My love affair with cheesecakes is never-ending, but it's been a minute since I went on a date with one. With strawberries in season, I decided it was the best time to bake a strawberry swirl cheesecake.
Supremely creamy and incredibly moist from the plump, juicy strawberries, this cake is even more delicious when served with some strawberry sauce on the side.
Generally, the star of cheesecake is cream cheese. However, here, the fruit and the cream cheese play a dual role. The richness of the cheese is exquisitely counterbalanced by the big, bright burst of sweetness in every fruity bite.
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Strawberry swirl cheesecake recipe
Tips to creamiest (not cracked) cheesecake
How to make strawberry swirl cheesecake?
It took me 3 days to bake one cheesecake, and not because the recipe calls for that much time. I’ve just been in limbo for the past few days. Although finally getting to dig my fork into the melt-in-the-mouth, albeit cracked, cheesecake cake did me good!
Start with the super simple strawberry sauce
- Blend the fresh strawberries with sugar, cornstarch (to thicken the sauce), 2 or 3 tablespoons of water till you have a smooth purée.
- Cook the purée on medium to low heat till it's nice, thick, and luscious. Takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Let it cool before incorporating it into the cake batter.
- Any leftover strawberry sauce can be jarred and kept for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
Other ways to use strawberry sauce
You can use the leftover sauce in any cake batter, not just this one. It works with literally everything under the sun. Or give it a whirl as a topping for:
Move on to the cheesecake crust
- Crush your Marie biscuits in the food processor.
- Pulse them again with melted butter till they’ve gained the consistency of wet sand.
- Pat this mixture down on the bottom of the springform pan. Make sure it’s an even layer and packed tightly.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
Prep the cream cheese filling
- Beat your cream cheese with sugar.
- Then, one at a time, add your eggs. Move on to the next egg only after the first is completely incorporated into the cream.
- Whisk in vanilla extract, cream, and all-purpose flour until well combined, and you have a luscious batter.
Baked strawberry swirl cheesecake
- Pour the cream cheese filling and the strawberry sauce alternatively on top of the baked crust.
- Start with the cream cheese filling and make sure you leave a portion of strawberry sauce to serve as an aside.
- With a knife, a wooden skewer, or the back end of a spoon, create swirls so the strawberry sauce and cheese filling take on a marbled effect.
- Bake the cake at 160 °C.
- Once baked, prop open the oven door and let the cake cool inside for at least 20 minutes.
- Transfer to the counter and then to the fridge to chill overnight.
My personal tips for cheesecakes
- Don’t overbeat the cheesecake batter. They are supposed to have a dense, moist crumb. Over beating aerates the batter, and you don’t want that. Mix with a gentle hand.
- Make the cheesecake a day ahead so you can refrigerate them for 8 hours at least. It helps the cake set and enhances the texture to an absolutely addictive degree.
How do I bake a cheesecake without it cracking?
Right off the bat, I’ll say this: there is nothing wrong with cheesecake cracking. Mine did. Right in the middle and yet it looks gorgeous topped with a few fresh strawberries and the sauce.
Now that’s out of the way, here are a couple of tips to keep the strawberry cheesecake from cracking:
- Make sure every ingredient, from the eggs to the cream cheese, is at room temperature. This is a must.
- After you bake the crust, lower the temperature of the oven. Never bake a cheesecake in an oven that is hotter than 160 °C.
- Open the door of the oven when the top of the cheesecake feels springy to your fingertips. It allows some heat to escape, making sure the cake doesn’t overheat and crack.
The best way to bring eggs to room temperature quickly
If you’ve taken the eggs out of the fridge at the last minute and are in a hurry to bake the cake, put them in a bowl of warm water. Dip them for a few minutes, and it’ll take away the chill.
How can you soften cream cheese to room temperature quickly?
Use a double boiler to soften cream cheese. Scoop it into your mixing bowl and then place it over a container with simmering water. In 2 to 3 minutes, the cream cheese will reach room temperature. Make sure, you don’t melt it in the process.
Ingredient notes for strawberry swirl cheesecake
Sugar: I automatically reach for raw sugar in my bakes, but regular white sugar works just as well. I do recommend taste testing your strawberries. Mine were very sweet, so barely needed any additional sugar. If your lot has a sour note, up the amount of sugar when making the sauce.
Add-ins: if you want to brighten up the flavor of the cake, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the batter and the zest of one whole lemon. The citrusy savor complements the juicy berries, lending a little tang. For a decadent chocolatey undertone, by all means, add cocoa powder to the crushed biscuit crust.
Swirling in love with cheesecakes? Try these recipes:
Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars
Just want swirls in your bakes?
Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Muffins
Cream Cheese Swirl Banana Bread
Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
Or more cheesecake recipes:
Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
Ingredients
Strawberry Sauce
- 200 gms Strawberries, roughly chopped
- 2 tsp Cornstarch
- 2 tbsp Sugar You can add more or less depending on the sweetness of your berries
- 2-3 tbsp Water
Cheesecake Crust
- 120 gms Marie biscuits, crushed
- 100 gms Butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling
- 450 gms Cream cheese
- 150 gms Raw sugar You can use regular white sugar instead
- 3 Eggs
- 60 ml Cream
- 35 gms All-purpose flour
- 1.5 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
Strawberry Sauce
- Blend the fresh strawberries with sugar, cornstarch, 2 or 3 tablespoons of water till you have a smooth purée.
- Cook the purée on medium heat till it's nice, thick, and luscious. Do give it a stir every few minutes. This takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Let the sauce cool.
- Any leftover strawberry sauce can be jarred and kept for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
Cheesecake Crust
- Preheat your oven to 180C. Keep a springform 8" pan handy. Cover the bottom and sides of the pan with aluminum foil.
- Combine the melted butter and crushed cookies in a small bowl. This mixture should have the consistency of wet sand.
- Press it down evenly at the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 160C while you're preparing for the filling.
Cheesecake Filling
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer.
- Add the eggs, one at a time.
- Mix in the cream, flour, and vanilla extract. Whisk well until smooth.
- Pour half of the cheesecake batter over the prepared crust. Add a third of the cooled strawberry sauce on top.
- Cover the starwberry layer with the balance cheesecake batter.
- Drop small spoonfuls of the strawberry sauce on top and using a skewer, create swirls.
- Carefully place the pan in the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes at 160C or until the center feels just a bit wobbly to touch.
- Turn off the heat and slightly crack the oven door open and allow it to cool for 30 minutes.
- Transfer to the counter and then to the fridge to chill overnight.
- Remove carefully from the pan, place it on your serving plate. Serve with strawberry sauce on the side. Enjoy!
Jessica Selensky says
This looks so delicious!
Natasha Minocha says
Thanks ever so much, Jessica! xx
Sonali says
How can we replace eggs?
Natasha Minocha says
Hi Sonali, I haven't tried this cheesecake without eggs. But I think you can just increase the quantity of cream and all-purpose flour a bit in the recipe and leave the eggs out, like i did for this cheesecake http://www.tashasartisanfoods.com/blog/saffron-cardamom-cheesecake/
Hope this helps:)