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Update – the recipe is now posted at the end of this post
I originally made this recipe for a guest post over at Juanita’s Cocina. Jen asked me if I could help her out since her father is visiting all week. Of course I immediately said yes. And guess what I brought? Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake! Isn’t she beautiful? I make cheesecake for special occasions, and this occasion was definitely special. Also, it involves strawberry curd. Both Jen and I love our curd!
Finding a good base recipe that you know works is a great way to adapt recipes. You know the original recipe worked out, so you can focus on developing the recipe you want it to be. One where the recipe can only be improved with your imagination. That is how I developed this Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake recipe by taking my trusted cheesecake recipe and making it elegant with a strawberry curd swirled on top. Rich, creamy, and guaranteed to brighten your day.
First thing you make is the crust. The original recipe called for gingersnaps. I almost always use graham crackers unless it was the holidays, in which case I would use gingersnaps. Feel free to use your favorite type of crust – Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, or even Biscoff cookies. I never seem to have enough crumbs, so I increased the amount to fill the pan.
There is a specific pan you need to use for a successful cheesecake. It is called a springform pan, which is a deep pan where the side detaches from the bottom. You can’t use a regular round cake pan, it wouldn’t be deep enough and it’d be impossible the remove it all in one piece. Cheesecake is very delicate dessert. You can’t just flip out like a normal cake. You can easily buy a pack of 3 springform pans for roughly $10.
I know you’re probably thinking the base is a plain cheesecake, but I promise after one bite, you won’t notice. The creaminess is brightened with some lemon juice and zest. I highly recommend leaving in the juice if you are adapting the recipe, but feel free to omit the zest if it doesn’t go with your recipe. You do need to make sure you beat out the lumps before you bake because they will not disappear.
If you wanted a plain cheesecake, you can just bake as listed. However, I wanted a little more oomph, so I chose to do a strawberry curd swirl (which you can find the recipe for the curd here). I dropped spoonfuls of the curd on top then swirled it with a knife. If your swirls start to peak, smooth as much as possible.
I have made this recipe at least 4 times now, some as written and some with variation (Funfetti, anyone?). Not one has cracked so far. I hesitate on calling it fool-proof, but it’s definitely a good beginner’s recipe.
Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
Author: Carla Cardello (www.chocolatemoosey.com)
Serves: One 9-inch cheesecake
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 24 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup strawberry curd
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press into the bottom and sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Place on a cookie sheet and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla. Make sure there are no lumps because they will remain after baking.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Add spoonfuls of curd on top and swirl with a knife. Bake for 35 minutes or until the center is almost set (it will still jiggle but the top should be solid when you touch it). Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Take a knife and run it around the edge of the pan to loosen it. Let cool on wire rack for an hour then refrigerate overnight. Remove the pan before serving.
Source: Adapted from Taste of Home
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I am heading over to Juanita’s Cocina to check out the recipe.
Oh, and I nominated you for an award…check out my pinto beans post today for details.
Thanks Renee! Too kind :)
I actually saw this on Juanitas Cocina before I spotted it here, so just wanted to drop by and let you know how beautiful this turned out. I love cheesecake of all varieties, but the classic combinations can’t be beat! Mmmm…
Thank you :) I don’t think I’ve met a cheesecake I didn’t like!
Just an FYI, I’m featuring this in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and I’m glad I had a reason to drop by again ;)
This is absolutely gorgeous! And I am so jealous that there are no cracks!
You’ll have to give this recipe a try! Don’t give up. Thanks :)
Oh so jealous! You’re cheesecake looks good. Heading over to Juanita’s to check it out. :)
Thank you :)
Thank you so very much for guest posting for me. This may be the most fabulous thing on my little blog.
No, thank YOU for hosting me :D
What a beautiful cheescake, Carla. It looks absolutely delicious. I love that you swirled it with your strawberry curd. I have only made one cheesecake that didn’t crack, and I was pretty proud of myself. I’m going to have to try your no-fail, no-crack cheesecake recipe. Thanks for sharing.
First off… The recipe in and of itself was wonderful – easy to follow, simple, and practically perfect. The blog is great, my first time here after Googling strawberry swirl cheesecake. I instantly trusted the recipe given the site’s look, feel, and well shot desserts.
I made this cheesecake last night, following the directions to the letter, yet mine did not cook fully. The first time ever in the history of my cheesecake making did one not get done. After the recommended baking time, I found it a little jiggly, which is normal, but still rather firm to the touch. Yet, when slicing it the next day, the center portion, about three inches in and all around that area, was rather soupy – like thick melted ice cream. The area around the crust was fine/normal. So, my advice would be for any and all making this recipe to strongly consider bumping up the baking time from 35mins to a full hour (as with most other cheesecake recipes). Otherwise it was nearly perfect. Well, I think more butter could have been used for the crust, as it was way more crumbly that I am used to.
I did add the zest of the juiced lemons to the cheesecake batter, and found that to be a welcomed addition. And I am thrilled the curd recipe used in this recipe and found on this site is vegan. So many curd recipes call for ridiculous amount of eggs, but this one worked out marvelously. I plan to use it and other fruit variations again and again. I did skip the straining part, though.
So, had the cheesecake cooked fully, and the crust not been as crumbly, it would have been perfect. I can’t wait to make it again to see how it turns out.
Thanks!
Hi mikey,
first I must ask – is your oven at the correct temperature? Have you tested it lately with an oven thermometer? I have made this recipe multiple times as written. I even had someone made it as written and posted on his blog (http://cookinwluv.blogspot.com/2012/08/tuesday-tutor-featuring-chocolate-moosey.html), so I’m not sure why yours did not cook all the way through. how big is your pan? Is it 9 inches as directed or is it bigger? And I must ask if you have made any changes at all to the ingredients? Most of the time when recipes didn’t work, the person substituted this or didn’t have enough that, so I have to ask.
Oh wow! Hi! Thanks for personally checking in and inquiring. I hope i didn’t come across too negatively – as it was an awesome recipe all in all.
I do have an oven thermometer that is always dead on to what my dial states (I bought one given the age of my gas oven). I also followed the directions perfectly, with the exception of adding in the zest. My pan is indeed nine inches, so I’m good there.
The only thing I can think of, now that you have me thinking more intensely, is that I could have used a smidgeon more of the strawberry curd than called for – but not that much more. I wonder if that could have done it? Though, my curd content looks less or the same as the pictures on your site and the one you linked to. However, I didn’t strain the curd either time – I tried, but it just wasn’t straining! Otherwise, I made no changes, and set timers and everything.
Given your baking prowess, I suppose it was bold of me to claim the temperature can’t be right, as someone such as yourself whom has baked way more than I would surely not miss something like the timing, but that was the kicker for my attempt, anyway.
I will definitely be making this again, and will watch my post-pureed curd measurement more closely.
Thanks again for checking in!
It’s not a problem checking in. I read all of my comments. I’m not sure what else could have messed it up. What about the rack you used in the oven? I know when I use my top rack, it cooks a lot faster than my middle rack. With my parent’s oven, their bottom rack cooks faster than their top rack. You can do the toast test, where you put some slices of bread on a cookie sheet and bake until brown. Do it for both racks and see if the shades of brown are equal. Also it lets you know if one side bakes faster than the other side, known as oven hot spots. That’s why some recipes say rotate the tray halfway through baking.
The amount of curd shouldn’t matter. I’ve used this cheesecake recipe as a base and altered with different flavors. If you check out the original recipe where I adapted it from, it says 35-40 minutes. I’m not sure why yours would’ve taken a lot longer. Hope you figure it out!