Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
Got fresh strawberries? Learn how to make Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake with strawberry jam or strawberry curd, which will surely impress your family and friends. Made without a water bath!
I sure do love cheesecake.
At its core, a classic cheesecake recipe is a blank canvas.
You can turn it into chocolate cheesecake with Oreo crust, scale it down to make cheesecake for two, or churn it into strawberry cheesecake ice cream.
This Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake was inspired by a good friend who no longer blogs.
She loves strawberry curd, which is a soft custard used as a dessert spread or sauce.
Considering it’s strawberry season, this Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake recipe was perfect for the occasion as the strawberry swirl makes it look extra pretty on top with its vibrant red color.
The best part is you don’t even need a water bath!
Rich, creamy, and guaranteed to brighten your day.
What pan do I need for a strawberry swirl cheesecake?
You will need a 9 inch springform pan (affiliate link) for cheesecake.
You can’t use a regular round cake pan as it wouldn’t be deep enough and impossible the remove the cheesecake all in one piece.
Cheesecake is very delicate dessert. You can’t just flip out like a normal cake.
If you’re looking for a small cheesecake to serve, check out my 6 inch cheesecake recipe, 7 inch cheesecake recipe, or 4 Inch cheesecake recipe. Same recipe adjusted for smaller springform pans.
Don’t have a springform pan? You can bake mini cheesecakes in a muffin pan or small batch cheesecake bars in a loaf pan.
Ingredients For Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
To make this strawberry swirl cheesecake recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Graham cracker crumbs: The most traditional crust on a cheesecake. You can also use Oreo cookie crumbs for a bit of a chocolate twist.
- Butter: Used to bind the crust together
- Cream cheese: Always use blocks of cream cheese (not whipped or in a tub) and use full-fat. Using low fat and especially fat free may result in a watery filling that won’t bake properly. Also make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature or the batter will be lumpy.
- Sugar: To sweeten the tang of the cream cheese
- Eggs: Use standard large eggs that are at room temperature. If they’re too cold, they may curdle the batter and not rise as much.
- Vanilla: Adds extra flavor to the batter
- Strawberry curd: Used for the swirl. You can also use strawberry jam or change the flavor with peach curd.
How To Make Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
Making your cheesecake with strawberry swirl is easy!
- Mix together graham cracker crumbs and butter then pat into the bottom and sides of your springform pan.
- Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. You’ll want to scrape down your bowl at least once to ensure it’s evenly beaten.
- Beat in eggs one at a time so you don’t oversaturate and split your batter, scraping down your bowl in between each egg. Then add your vanilla.
- Transfer batter to your graham cracker crust. Add spoonfuls of curd or jam on top then swirl with a knife.
- Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 150F degrees. The edges will be set and brown while the center will have some wiggling.
- Cool 1 hour then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
How do you swirl a cheesecake?
Once you add the cheesecake batter to the pan, drop spoonfuls of your curd on top then swirl it around with a knife. If your swirls start to peak, smooth it out as much as possible.
You can also swirl in my strawberry jam without pectin for a strawberry jam cheesecake.
Not feeling like strawberry? Swirl in my blueberry jam without pectin, raspberry jam without pectin, sour cherry jam, or peach jam without pectin.
Why is my cheesecake lumpy?
If your cheesecake batter is lumpy, chances are your cream cheese and eggs were too cold.
Make sure they sit out at room temperature until no longer cold to the touch.
If your cream cheese is still too cold, microwave (without the foil wrappers!) in 5-10 second increments until no longer cold to the touch. Be careful you don’t accidentally melt it.
To warm up eggs quickly, place them in a warm bowl of water and let sit for about 15 minutes or until no longer cold to the touch.
I also find some brand names are smoother than store brands, so feel free to try different ones until you find one you like.
More Cheesecake Recipes
Enjoyed this cheesecake recipe with strawberry swirl? Here are more cheesecake recipes you can make:
Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
Got fresh strawberries? Learn how to make Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake with strawberry jam or strawberry curd, which will surely impress your family and friends. Made without a water bath!
Ingredients
- 2 + 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Pinch of salt
- 24 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened (do not use fat free)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup strawberry curd (homemade or store bought) or strawberry jam (homemade or store bought)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Wrap the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with foil.
- In a large bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and salt. Press into the bottom and sides of the pan.
- In another large mixing bowl (with the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), beat together the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, for 1 minute each or until smooth (do not overbeat). Beat in the vanilla.
- Transfer the batter to the crust. Add spoonfuls of curd/jam on top then swirl with a knife.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes minutes or until the edges are set and brown, the center is mostly set with some wiggling, and internal temperature reaches 150F degrees.
- Cool for 1 hour then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
Notes
- Want to bake this in another pan? Check out my 6 Inch Cheesecake, 4 Inch Cheesecake, Mini Cheesecakes, and Small Batch Cheesecake Bars.
- Not feeling like strawberry? Swirl in my blueberry jam without pectin, raspberry jam without pectin, or peach jam without pectin.
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Originally published June 26, 2012
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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!
Such gorgeous photos! Thanks for letting me post this on my blog!
What a beautiful cheesecake, Carla! Any time this is on the table would be a special occasion. It’s just that pretty!
Carla would strawberry jam work instead of curd? If not, do you have a recipe for the curd?
Yes jam will work, although you may need to microwave it for 10-15 seconds if it’s too thick to swirl. I did post the link to the curd in one of the paragraphs, but here is the link: https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2012/06/04/vegan-strawberry-curd/
Thanks so much!
My favorite type of cheesecake !!!, Now I can make my own, my local grocery store cheesecakes are $17.99 which I think is expensive , I plan on making myself this cheesecake for my 23rd birthday on 6/28 !!!!
Wow that is definitely expensive! You can probably make 2-3 homemade cheesecakes for that price lol Happy early birthday to you! Enjoy!
Made this for my birthday over the weekend. SO good. Great strawberry flavor in the easy curd. I added a chocolate ganache on mine to splurge a little and it was awesome!
Ohhh loving the ganache idea! Will need to borrow that idea for myself. Happy Birthday!
Hi, I was wondering if the strawberry curd could be made in a food processor instead of the blender since I don’t have one?
It should still work as long as you puree the strawberries as smooth as possible.
I was wondering if you could make the curd from frozen strawberries. In juice/syrup?
I haven’t personally tried it, but I would let the strawberries thaw, discard any extra liquid, then proceed with the recipe. If they were frozen with syrup, you’ll have to taste for sweetness before adding any extra sugar.
This came our perfect. The only thing I did different, was I only used 2c of Graham cracker crumbs. Thank you so much, for posting this!
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I tried a variation of this. My kitchen is smelling amazing.
Oh good!