I've made a few different kinds of cheesecake before but I wouldn't say that I have a favorite go-to recipe. Until now. Trey loves cheesecake. So overtime I'd like to develop what I consider to be the perfect cheesecake recipe. My mother-in-law has an apple pie recipe that she swears by, and it's her husband's favorite. It's just kind of a cute thing they have. I love it. So I'm on the hunt for my perfect cheesecake recipe.This one is very, very good. It has a chocolate graham cracker crust. A thick, creamy but not overly sweet cheesecake. And then a sweet strawberry topping. I will definitely be making this again!
Strawberry Cheesecake.
Crust:
1 cup crushed chocolate graham crackers
1/4 cup melted butter
Cake:
5 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 eggs + 2 egg yolks
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
Topping:
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
32 ounces fresh strawberries
For the crust, crush the graham crackers in a food processor or blender. Stir in the melted butter. Then press the crust into the bottom of a greased spring form pan.
For the cake, blend together the softened cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla extract until well combined and almost fluffy. Blend in the eggs and yolks with a low setting (if using an electric mixer) until just combined. Stir in the milk and lemon zest. Pour the batter over the prepared crust and bake at 325°F for 1 1/2 hours. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before refrigerating.
For the topping, first set aside 15-16 strawberries for the topping. In a pot combine the water, sugar and the remaining strawberries (tops removed) and cook over low heat. Mash the strawberries into a paste and allow to simmer until the liquid has reduced slightly. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Reserve about 1/4 of the liquid.
Spread the strawberry topping over the cheesecake. Press the 15-16 top strawberries into the jam. Now drizzle that reserved liquid over the top of these strawberries so they are all slightly sweetened.