Baked Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

I’ve been so busy lately and I haven’t been in the kitchen much. In celebration of the long weekend I decided to make Mr Eat Canberra a special dinner of Oysters Kilpatrick and Mussels in tomato and chilli broth with crusty bread. Of course no meal is complete without dessert so I whipped up a baked strawberry swirl cheesecake. It’s an easy and delicious dessert that’s best made the day before and can be eaten for several days after you’ve baked it. It looks pretty and it’s not too sweet. It will put a smile on everyone’s face and Mr Eat Canberra scored it a 10/10!

Baked Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake (serves 8-10)

Ingredients

Cheesecake filling

2 x packets of cream cheese, softened

¾ cup sour cream

½-¾ cup caster sugar (I only used ½ cup sugar but if you want the mixture sweeter then add ¾ cup)

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (I always use vanilla bean paste and recommend using a high quality vanilla extract when baking)

Rind of 1 lemon

3 eggs

Strawberry sauce

10 medium strawberries, extra for serving

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons caster sugar

2 tablespoons cornflour

Juice of half lemon

Cheesecake base

2 packets of Oreos

4 tablespoons butter melted

Now what?

1. Preheat over to 160c/140c fan-forced. Grease a 20-22cm deep spring-form cake pan and line with baking paper.
2. Place biscuits in a food processor and process until broken up into small chunks or place them in a zip-lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Keep them chunky to give the base more texture. Combine the melted butter and crushed Oreos in a bowl and mix together. Press mixture over base of the lined pan and spread evenly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Cut the strawberries in small pieces and place in a small food processor with the water, sugar and lemon juice. Process until well combined. Poor the mixture into a small saucepan on medium heat. Add the cornflour and whisk until well combined. Bring the mixture to boil and continue to whisk. Remove the sauce from the heat when it starts to thicken. Set aside to cool.
4. Place cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, vanilla and lemon rind into a bowl and use electric beaters to process until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time until just combined. Use a spatula between adding each egg to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure the mixture combines well. Poor the mixture into the prepared pan and spoon 10 teaspoons of the strawberry mixture on the top. Make sure there is space between the strawberry sauce and cheesecake mixture. Use a skewer or end the of a spoon to swirl the mixture around to create a swirl effect. Bake for 50 minutes or one hour until the cake is just set and wobbles slightly in the middle. Place the remaining strawberry sauce in a sealed container and refrigerate.
5. Allow the cake to cool in the oven for one hour, using a wooden spoon to keep the door ajar. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve with fresh strawberries, a spoonful of strawberry sauce and a scoop of good-quality vanilla ice cream.