I’ve made various forms of cheesecakes such as cheesecake cupcakes, cheesecake bars, mini cheesecakes but this one definitely taste the best. Some cheesecakes that I’ve baked looked beautiful right out of the oven but would crack in the middle after cooling overnight. This not only did not crack but stayed moist and creamy for days. It takes slightly longer to bake and also requires a water bath, but it was worth the extra effort. The cake tasted light and creamy. It reminded me of the cheesecake I’ve had at Del Frisco’s steakhouse. You will find that the ingredients for this cheesecake has very specific measurements. This is because I adapted the recipe from a Norwegian blogger who used metric units. I also made a few changes to the original recipe.
It was my friend Eugene’s birthday and he loves cheesecake and strawberries so I baked this cake for him. One of his favorite part about this cheesecake is the walnut crust. Most cheesecakes are made with graham cracker crust and I think that walnuts give the cake a good crunchy texture. It also seems like a lighter cheesecake with a walnut crust. It blended well with the cake and was very easy to slice through.
You almost can’t tell that this cake has a walnut crust by looking at it. It will be a pleasant surprise! You also don’t have to worry about the strawberries being slightly tart because the jam makes the entire cake sweet.
Finely chop the walnuts with sugar in a food processor and then pour the melted butter over it.
Press the walnut mixture to the bottom of the pan and bake at 350F for 15 minutes.
Wrap aluminum foil on the bottom and around the springform pan. Make sure that it is tightly wrapped so that water does not enter the filling.
All ingredients for the filling should be at room temperature before mixing. The cream cheese and sugar mixture should look fluffy like the above picture before adding the eggs. It is also really important not to overbeat the mixture. Blend one egg at at time mixing it just enough to avoid over-beating and creating air bubbles. I blended the eggs for less than a minute each.
Pour the filling into the springform pan then place it in the middle of the water bath. Using too much water can increase the baking time.
Bake for 2 hours at 300F or until you see a few tan spots on top like the above. The cake should look light and still slightly loose in the middle. I baked this for about 2 hours and 15 minutes but baking time varies depending on your oven and the amount of water used for the water bath. Cool the cheesecake keeping the ring on for 30 minutes on a wire rack.
Spread the sour cream mixture on top of the warm cheesecake. Bake for 5 minutes at 350F. Then cool the cheesecake for 3o minutes. Once it is slightly cooled, run a pairing knife around the edge of the springform. Refrigerate the cake with the springform ring on for 24 hours.
After cooling for 24 hours, remove the springform ring.
Slice off the top of the strawberries. Then line them up on the cheesecake starting from the outer circle working your way into the middle.
Puree the cooled jam in a blender to remove lumps so it is easier to drizzle over the cake.
Makes 1 cheesecake in a 9 inch springform pan
Walnut Crust:
1 + 3/4c of walnuts, chopped (8oz bag)
1/3 c minus 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
4 Tbsp of unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
32 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1+1/3c granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/2c heavy cream, room temperature
Frosting:
18oz sour cream
1/3c granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
strawberries, cooled
9 oz strawberry jam, cooled
Note: All the ingredients for the filling need to be at room temperature.
Walnut Crust
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Finely chop walnuts in a food processor with the sugar. Add melted butter and mix well until combined.
3. Press the walnut mixture to the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan until flat and even.
4. Bake for 15 minutes at 350F.
5. Remove springform pan from the oven and set on a cooling rack.
Filling
6. Set the oven to 300F.
7. Bring a medium pot of water to boil (about 2 quarts).
8. When the ingredients reach room temperature, blend the cream cheese and sugar in a stand mixer until it looks fluffy.
9. Add one egg at a time and mix it until it is well combined for only a few seconds. Do not overbeat! It is important to stop mixing once each egg is blended in the mixture.
10. Once all 4 eggs are well mixed, add heavy cream and vanilla extract. Mix for only a few seconds until well combined.
11. Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan with aluminum foil.
12. Pour the mixture into the springform over the baked walnut crust.
13. Create a water bath in a large shallow baking pan by pouring boiling hot water into the pan.
14. Place the springform in the center of the water bath and it should come 1/3 way up when looking from the side of the springform.
15. Bake at 300F for 2 hours or until you see a few small tan spots on top. The cheesecake will look fairly light and seem a bit loose in the middle.
16. Place the cheesecake on a wire rack when it’s done while keeping the oven on.
Frosting
17. Mix together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract.
18. Glaze the top of the warm cheesecake and bake for 5 minutes at 350F.
19. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Run a pairing knife around the edge of the springform ring. Refrigerate for 24 hours without removing the springform ring.
Topping
20. Remove the springform ring.
21. Slice the top of the strawberries then line them up around the cheesecake starting from the outer circle.
22. Pour the strawberry jam in a blender and puree for about a minute until liquified.
23. Pour the strawberry jam in a zip lock bag or a piping bag. Cut a small hole on the edge of the ziplock bag and drizzle over the strawberries on the cheesecake.
Source: Passion for Baking
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