For Christmas my husband gave me springform pans. He also gave me a new deep skillet, a new beater blade for my mixer, a cake decorating plate and some cake decorating tools. Before you question why my husband is giving me kitchen stuff, this is not 1950, blah, blah, blah....I wanted this stuff! I LOVE being in the kitchen and he knows it. And there is a large part of me that likes the roles that men and women had in the 50s. Don't get me wrong, I know there are a lot of things that I have as a liberty as a woman because of what other women have done, but I like the idea of staying home in the kitchen making my husband happy. Call me crazy.
SO, I have these new springform pans that I haven't used yet and strawberries were on sale at the grocery store. Strawberry cheesecake was the first thing that sprung to mind! Then I remembered my abundance of Girl Scout cookies in the freezer and decided to make the crust using the shortbread cookies. This cake was absolutely delicious and beautiful!
If you've never made a cheesecake, don't be afraid! They are actually very easy to make and really impress people!
Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
Crust
1/2 C finely crushed shortbread cookies
1/2 C unsalted butter, room temp.
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C all-purpose flour
Cream together the butter and sugar on high speed. Add the flour and cookie crumbs. Mix well. Place in the bottom of 9" springform pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Let cool.
Cheesecake
4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temp.
1 1/3 C sugar
2 T flour
2 T heavy cream
4 eggs, beaten
1 T lemon juice
2 tsp. vanilla
1 C strawberries, pureed
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour and heavy cream. Add eggs. Beat on low until combined. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour 2 1/2 C of the batter into a separate bowl and set aside.
With the remaining mixture, add 3/4 of the strawberry puree. Mix well. Pour on top of the crust and bake for 35 minutes.
Carefully pour the remaining cheesecake mixture on top of the strawberry mixture. Drop spots of the remaining strawberry puree on top. With a butter knife, carefully create a swirl pattern on top of the cheesecake. Bake for 50 more minutes. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight.
