This Valentine's Day, express your love in the sweetest way possible.
This recipe for chocolate-strawberry cheesecake from the ĢƵ's Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Chelsea Burgess is perfect for gifting, sharing or leaving on the doorstep of your secret crush.
Chef Chelsea's sweet confection was inspired by the timeless romance of a chocolate-covered strawberry. She uses freeze dried raspberries to give the cake a dreamy pink hue which, when layered on top of her chocolate sandwich cookie crust, definitely evokes the classic dessert.
Give your sweetheart the gift of a homemade dessert this year. Here's how to make it.
Servings: 1 cheesecake
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
Crumb Mixture for Crust
- 200 grams chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
- 70 grams melted butter
Strawberry Cream Cheesecake
- 374 grams room temperature cream cheese
- 10 grams freeze dried raspberries, finely ground
- 187 grams granulated sugar
- 379 grams sour cream
- 110 grams eggs
- 10 grams egg yolks
- 200 grams strawberry puree
- 8 grams vanilla extract
- 1 (9”) pan
Directions
For crust:
1. Mix the ingredients to combine well.
For cheesecake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Grease the springform pan and line the bottom with parchment.
- Press the cookie crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan to cover evenly.
- Place pan in oven for approximately 8 minutes.
- Once removed from the oven, spray sides and top rim of pans to prepare them for cheesecake batter.
- Beat the cream cheese, freeze dried raspberry powder and sugar with the paddle attachment in a KitchenAid mixer on low speed until smooth. Scrape down side of bowl often to make sure there are no lumps. Do not overmix the batter or incorporate too much air.
- Add sour cream, eggs, yolks and vanilla gradually, mixing only until they are absorbed. Stop and scrape down the bowl between additions. Add the strawberry puree last.
- Pour the batter onto the crumbs. Wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum and place in the oven in a water bath. Bake the cheesecake at 325° F for approximately 40 minutes until the cake is set and firm except for the very center.
- Remove from pan of hot water and allow to cool completely.
- Chill overnight before unmolding. Drizzle with melted chocolate and top with sliced strawberries to serve, if desired.
