Strawberry Cheesecake
Posted on | April 29, 2009 | No Comments
Strawberry Cheesecake
Spring is here and strawberries are now in season. At Santa Barbara cheesecake we made hundreds of strawberry cheesecakes during the spring and early summer. Mother’s Day, however, was always strawberry cheesecake’s special day. Please note, this isn’t the type of strawberry cheesecake you typically see in a bakery – ours did not have that awful, bright sugary red glaze covering the strawberries. For us it was a simple celebration of fresh strawberries and cheesecake. Instead of a glaze, I make a fresh strawberry puree which I layer on top of a pre-baked and chilled Santa Barbara basic cheesecake (you could use the Lemon Crème or any cheesecake of your choice). Fresh strawberries are then cut and placed in the strawberry sauce in a decorative pattern. It is best to serve this cheesecake the same day you make the strawberry top since the strawberries tend to look a bit limp on the second day (although the cake still tastes great). The strawberry sauce is also wonderful for another springtime favorite: strawberry shortcake. Just add sliced strawberries and whipped cream.
Strawberry Cheesecake
Equipment: print recipe
Blender
12″ decorating bag
#21 star decorating tip
Ingredients:
Baked and chilled cheesecake (suggestion-try the Lemon Creme)
3 cups strawberry halves (to be blended)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoon water
1 cup firm cold sour cream (for piped edge of cheesecake)
16 medium sized strawberries (for cutting)
Strawberry Sauce:
Preparation:
Combine the 3 cups of halved strawberries with water in a blender jar. Blend for 15 seconds or until slightly pureed (some coarse pieces are OK). If finished puree is less than 2 ½ cups, add more cut strawberries and blend again briefly. Combine strawberry puree and sugar in a medium sized saucepan. Bring to boil. Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Slowly pour and stir the cornstarch -water mixture into the boiling strawberry puree. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Cool completely. Refrigerate until needed.
Decorating:
Remove baked chilled cheesecake from pan. Fit a 12″ decorating bag with a #21 star decorating tip (or any large fluting tip). Fill with “firm” cold sour cream. Pipe a border on the outside edge of the cheesecake. Make sure the piped border is about ½ inch high because it will hold the strawberry sauce in place.
1. Spread chilled strawberry sauce over the entire top of the cheesecake. Wash whole fresh strawberries and slice off the stems. Place one strawberry in the center of the cheesecake (tip up).
2. Cut 8 strawberries into 4 pieces each by making three parallel, even slices tip to base. The eight strawberries, each cut into 4 pieces, will be used to form 8 spokes around the top of the cake radiating from the center to the outside of the cake. Each spoke will consist of four slices of strawberry.
3. Place the first slice of four (all part of the same strawberry) on top of the cake, cut side up, with the tip almost touching the cake’s outer edge and the flat part oriented toward the center. Place the next slice such that it overlaps a third of the first slice – again tip facing the outer edge, while the flat part points to the center. Continue with the next two slices in the same fashion (creating a fan of slices in a line from the outside edge to the center strawberry) until the last of the four slices almost touches the center upright strawberry. Adjust if necessary to space slices evenly. Continue with the pieces of the remaining 7 strawberries until 8 evenly spaced spokes radiating outward from the center have been created around the cake.
4. Quarter 4 strawberries. Place cut quarters inside up on the edge of the cheesecake in between the 8 sliced strawberries.
5. Slice 3 strawberries in thin slices (tip to base). Cut slices in half.
6. Place half slices radiating out from center strawberry and in between radiating slices.
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