Strawberry Cheesecake

Jon came for a visit from Montreal and requested cheesecake. So of course I had to attempt this new desert (which also makes Mom very happy because she LOVES cheesecake and expects me to make some for her in the near future). Thanks Jon for helping out :) So here it is!

The Recipe:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoon butter, melted
3 tablespoon sugar
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 package (10 oz.) frozen strawberries, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 325°F

2. Mix cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Press firmly into bottom of pan.

3. Bake 10 minutes, remove from oven and set aside.



4. Raise oven temperature to 350°F.

5. Beat 1/2 cup sugar, cream cheese, lemon juice and lemon peel with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.

6. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each egg is added just until blended. Pour into crust.



7. Bake 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool.

8. Drain strawberries, reserving liquid. In a medium saucepan add enough water to reserved liquid to measure 1/2 cup then mix in cornstarch, blending well.

9. Bring to boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Cool, then stir in the strawberries and spread evenly over cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.



My Experience:
First of all... the fact that the frozen strawberries are thawed is key. I didn't take them out of the freezer quite early enough and it took FOREVER to get the liquid from them. SO THAW THEM!

I unfortunately kind of burnt the bottom crust. Oops. Our oven is hotter than I thought it was. So it didn't turn out quite as good as it could have been.

Also, when the cheesecake is done cooking, there is like a crust on the top that you don't usually see on a cheesecake. I think this is totally normal and that for presentation reasons you cut off the top bit (my opinion though!). Then it will look a little prettier.

Finally, the recipe didn't have a pan size so I improvised and planned for the worse. After making it, you could probably use a 4 by 4 pan.

The Ratings:
Lydie's rating: 8.5/10
My rating: 7.5/10 (would have preferred the bottom not being burnt)