Instructions
To make the Strawberry Sauce
- To a blender, add strawberries, sugar and water. Blend until puréed.
- Transfer strawberry purée into a medium saucepan.
- Cook over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens, about 10-15 mins.
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
To make the crust
- Spray an 8-inch springform pan lightly with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs with melted butter.
- Pour the crust mix into the prepared springform pan and press with your fingers into the bottom of the pan.
- Pop into the freezer for 15 minutes while you prepare the filling.
To make Cheesecake filling
- In a large bowl, using an electric hand whisk, whisk the cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- In another bowl, whisk the whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
- With a spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake filling until completely combined.
- Divide the filling into 2. Set one half of the filling aside
- To the other half of the filling, add in all but 2 TBSP of the strawberry sauce and mix well to combine (so reserve 2 TBSP of strawberry sauce in this step for later).
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust, starting with the plain white filling. Smooth it out with a spatula and tap the pan on the kitchen counter a couple of times to allow this first layer to settle.
- Then add the strawberry flavored filling on top and smooth it out with a spatula.
- Add the reserved strawberry sauce in dollops on top of the cheesecake and use a thin knife to make swirl patterns on the surface of cheesecake. Do not go too deep with the skewer/knife so as not to distort the cheesecake layers.
- Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight preferably. Serve chilled & enjoy!
Notes
Start by making the strawberry sauce so that it gets enough time to cool to room. temperature before you need to incorporate it into the filling.