Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
This Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake is a rich and creamy cheesecake with a sponge cake crust that turns a classic strawberry dessert into a new summer favorite! Recipes for both 6 inch cheesecake and 9 inch cheesecake included.
Do you have a summer bucket list?
Mine is pretty much the same every year – pick strawberries in June, don’t miss sour cherry season (although this year the frost destroyed the trees so no cherry picking this year), eat fresh corn, buy heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market to make panzanella salad, and pick peaches in August.
And since my summer bucket list pretty much revolves around food, there’s always a long to-make list to use up my fresh bounty.
Last weekend I made my yearly pilgrimage to the local farm to pick my own strawberries and came home with roughly 5 pounds worth.
Which means I had plenty of berries to make my Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake!
It’s a rich and creamy classic cheesecake with fresh juicy strawberries mixed into the batter then topped with a beautiful, vibrant layer of sliced strawberries.
Instead of your typical graham cracker crust, this strawberry shortcake cheesecake recipe has a soft and buttery sponge cake crust, much like my strawberry shortcake cake and strawberry shortcake cupcakes.
The idea came from my carrot cake cheesecake where you add your cheesecake batter on top of the cake.
I felt the cake was a much better option than biscuits as seen with my chocolate strawberry shortcake.
If summer had a flavor, it’d be this strawberry shortcake cheesecake cake for sure.
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake Recipe
- No water bath required! – That’s right – no need to mess with a water bath for your 9 inch cheesecake! And it won’t crack.
- Makes a 6 or 9 inch cheesecake! – Whether you want a small or large cheesecake, I got you covered.
- Has a cake crust! – For an authentic shortcake experience, I made sponge cake for the base.
Ingredients For Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
Here’s what you need to make your strawberry shortcake with cheesecake:
- Flour: Provides structure so the cake layer doesn’t crumble
- Baking powder: Helps the cake layer rise
- Salt: No bland cake batter here!
- Sugar: Sweetens the batter as well as help with browning
- Butter: By using melted butter instead of softened, it forms a fine, uniform crumb.
- Eggs: Helps with structure as well as rise
- Vanilla: Flavors both the cake and cheesecake batters
- Milk: Fat that helps produce a tender crumb
- Cream cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese because the low fat and fat free versions have more water in them and may be too watery after baking.
- Granulated sugar: Adds a bit of sweetness to balance out the tanginess of the cream cheese
Make sure of your ingredients are at room temperature and not cold to the touch!
If they are after sitting out for a bit, you can microwave cream cheese in 5-10 second increments (without the foil wrapper! Do not microwave the foil wrapper) and place eggs in a warm bowl of water.
If the cream cheese or eggs are too cold, the batter will seize up and become lumpy. And you don’t want a lumpy cheesecake.
How To Make Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
Here’s how to make your strawberry shortcake cheesecake cake:
Start with the sponge cake crust:
- Beat together sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla until smooth and moistened.
- Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt gradually with the milk, alternating between dry and wet ingredients.
- Transfer batter to your springform pan.
- Bake at 350F for 10-15 minutes or until the top is barely set. Set aside to cool while you work on the cheesecake layer.
Make the cheesecake batter:
- Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy.
- Add egg, vanilla, and strawberries then transfer to your pan.
- Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 150F. There will still be a slight wiggle in the middle.
- Cool 1 hour then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
Refrigerate cheesecake in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Don’t garnish with sliced strawberries until right before serving. Otherwise they’ll make the top soggy.
How To Serve Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
In addition to sliced strawberries on top, serve with homemade whipped cream, chocolate whipped cream, or strawberry whipped cream.
You can also serve it with strawberry sauce or a scoop of strawberry cheesecake ice cream on top.
More Cheesecake Recipes
If you enjoyed this classic cheesecake recipe, you’ll also like these other cheesecake recipes:
- Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
- Chocolate Cheesecake
- German Chocolate Cheesecake
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake
- Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
- Red Velvet Oreo Cheesecake
- Instant Pot Cheesecake
Too hot to bake? Check out my No Bake Cheesecake Cups, No Bake Mini Cheesecakes, and No Bake Cheesecake Bars.
Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
This Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake is a rich and creamy cheesecake with a sponge cake crust that turns a classic strawberry dessert into a new summer favorite! Recipes for both 6 inch cheesecake and 9 inch cheesecake included.
Ingredients
Crust
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons or 2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
Cheesecake
- 24 ounces (three 8-ounce packages) full-fat cream cheese, softened and not cold to the touch (do not use fat free or whipped)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature and not cold to the touch
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
- Sliced strawberries, for garnish
Instructions
- For the crust: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan then wrap the outside with foil to help prevent leaks. (*For 6 inch pan, see notes for measurements).
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour then stir in baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl using a whisk by hand, beat together the sugar, melted butter, egg, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the flour mixture alternating with the milk, adding the flour in 3
additions and the milk in 2 additions (begin and end with dry ingredients). - Transfer the batter to your springform pan, spreading it evenly. Bake 10-15 minutes or until the top is just barely set when you touch it. Let cool while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
- For the cheesecake: In a large mixing bowl on medium-high speed (using the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Scrape down the bowl then beat in the eggs, one at a time then beat in vanilla and strawberries.
- Transfer the batter to the crust then bake 35-40 minutes or until the center is
almost set and internal temperature reaches 150F degrees (it'll wiggle
when shaken but top should be firm). - Cool 1 hour in the pan at room temperature then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Right before serving, garnish the top with sliced strawberries.
Refrigerate leftover cheesecake for up to 1 week.
Notes
- For a 6x2 springform pan, use the following ingredient amounts. Bake the cake layer for 8-10 minutes. Then use the directions for my 6 inch cheesecake to bake with a water bath:
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
16 ounces (2 blocks) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature 2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract - Enjoyed this recipe? Check out Strawberry Shortcake Cake and Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes.
- For more cheesecake recipes, check out Classic Cheesecake and Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake.
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This looks so delicious! I so wanted to go strawberry picking this year, but after my utter lack of self-control during apple picking last fall, my husband really objected to the idea…
I hear you on not missing sour cherries! My regular grocery store never has them, and I even have trouble finding them at Whole Foods! I have to trek out to the big Union Square Farmer’s Market to get them, but it’s so worth it. Getting my to-make bucket list ready for them!!
oooooh Michael would be ALL OVER this!
Cheesecake and strawberries and shortcake… OH MY! Pinning for later. :)
Wow! que maravilloso! Looks soo good!
Thanks for sharing
Thank you for the lovely recipe.
I love the idea of a sponge cake crust! I can’t wait to try this one!
the cheesecake looks wonderful!
This is gorgeous, Carla, so glad you got around to making it this summer! I love that you left it without strawberry sauce, the fresh berries are so much better. Pinned!
Wow! I’ve never been strawberry picking before but now I have to try it. Every berry creation you have here looks incredible!
You just combined two of my favorite desserts!
Absolutely stunning, Carla! Please cut me a big ol’ slice!
Carla, you go ahead and make as many cheesecakes and cheesecake filled treats as you want. I promise to drool over every single one of them :)
Gaaaaah, this cheesecake is beautiful! Brilliant idea to use sponge cake for the crust. This looks luscious ‘n creamy ‘n perfect for summer. I need to get my lazy butt out into the strawberry fields near my house!
I’m drooling over your photos – they’re absolutely stunning!
Made this over the weekend for a birthday/ 4TH of July party. I will say I left it in at least 10 minutes longer and it looked beautiful when it came out of the oven-level and no cracks. I refrigerated over night, after cooling, and when we cut into it the next day, the middle was a runny mess. I have not made many cheesecakes so maybe this way my inexperience, but IMHO it needed much more time in the oven. We still ate the “cooked” parts and the cake part for me was just ok–loved the idea of cake on the bottom, just didn’t meet my expectations. Cheesecake was fine a little less sweet than expected and not quite as dense as I like (again, maybe due to baking time?) and was pretty. Not sure that I will try again.
I’m sorry to hear that! Have you checked your oven temperature lately? If it’s a lower temperature than indicated, that may be why it didn’t cook.
I’ve been wanting to make a Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake for years, but could never find one with a crust that was similar to real shortcake used in real strawberry shortcake. I stumbled on this recipe a week or so ago and was thrilled that it looked like the crust was exactly like what I was looking for!
I finally made it last week to take to my parents as a dessert when my kids and I visited them for supper. It was a huge success and everyone loved it…my two youngest, who hadn’t liked cheesecake in the past, both ate their entire pieces, with one of them asking for, and eating, an entire second piece. The oldest, who loves cheesecake already, polished off her first and a second, as well. My parents took the leftovers into their office the next day and the few people who were able to get a piece loved it, too.
I followed the recipe you’ve laid out here for the cheesecake itself (the crust is AWESOME, btw!!!), but I topped it differently. First I whipped up some stabilized whipped cream and piped on a border of stars/flowers around the top of the cheesecake. In each of those stars I set half of a fresh strawberry. Then I filled the rest of the top with a delicious pile of fresh strawberries in thick strawberry syrup. It looked beautiful and tasted ever better!
Thanks for the great recipe! (I’d have shared pictures, but I’m not on FB or Instagram…sorry!)
Thank you for the positive feedback! Glad everyone enjoyed the cheesecake. Loved the way you garnished yours. Sounds a lot prettier than mine ;)
How do you make this in a 7 inch springform pan
I haven’t tested this in a smaller pan. However, you can start with my 6 inch cheesecake recipe: https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2020/10/09/6-inch-cheesecake-recipe/
I find that taking 2/3 of the 9 inch recipe fits into a 6 inch pan, so I would apply that to a 7 inch pan. However, with the cake crust it’s possible you might have too much batter since the cake will take up more room than a graham cracker crust. For the cake, I would do the following: 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1 egg yolk, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons milk. For the cheesecake batter, please refer to the 6 inch cheesecake recipe for amount and direction (you will need a water bath). If you find it makes too much cheesecake batter, you can put extra in a ramekin and bake alongside it, probably 20 minutes.
All of this is untested, but this is where I would personally start. If you do try it, please let me know how it goes.