Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
"A fantastic 2 layer cheesecake with a dramatic swirl pattern on top. Heavy and rich, this recipe is NOT for the dieters! The original recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine but after it became my boyfriends favorite, it evolved into my own version with a few changes."
photo by Miss Karyn
- Ready In:
- 3hrs 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 16
- Yields:
-
1 Cheesecake
- Serves:
- 12-16
ingredients
- 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel (fresh or dried works)
- 1⁄2 cup cold butter
- 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 1⁄3 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup pureed fresh strawberries
- 8 -10 drops red food coloring (optional)
- 3 tablespoons seedless strawberry jelly (optional)
- 1 tablespoon water (optional)
- 2 -3 drops red food coloring (optional)
directions
- In a bowl combine flour, sugar, and lemon peel.
- Cut in butter until crumbly. Using a pastry cutter works well. I have had luck in other recipes using a food processor, but have not yet tried it with this recipe.
- Pat dough onto the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9 inch springform pan.
- Place on baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes at 325 degrees until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and heavy whipping cream until smooth.
- Add the eggs and beat on a low speed just until combined.
- Beat in lemon juice and vanilla just until blended.
- Pour 2 1/2 cups batter into a bowl and set aside.
- Stir pureed strawberries and food coloring if desired into the remaining batter. If you would like to use pureed strawberries for the topping, use only 3/4 cup of the strawberries and reserve the rest. Personally, I do NOT use pureed strawberries for the topping since I have found that the strawberry jelly comes out much prettier. So, I add the whole cup of pureed strawberries to the batter at this point.
- Pour the strawberry batter into the crust.
- Place your pan on a double thickness of heavy duty foil (about 16 inches square) and wrap securely about the pan.
- Place your foil wrapped pan in a large baking pan and add about 1 inch of hot water to larger pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes (still at 325).
- Remove from oven and carefully pour reserved vanilla batter over the bottom layer.
- Now, the swirl part of the recipe! If you reserved pureed strawberries for this, then use those. If not, get out a small bowl and combine the strawberry jelly, water, and red food coloring if desired. Combine until you have a smooth mixture.
- For either pureed strawberries or strawberry jelly, use a spoon to add about 1/2 teaspoon spoonfuls over the top of the cheesecake.
- Using a knife, carefully cut through only the top layer to swirl the topping. I try to start at the outside and cut through every dollop of strawberry in a spiral that ends at the center.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until center is almost set.
- DO NOT REMOVE FROM OVEN. Just turn the oven off! Leave your cheesecake in the oven for an hour to allow it to cool very slowly. (cooling a cheesecake too fast leads to cracking!).
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and from the water bath. Take a knife and carefully run it around the edge of the pan to loosen.
- Cool for an additional hour on a wire rack then put in the fridge UNCOVERED overnight. (covering your cheesecake will lead to condensation on the top of the cheesecake).
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Hello. =) My name is Karyn and I am a 23 year old librarian. I love to watch food shows, read cookbooks, find recipes online, and explore food or cooking themed stores. I really enjoy baking, especially cookies and cheesecakes. I am currently planning a dinner party for myself and friends for December 12th.
