I remember the first time I had strawberry cheesecake. I
think I was 13 years old. Mom took my sister and I out for a day of shopping
for our birthdays. (Sis’s is the day before mine.) We stopped in a restaurant
and had a slice of strawberry cheesecake. Heaven!
I also remember the boxed no-bake Jello cheesecakes we would
make at home. I liked those, too. But as I got older, I became a bit of a
cheesecake snob, believing the only true and delicious cheesecake had to be
baked.
Recently I promised a friend I would make him anything he wanted for his birthday. He chose strawberry cheesecake. His birthday was during the holiday season, and as it approached, I realized I would not have the time to do a traditional baked cheesecake. As I began to contemplate calling a bakery, the image of Nigella Lawson making an easy refrigerator version popped into my mind. Sure enough, her Nigella Express had the perfect solution.
Unfortunately, as you can see, my photos of this yummy cheesecake didn’t turn out as nicely as I wanted. Here is what it looks like from Nigella’s website. Her recipe is even easier since she uses a black cherry jam for the topping. (Something I’m going to try one day!) Her original recipe also uses digestive biscuits for the crust, which I’d also like to try. The recipe in the
Our friend loved his birthday cheesecake. Even The Picky Eater liked it, and he’s not a cheesecake fan!
This cheesecake will now be my go-to dessert when I need
something special but I’m short on time.
Refrigerator Strawberry Cheesecake
Adapted from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson
Cheesecake
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
10 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
Topping
1 pound frozen strawberries1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
Pinch of salt
1/8 cup water
For the cheesecake, mix together the graham cracker crumbs,
2 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of an
8-inch springform pan. Be sure to press some of the mixture 1/4-inch up the
side to make an edge.
In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar,
vanilla and lemon juice until smooth.
In another large bowl, whip the cream until just it just
begins to thicken. With a whisk, fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese
mixture. Spoon the mixture on top of the crust and smooth out the top.
Refrigerate for three hours or overnight.
To serve, un-mold the cheesecake and spoon the strawberry
topping on top.
For topping, place all of the ingredients in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil and bowl for one minute. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Spread on cheesecake just before serving, or place in a serving dish for guests
to spoon on their individual slices.
Check out the other retro creations from my fellow #SundaySupper
bloggers, and please join on us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper.
This evening we will meet at 7 pm EST for our #SundaySupper
live chat. All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper
hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat. We’d also love to
feature your retro recipe on our #SundaySupper
Pinterest board to share them with all of our followers, too.