STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
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Crust:
- 3/4 cup of crushed Pecans
- 1-2 cups of crushed Graham crackers
- 5/8 stick of melted unsalted margarine or butter
====== Mix ingredients well and press onto bottom of 10" springform pan. Bake for 8 minutes in a preheated 350 degree Fahrenheit oven.
Filling:
- 1 can(14oz) Condensed Sweetened Milk
- 2 pkg(8oz) softened Neufchatel cheese(No fat cream cheese) or Cream cheese
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/8 stick of melted unsalted margarine or butter
====== Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Mix the room temp cream cheese in a large bowl. Mix in sugar. Mix in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla extract. Mix in Condensed Milk and melted butter. Mix well until consistent. Pour filling over graham cracker crust. Bake in 275 oven for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Turn off the oven and let the cake sit in there for 60 minutes.
Add the topping after the cheesecake has been moved to its serving plate/platter. (See below for topping instructions.)
Let it cool down then refridgerate 3 hours or overnight. OR
Use the quick cool down method.(see below)
If you can help it, do not cut into the cheesecake until the topping has cooled as well and has settled so it doesn't fall off as easily when cutting out a slice.
Topping:
- 1 pint of fresh Strawberries (sliced and/or diced)
- 1 Tbsp and 1 capfull of Rum
- 1.5 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 dash of cinnimon
- 1 tsp unsalted margarine or butter(I used Take Control)
====== While the cheesecake is baking, wash and cut the strawberries and put them into a pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook medium heat until the mixture begins to boil. Let it simmer and reduce to half its liquid volume. Then let it sit until ready to pour over the cheesecake.
Notes:
Toothpick test: Insert toothpick into center of the cake. If it comes out clean, then the cake is done.
Softened Cream cheese: Either let the cheese sit outside the refridgerator until room temp, or microwave a cold block of cheese for 10-15 seconds until soft.(Take it out of the metallic wrapper and place it in a microwavable bowl)
Neufchatel cheese: It is still cream cheese but with no or really low fat. Just as tasty.
Quick cooldown method: Take an ice chest, enough ice to cover the bottom of a section of it larger than the springform pan. Place the cheesecake/springform pan over the ice. Close the ice chest. Make sure you take precautions that the water does not leak into or onto the cheesecake. Only use this method with metal pans/pots, as glass may shatter.
Notes about this cheesecake: This one turned out really well. No cracks in the cheesecake and the top came out flat with a small ridge around the outside which kept the strawberry topping really well. It could have been because of slow cooking at lower heat, or it could have been the condensed milk. Not sure. This would be good in a heart shaped spring form pan and a February cheesecake if it were part of the cheesecake of the month program.
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