Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe (the most awesome-est EVER)

Tonight I made probably the best cheesecake we have ever eaten.  It takes a little work, but not anymore than to make a strawberry cake or pumpkin pie.  And the results are totally worth it!  

I was able to find end of the season berries at the store, brought home six packages, and within 24 hours only two packages remained.  I figured if I was going to make something with the berries, then I had to do it fast, because I was fighting little fingers from snatching berries the whole time I was baking.  Really though, this recipe would be good with any berry.  Don't limit yourself to just strawberries.  Use what you have!

First, make a graham cracker crust.  That recipe can be found here.  Put it into a spring form pan.  This pan will allow you to release the edges and lift the cheesecake out so that you have that nice straight edge when you are done. 

Cheesecake ingredients-

• 2 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1- 8 ounce package of cream cheese
• 2/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Finished product!

Beat the eggs until they are mixed evenly.  Then, add the ½ cup of sugar and tablespoon of flour and beat it again until smooth.  Pour the egg mixture into another separate bowl and set to the side for now.

Add cream cheese with 1/3 cup of the evaporate milk (you will add the other third in a minute) and mix until smooth being sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Add the rest of the evaporated milk with the lemon juice.  Mix until there are no clumps left.  This will take a minute. 

Once finished, pour into the spring form pan on top of the graham cracker crust.  Make sure the pan was very well sprayed before adding the crust and filling so that it just lifts out after it is done in the oven.  Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.  It is done when you shake it just a little and center barely jiggles.  Plus, the edges will start to turn golden and pull away from the edge of the pan.  Take out of the oven and immediately scrape the edges of the pan with a knife unstick the cheesecake.  This will keep the center from cracking as it cools down and shrinks a little. 

Strawberry Glaze ingredients

• 10 good sized strawberries cut into little chunks
• 1/3 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
• 13 good sized strawberries with the tops cut off

Put chunked berries into a sauce pot and mash them and add the water.  It’s okay if they stay a little chunky.  You can add more berries if you want more strawberry sauce for the top of the cheesecake.  Let the mixture come to a boil.  Take off the heat and add the sugar and cornstarch.  Heat again and bring back to a boil stirring constantly.  This will only take a minute or two.  Take off the heat and let simmer for a few minutes.  The mixture should become thicker. 

Once the cheesecake is totally baked, let it sit out and cool.  You can put it in the fridge if you would like.  Remove from the spring form pan and slide the cheesecake onto a platter.  Place the strawberries that you cut the tops off of, on top of the cheesecake however you would like to display them.  Then pour the strawberry glaze over everything evenly. 

 

Nummy!

Then serve and enjoy!  We loved it!