A few weeks ago I made a peppermint cheesecake using an easy gelatin based recipe from an old Philadelphia Cream Cheese booklet. We liked it so much that I decided to try another recipe from the book -- a recipe with the intriguing title "Very Smooth Cheesecake".
Maybe they meant to call it "Smoothie Cheesecake" because the flavor is similar to a strawberry smoothie. It's a lovely pink color, with a very natural strawberry flavor. As for the texture, it's smooth, but it does have more of a gelatin feel than the peppermint version. I'd think twice before serving it to a guest with gelatinophobia, whereas with the peppermint version, I'm pretty sure I could just slip it right by.
Strawberry Smoothie Cheesecake Updates
We really liked this one despite the gelatin. In the future, I will cut the amount down from 1 envelope to 2 teaspoons.
Recipe
Smooth Strawberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter if using unsalted then add a pinch of salt
Filling
- 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (cut down from 2 ½ teaspoons)
- ¼ cup cold water
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 8 ounce package softened cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 16 oz package of frozen strawberries, thawed
- About ⅔ cup milk -- amount will vary
- Extra sugar if making the puree
- Sweetened whipped cream garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the crumbs, sugar and butter and press into bottom of a 9 inch round cheesecake pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes and let cool.
- Put the cold water in a small saucepan or custard cup. Add the gelatin and allow it to sit and soften for about 5 minutes. Turn heat to low stir over low heat until dissolved. If using custard cup, microwave for about 10 seconds. Let cool while you prepare the cake.
- In a metal bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the whipped cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In another mixing bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
- Drain the juice from the thawed strawberries. Add enough milk to make 1 cup liquid, and stir into cream cheese mixture.
- Gradually add the dissolved gelatin to the cheesecake mixture.
- Divide the reserved strawberries in half. Puree about half of them and add to the batter. You will use the rest for the topping, so keep the processor handy.
- Fold the whipped cream into the batter, then pour the mixture into the cheesecake pan and chill for a few hours or until firm.
- To make the strawberry puree topping, puree the remaining strawberries and add sugar to taste. Garnish cheesecake with the strawberry puree and sweetened whipped cream.
martina
looks sooooooo delicious!!!!!
by the way i like your blog, i just discovered it 🙂
Martina
PS. there is a giveaway on my blog with baking/cooking stuff, have a look:
http://homesweetbakery.blogspot.it/2012/11/giveaway.html
Gloria
Gelatinophobia! That's a good one! I like the color of this cheesecake and I like any cheesecake with fruit! My mom loves jello. She ALWAYS has an uncovered bowl of jello in her refrigerator ready to eat. Don't ask, it's a long story.. BTW, I purchased the All Bran yesterday. Now just need to make the cookies!!!
Chewthefat
AH! Now I can put a NAME to my condition! Although I think I might be able to tolerate gelatin such a lovely cheesecake. I just can't look at Jell-O and dislike gelatinous substances in general.