Ah Strawberries! No one can have enough of them can they now? Us Pakistani’s are blessed with this fruit for a very short time so it’s better to make the most of it with this super duper easy recipe!
Ingredients
For the base/crust
- 10-12 whole digestive biscuits (more if required)
- 90g unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons chocolate-hazelnut spread, such as Nutella (optional)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- Pinch Salt
For the strawberry sauce/topping
- 15-28 Fresh or frozen strawberries, washed and stemmed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- vanilla extract
For the cheesecake
- 1 pound cream cheese (455 g or 8 ounces) , softened
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- strawberry topping
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Fresh strawberries for garnish
So this is how our cake turned out. Even though it’s slightly sloppy but it tasted AMAZING. Not kidding. So we are sure yours would too.
Directions
Step 1 – Prepare the base
In a food processor, grind the biscuits until they are broken into a fine powder. Add butter, chocolate-hazelnut spread, brown sugar and salt. Process until it is all well combined. You may have to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.
Press the crust evenly into the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch SPRING form pan. You won’t be able to get the cake out if it isn’t a spring form pan. Refrigerate it.
Step 2 – Prepare the sauce
In a sauce pan, add the strawberries, sugar, a drop of vanilla essence and half cup water. Cook over medium heat until the strawberries are quite soft. Reduce the sauce till it’s a little thick. Grind the sauce in a blender to make it smooth. But don’t overdo it. You need slight strawberry chunks in your sauce. Let it cool.
Step 3 – Prepare the Cheesecake
In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-low speed with the paddle attachment until smooth. Add the vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until medium peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the strawberry cheesecake batter just until it is all combined.
Pour the cheesecake into the prepared pan. Tap the pan gently on the counter to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Let it sit, uncovered, in the refrigerator for around 2 hours or until it is set to the touch.
Get it all done and ready!
Once the cheesecake is set, pour the remaining strawberry topping over it. If the topping has set up in the pot, gently heat it for a minute, just until it is pourable. However, it should not be too hot.
Add fresh strawberries for garnishing. (Optional. You can add strawberries later too)
Place the cheesecake back into the refrigerator and allow to set, uncovered or covered with a plastic cling film only, until the topping is set (The longer the better considering Pakistani summer heat).
At this point it is ready to serve or you can cover the cheesecake with plastic and it can sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Before unlocking the spring form pan, run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it.
Top with the fresh strawberries (if you plan to add the later).
