longer and still came out fine. The sauce wasn’t too sweet they said just right and the biscuit all the way up is definitely a good idea. I forgot to flip the bottom read over it as something I would do if your having troubles dampen a hot towel in warm to hot water and place it underneath the tray for about ten minutes or more. The baking paper should slide right off.
Hey so I’m making this recipe and I followed all the steps set my oven to 320f and lined it and everything. The only thing I DIDNT DO is line the bottom AND flip the bottom.. now it’s been 55 mins and the middle is really soupy it looks like it has risen a bit and def not light brown at all on the sides how much longer should I keep it in? And did i mess up by not flipping the bottom!
Hi Erica, the only issue not flipping the bottom will cause is it will make it harder to get out of the pan. If your oven runs slightly cooler – you may need to leave it in the oven longer until the middle has only a slightl jiggle. N x
I accidentally added all the strawberries in to make the sauce and so it’s not as pretty as the picture because they all got softened. Will the consistency of the syrup still be fine? I want to pour it all over rather than spooning it on for serving
It will be fine Amber – enjoy! N x
Made this and loved it! No cracks either! I ran out of sour cream so subbed in plain yoghurt – still tasted amazing though 🙂
Was looking for a strawberry cheesecake recipe to make for my boyfriend and his parents, and when I saw Nagi’s recipe I didn’t even hesitate to click. I had all odds against me crushing the biscuit by hand (bigger pieces may equal more cracks), a not very good oven that doesn’t manage its heat well and my cheesecake even got stuck to the pan but all odds against me and amazingly no cracks! If your crushing by hand I would strongly reccomend crushing as much as you can and use a little extra biscuits and butter. For my strawberries I did half lemon juice half water (1tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp water) and I found that made a great sweetness as one punnet was very sweet but the other not so much. However I misread the strawberries and chopped all in half and followed simmer instructions with those, still came out well though and they broke down I’d just say the sauce will be a bit less presentable, still tastes good though! Will post an update on how they like it.
In my experience…not enough butter show a little extra love…the recipe calls for…say 7 oz of butter (for example)watcha gonna do with the extra oz of butter…
Being a baker of some 22 years i never thought of …NOT adding water…with my experience …even better…no soggy crust …😘🤤😍
Wahoo, you’re converted now Theo! N x
since fresh strawberries are hqrd to find here, can i use frozen strawberries instead?
Thanks!
Yes just follow directions in video…
Hello Nagi,
I’m planning on making it this weekend, looks great. Can’t wait to try it. I was wondering, does this freeze well?
Hi Nagi, can I use golden caster sugar in the strawberry cheesecake as I dont have enough white.
Hi Myra, yes you can – it may just be a slight golden colour but will be fine. N x
HI Nagi, i am in love with you strawberry cheesecake and going to bake it this weekend.
But i do not have a 8″ pan, so can i substitute by 7″ or 9″ pan?
If yes, do i need to reduce or multiply the recipe?
Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.
Hi Jessica, I’d use the 9″ pan, the cake will be slightly shorter but will work fine. N x
Hi
Hi Nagi, I am in love in your strawberry cheesecake. I am good ng to bake it. But before I bake it, i have a question to ask.
I do not have a 8″ round mold. Can i substitute by 7″ or 9″ mold instead? If d answer is yes, does d portion of the recipe still remain d same?
Thanks n hope to hear from u.
Is cater sugar the same as powered or confectioners sugar?
Thanks
Hi Mar, I’m assuming you mean caster sugar – it’s grain is more coarse than powdered sugar. N x
Thank you for your strawberry cheesecake recipe. I made it and it was an absolute hit. Definitely make again. Thanks again. Stay safe.
Oh my goodness, so simple! I cooked for 50 minutes, left in the oven with the door cracked and for an hour. It’s in the fridge cooling and then I’m putting simply fruit strawberry jam on the top. The best part- NO water bath and NO cracks!!
Hi Nagi, my cheesecake is in the oken now, and its risen! Is this normal? Thanks
Hi Jenny. Cheesecake typically shouldn’t rise too much, a little bit of rise should be expected but don’t be worried if it doesn’t rise the way a cake would
Hi! Might be a stupid question, but when you say leave the sour cream out if the cream cheese is spreadable, do you then need more cream cheese to substitute in? Thanks!!
Hi Nagi, I tried this recipe and it was absolutely awesome. I made small modification since it difficult to find sour cream here, by mixed full cream milk and plain yogurt.
Thanks for the recipe, this was my first trial and I amazed with the taste and looks..
Hi Annie, no just use the same amount as the recipe 🙂 N x
Can I eat it right away after I put the strawberry sauce ontop instead of refrigerating for 2 hours likes the recipe says?
Yes of course Daniela! N x
Hi,can i add a strawberry swirl through this?
Hi Gail, yes 100%! N x
Hi,how many portions would i change it to for a 9in pan please? X
Hi, Gail… Hope you dont mind me replying, but i did see where Nagi replied to another admirer, Andrea, about the same question on June 16th … with a 9″ pan, you should be able to up the portions to 16, but may need to bake for an additional 10 minutes (but just keep watch!)
Im trying this recipe for the first time tonight (its cooling in the oven as I type….) Im using a 9″ pan (and im also attempting a swirl…. eek!) and whilst watching, i decided to pull it at 1 hour and 3 minutes. (So, Nagi’s advice was pretty on-point in my experience!)
Best of luck to you, Gail!
Hi Tiffany,i noticed that as well,thanks for replying,i’m gonna try it with a swirl through it as well,let me know how you get on xx
Hi Gail, you can leave as is and it will be slightly shorter or scale up to 15 serves. N x
Also could i add a strawberry swirl through batter or would this not work? Thanks x