Valentine’s Treat: Strawberry Cheesecake

I actually made the strawberry cheesecake above for my husband’s birthday last month, but we enjoy it so much that I’m surprising the family with it again for Valentine’s Day! It works really well with cherries, too.

Strawberry Cheesecake

crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 Tb melted butter

filling
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c strawberry jam or pie filling

Heat oven to 325. Grease a 9″ springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Put the graham cracker crumbs in a medium bowl and add butter. Mix with a fork until even moistened and press the mixture over the bottom and up 1″ of the sides of the pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer or beater, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, scraping down as necessary. Beat in the sour cream until blended, then eggs (1 at a time), beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Pour half the batter into the pan.

Drizzle about 1/2 of the jam or pie filling over batter in the pan. Spoon the remaining batter over the jam, then drizzle remainder over top. Swirl the batter gently with a thin knife or skewer to marbelize it slightly.

Bake the cheesecake until firm around the edges but still slightly wobbly in the center, about 70 to 80 minutes. Set the cake in the pan on a wire rack and run a butter knife along the inside edge to loosen the sides, and let it cool completely. Wrap the cake in plastic and chill for at least four hours.

Take the cake out of the fridge about half an hour before serving. Remove the pan sides and place cake on a platter. Serve with fresh strawberries or cherries, or just leave it as is! Serves 12-16.