Strawberry Cheesecake

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Servings: 12
Yield: 12 servings

Description

This creamy strawberry cheesecake has a crisp graham cracker crust and swirls of sweet strawberry sauce baked without a water bath for a dreamy dessert.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 (10 ounce) packages frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed and drained
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 tablespoon water

Directions

1 Gather all ingredients.
2 To make the crust: Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl; mix well. Press onto the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
3 To make the filling: Place strawberries and cornstarch into a blender; cover and puree until smooth.
4 Pour strawberry sauce into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil and stir until sauce is thick and shiny, about 2 minutes. Set aside 1/3 cup strawberry sauce; cool. Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce for serving.
5 Beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually beat in condensed milk. Mix in lemon juice and vanilla extract, then beat in eggs on low speed until just combined.
6 Pour 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture over crust; drop 1/2 of the reserved strawberry sauce by 1/2 teaspoonfuls on cream cheese layer.
7 Carefully spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over sauce; drop remaining strawberry sauce by 1/2 teaspoonfuls on top.
8 Cut through the top layer only with a knife to swirl strawberry sauce.
9 Bake in the preheated oven until the center is almost set, 45 to 50 minutes.
10 Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen; cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Refrigerate at least 4 hours to overnight before serving.
11 Serve reserved strawberry sauce with cheesecake. If sauce is too thick, stir in water.