This is a simple baked cheesecake recipe topped with sliced strawberries and strawberry sauce. Use the left over creme fraiche to cover any over cooked points or cracks with your cake.
Ingredients
- 125g/4½oz unsalted butter
- 250g/9oz digestive biscuits
- 3 eggs and 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla paste)
- 900g/2lb cream cheese, at room temperature
- 100g/7oz golden caster sugar
- 300ml/½ pint full-fat crème fraîche
- 200g/7oz strawberries
- 25g/1oz icing sugar
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat.
- Brush a little of the melted butter around the base and sides of a 23cm/9in springform tin, then line the base with a circle of baking parchment.
- Put the biscuits into a large bag, squeeze out the air and seal the top.
- Use a rolling pin to crush the biscuits to fine crumbs or use a food processor.
- Stir the crumbs into the melted butter until completely combined.
- Press the crumbs into the tin compacting as much as you can.
- Put into the fridge to firm up while you make the cheesecake.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
- Add seeds from vanilla pod (or paste) to mixing bowl with the cream cheese.
- Beat the cheese and vanilla together until smooth.
- Add the sugar, then beat again till smooth.
- Now add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, followed by half of the crème fraîche.
- When the base is well chilled, wrap the outside of the tin in two sheets of wide foil.
- Ensure that the foil covers the sides of the tin more than halfway, then sit the wrapped tin in a deep roasting tin.
- Spoon in the cheesecake filling and smooth the top.
- Pour the hot water into the roasting tin around the cheesecake so that it comes halfway up the sides.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 180C/350F/Gas 4, then turn the oven down to 140C/275F/Gas 1 and cook for another 40-50 minutes until the cheesecake is set, It should wobble slightly in the middle.
- When cool, place in fridge.
- Place half of the strawberries into a food processor or blender, add the icing sugar then whizz until smooth. Slice the remaining strawberries and set aside.
- Remove cheesecake from the fridge, around half and hour before eating.
- Spread the remaining crème fraîche over the surface of the cheesecake.
- Decorate the top with the sliced strawberries and sauce.