This cheesecake with strawberry sauce is made without a water bath, with a creamy and light cheesecake that is topped with a homemade strawberry sauce.
This recipe is adapted from my new york cheesecake. It's a super creamy and delish cheesecake. This is perfect for making ahead of time, and stores great for 5 days!
We love baking with strawberries and fresh fruit, if you like strawberry desserts, you should check out our strawberry glazed donuts, strawberry shortcake cake, fresh strawberry sheet cake, strawberry crumble cake, mini strawberry pavlova, and strawberry jam cake.
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Why this recipe works
- Bakes at a low-temperature help to ensure that the cheesecake doesn’t crack.
- This recipe is a make-ahead recipe, so it’s perfect to make the day before a gathering.
- Everyone’s favorite dessert. I mean, who doesn’t like cheesecake?
- There is no water bath involved.
- Is topped with a homemade strawberry sauce that goes together perfectly with the cheesecake.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
For the crust:
Graham crackers- you will need about 1 ½ cup of graham crackers. If you don’t have graham crackers, you can use tea biscuits, vanilla wafers, and digestive biscuits.
Granulated sugar- the sugar will add sweetness to the crust.
Melted butter- melt the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds pulses, to make sure that the butter doesn’t boil up and explode in the microwave (been there done that), or melt it on the stovetop.
For the cheesecake filling:
Cream cheese- the most important ingredient in this recipe, is the cream cheese. Make sure that you are using full-fat cream cheese, for a cheesecake with no cracks, it's important that you use full-fat cream cheese and make sure that it’s at room temperature.
Granulated sugar- you will need one cup of granulated sugar for this recipe. The cheesecake will be sweet, but not too sweet. One cup of sugar is the perfect balance of sweetness for this recipe.
Eggs- you will need 4 large eggs for this recipe. To get a perfect classic cheesecake, make sure that the eggs are at room temperature.
Vanilla extract- vanilla extract adds extra flavor.
Lemon zest- the lemon zest adds an aroma and a light flavor to this cake. Don’t worry, this cheesecake will not taste like a lemon cheesecake.
Sour cream- we suggest using full-fat sour cream for this recipe. The sour cream makes the cheesecake batter creamier and lighter.
Flour- you can either use flour or cornstarch. for a gluten-free filling, replace the flour with cornstarch.
Kosher salt- helps to balance the flavors.
For the strawberry sauce:
Strawberries- we used fresh strawberries for the sauce, but you can use frozen strawberries as well!
Lemon juice- we used lemon from a fresh lemon. This balances the sweetness of the sauce.
Cornstarch- to thicken the sauce.
Sugar- we used granulated sugar for the sauce, but you can use caster sugar as well.
Instructions
Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper, and preheat an oven to 180c (350f).
Make the crust: pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. If you don’t have a food processor on hand, place the crackers in a Ziplock bag and smash the crackers with a cup until fine crumbs form.
Into a small to medium mixing bowl, add the graham crackers crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Mix with a spoon until the crumbs are coated with butter.
Transfer the crumbs into a prepared 9-inch cake pan, pressing evenly and firmly into the pan.
Bake the crust in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on the crust and make sure it doesn’t burn. Take the crust out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
Lower the temperature to 140c (280f). In a big mixing bowl, add the room temperature cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and mix with an electric hand mixer until the cream cheese is creamy.
Whisk the eggs with a fork, add them to the cream cheese batter, add the sour cream, and mix until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
Add the flour (we suggest sifting the flour) into the mixture and beat it on medium speed until the mixture is just combined. Make sure you don't overbeat the mixture.
Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust, and release air bubbles by tapping the pan onto a flat surface.
Bake the cheesecake in a 140c (280f) preheated oven for about an hour or until the edges of the cheesecake are set, but the middle is a bit jiggly.
Open the oven door halfway, and let the cheesecake cool to room temperature for 1-2 hours. After the cheesecake is cooled, wrap the cheesecake with a plastic wrap tightly, and place the cheesecake in the fridge to cool completely for at least 5 hours.
Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Carefully release the springform.
Make the strawberry topping
In a saucepan, add strawberries that are cut in half, add the sugar, and lemon juice, and mix over medium-high heat.
Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes mixing occasionally.
Mix the cornstarch in a small bowl with a little bit of water and pour it into the strawberry mixture mixing constantly. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
Set aside and let it cool. Top the cheesecake with the strawberry topping, slice and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Make sure that you are using room-temperature cream cheese in this recipe, this step makes it easier to mix the cream cheese with no unnecessary lumps, we don’t want that.
- Use a springform tin. We use springform tins for all of our cheesecake recipes. This makes sure that your cake will be easy to release from the pan.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures you that your cheesecake will be stable and will not crack.
- Let your cheesecake cool in the fridge for at least 5 hours. We know it’s very hard to resist eating this delicious cheesecake right away, but you have to let the cheesecake cool and set it in the pan. We like to let the cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight.
- For a smooth and creamy cheesecake, make sure that you are using room-temperature ingredients. Before you begin to make this cheesecake, make sure that your cream cheese is completely soft, and that your eggs are at room temperature.
- Don’t overbeat the mixture! It's really easy to overbeat the mixture, and that is one of the most common mistakes. To avoid overbeating your mixture, make sure that you lower the speed of the hand mixer and add each egg at a time.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has no cream cheese lumps.
- Don't open the oven door before the cake is fully baked or about to be baked! Drastic changes in the temperature of the cake while baking can cause the cake to collapse or crack.
Faq's
Overbaking cheesecake is a common mistake that causes the cheesecake to crack or even burn.
You will know that your cheesecake is done baking when you see that the edges of the cheesecake are set, but the middle is a bit jiggly. The middle of the cake will be set in the cooling process.
Cutting cheesecake, the right way is very important. To get even and clean cheesecake slices, make sure that you are using a serrated knife.
Our favorite way to cut cheesecake and cakes is by dipping a long knife into hot water, once the knife warms up, wipe off the excess water, and slice the cake. Dip and wipe the knife between every slice.
This cheesecake will last up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Storing
Store this cheesecake in the fridge (because it contains dairy) covered tightly with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
Freezing
This cheesecake freezes great! to freeze this cheesecake, bake it according to the instructions, then cool it according to the instructions in the fridge.
When the cake is completely cooled, you can freeze the cake covered in a few layers of plastic wrap or foil. This cheesecake will freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the cheesecake in the fridge overnight.
Variations
Vanilla Oreos- replace the classic graham crackers with vanilla ones for a vanilla oreo lover!
Substitutions
Gluten-free- This recipe is really easy to turn gluten-free, simply replace the graham crackers with gluten-free graham crackers, or with gluten-free digestive biscuits. Also, replace the flour with cornstarch.
Digestive biscuits- People outside of America usually don’t have graham crackers. Don’t worry! You can use tea biscuits, vanilla wafers, and digestive biscuits.
Topping ideas
If you dont have strawberries, or it's not the season, you can top this cheesecake with so many toppings. Here are a few ideas:
- Cherry sauce
- Caramel sauce
- Fresh berries
- Whipped cream
- Chocolate ganache
- Chocolate whipped cream
- Blueberry sauce
- Raspberry sauce
More cheesecake recipes
Oreo cheesecake- This oreo cheesecake is made without a water bath, made with a creamy oreo filling, and oreo crust, and topped with oreo whipped cream!
Twix cheesecake- This Twix cheesecake is made with a creamy caramel cheesecake filling, topped with caramel sauce, chocolate ganache, and plenty of Twix candy.
San Sebastian cheesecake- This San Sebastian cheesecake, also known as Spanish burnt cheesecake, is creamy and silky smooth and has a caramelized burnt top that is delish!
📖 Recipe
Cheesecake With Strawberry Sauce
Ingredients
Crust
- 150 g Graham crackers or digestive biscuis
- 2 tablespoon Granulated sugar
- 80 Butter melted
Filling
- 900 g Cream cheese
- 1 ½ cups Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 4 Eggs
- 200 g Sour cream
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 4 tablespoon Flour or cornstarch
Strawberry topping
- 450 g Strawberries
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- â…“ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
Instructions
- Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper, and preheat an oven to 180c (350f).
- Make the crust: pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form. If you don’t have a food processor on hand, place the crackers in a Ziplock bag and smash the crackers with a cup until fine crumbs form.
- Into a small to medium mixing bowl, add the graham crackers crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Mix with a spoon until the crumbs are coated with butter.
- Transfer the crumbs into a prepared 9-inch cake pan, pressing evenly and firmly into the pan.
- Bake the crust in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on the crust and make sure it doesn’t burn. Take the crust out of the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
- Lower the temperature to 140c (280f). In a big mixing bowl, add the room temperature cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract and mix with an electric hand mixer until the cream cheese is creamy.
- Whisk the eggs with a fork, add them to the cream cheese batter, add the sour cream, and mix until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
- Add the flour (we suggest sifting the flour) into the mixture and beat it on medium speed until the mixture is just combined. Make sure you don't overbeat the mixture.
- Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust, and release air bubbles by tapping the pan onto a flat surface.
- Bake the cheesecake in a 140c (280f) preheated oven for about an hour or until the edges of the cheesecake are set, but the middle is a bit jiggly.
- Open the oven door halfway, and let the cheesecake cool to room temperature for 1-2 hours. After the cheesecake is cooled, wrap the cheesecake with a plastic wrap tightly, and place the cheesecake in the fridge to cool completely for at least 5 hours.
- Run a thin knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Carefully release the springform.
Make the strawberry topping
- In a saucepan, add strawberries that are cut in half, add the sugar, and lemon juice, and mix over medium-high heat.
- Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes mixing occasionally.
- Mix the cornstarch in a small bowl with a little bit of water and pour it into the strawberry mixture mixing constantly. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
- Set aside and let it cool. Top the cheesecake with the strawberry topping, slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure that you are using room-temperature cream cheese in this recipe, this step makes it easier to mix the cream cheese with no unnecessary lumps, we don’t want that.
- Use a springform tin. We use springform tins for all of our cheesecake recipes. This makes sure that your cake will be easy to release from the pan.
- Use high-fat cream cheese or the well-known Philadelphia cream cheese. Using full-fat cream cheese ensures you that your cheesecake will be stable and will not crack.
- Let your cheesecake cool in the fridge for at least 5 hours. We know it’s very hard to resist eating this delicious cheesecake right away, but you have to let the cheesecake cool and set it in the pan. We like to let the cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight.
- For a smooth and creamy cheesecake, make sure that you are using room-temperature ingredients. Before you begin to make this cheesecake, make sure that your cream cheese is completely soft, and that your eggs are at room temperature.
- Don’t overbeat the mixture! It's really easy to overbeat the mixture, and that is one of the most common mistakes. To avoid overbeating your mixture, make sure that you lower the speed of the hand mixer and add each egg at a time.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to ensure that you have a homogeneous mixture that has no cream cheese lumps.
- Don't open the oven door before the cake is fully baked or about to be baked! Drastic changes in the temperature of the cake while baking can cause the cake to collapse or crack.
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