Strawberry Glazed Cheesecake

This was our first attempt at cheesecake ever, so please don?t judge too strict. You know, things like cheesecakes, carrot cakes or pizzas might seem pretty ordinary for a lot of you, but they are not too common in home cooking in this part of the world, so this was quite a challenge for us.

So, this was our first experiement with a cheesecake. In fact we had a jar of strawberry preserves and two packages of Philadelphia cheese that I had bought at a discount and the idea of making a cheesecake was obvious. I checked Love My Philly and found a recipe for a cake that looked beautiful, mouthwatering, perfect!.. A little problem was that we didnt want a large cheesecake, because ever since we started this blog, everyone in the family has been continuously overfed:) We didn?t have a small springform pan so we had to use a regular baking pan instead. Yes I know a cheesecake should be round-shaped. So ours was… unconventional, to begin with :)

Another thing I?d change next time I cook this would be the crackers. The original recipe called for some Honey Maid graham crackers, but for some reason we thought chocolate cracker crumbs would be cool too. Which was a mistake, as the chocolate flavour turned out too overwhelming (so was the colour, in fact). I also overdid it with pressing the crumbs onto the pan :D the crumb layer looked thin in the beginning, but it kind of increased in volume in the oven and resulted in a too thick crust.

And yet another departure from the rules: a much thinner layer of batter. We just feared that it wouldn?t bake through, but this was a needless precaution ? the cake baked through perfectly in an hour and 10 minutes. So, next time we?re also making it taller.

Despite the mediocre looks of our cheesecake, I can eventually rate its taste and texture very good. It was moist, airy, and creamy. The strawberry glaze added a note of freshness and fruityness (I think I?m falling in love with gelatine: it can turn ordinary things into shiny, colourful lolly-pops!). The chocolate cracker crumb crust… err… could be better :)

But we still have dozens of cheesecakes ahead of us, don?t we?

Ingredients

270g chocolate crackers

½ cup margarine, slightly melted

¾ cup sugar + 1/4 cup sugar

2 packages (8 oz. each) Philadelphia cream cheese

2 eggs

¾ cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 can strawberry preserves (300ml syrup+strawberries)

1 ½ tsp gelatine

Process crackers to crumbs. Mix the crumbs, margarine, and 1/4 cup sugar. Press the crumb mix firmly onto bottom and sides of your baking pan.

Beat cream cheese, the remaining sugar, vanilla and sour cream with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until well blended.

Pour the cheese batter into the crust.

Bake on a low heat for 70 minutes. When ready, open oven door slightly and let the cake sit in the oven for 30 minutes or so, then remove it from the oven and let it cool for 2 hours.

When the cheesecake has cooled, combine gelatine and strawberry syrup and heat the mixture on a low heat until gelatine dissolves, stirring continuously. Lay out strawberries (halved or whole) on top of the cake and pour the gelatine mixture over the berries. Freeze cheesecake until glaze hardens (this might take about 30 minutes or so), then transfer the cake into fridge and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.