Strawberry Cheesecake

Cheesecakes are usually prepared with a special pan called springform pan. But if you dont have one, you can make them with a normal cake pan. Just line the pan with aluminium foil or parchment paper, with ends of foil extending over the sides so its easier to lift the cheesecake.

My son turned 3 last week. He loves cheesecakes so I made this for his birthday. It is a very rich, moist decadent cake with strawberry jam on top.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup honey graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp butter
3 pkg(8 oz each)cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam

Method:

HEAT oven to 325°F. Cover the outside of a springform pan with foil. Mix cracker crumbs, 2 tbsp sugar and butter, press onto the bottom of pan. Bake for 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add sour cream, mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over the crust. Heat 2 tbsp of jam in the microwave for about 30 seconds and stir well. Gently drop small spoonfuls of jam over batter, swirl with a knife.


BAKE 45-60 mins or until center is almost set. Its done when the center is still a bit wobbly when you tap the pan. It will set once cooled. Cool completely. Refrigerate for atleast 8 hours.



To remove the springform pan ring, take a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry and run it around the edges of the pan once and slowly unlock the pan. Serve as is, or spread the rest of the strawberry jam on top with a spatula. Cut into slices and serve!





Serves 6-8

NOTE: Before removing the cheesecake from the pan, it has to be CHILLED for atleast 8 hours. If using a normal cake pan, line the pan first with parchment paper/aluminium foil and then grease the bottom and sides of the pan well. By using low fat ingredients(low fat cream cheese and sour cream), you can cut the calories by half!