Wow, this is so good and so easy. If you’re like me and you like Strawberry, you’re going to love this cheesecake. It has fresh strawberries in the cheesecake and it tastes wonderful. It’s covered with strawberry frosting, and more fresh berries, and it’s just delicious! It’s like a piece of heaven, and I guarantee your guests, or your family, will love it too. Keep it handy.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE BARK:
1 sleeve of graham crackers – crushed
1 spoonful of sugar
1/2 bar of melted butter
FOR THE FILLING:
3 – 8 ounce packages of softened cream cheese
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of heavy cream and a little more if necessary.
4 ounces of vanilla gelatin Instant pudding
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 eggs
1 cup fresh strawberry puree – about 25 berries
2 tablespoons of sugar Add to berries
TO DECORATE:
1 can of strawberry frost
Additional berries for the top
INSTRUCTIONS
Put the graham crackers in a blender or food processor and mix them with the crumbs. Place the graham cracker crumbs in a bowl, add the sugar and stir well. Add the melted butter and mix well to cover the crumbs with butter. Line the bottom of a 6-inch cake pan with parchment paper, and press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the freezer.
Wash the strawberries and dry them on paper towels. Remove the stems from about 25 large berries and place them in a blender or food processor. Add the 2 tablespoons of sugar and blend or process the berries until puréed. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the cream cheese, sugar and heavy cream and blend until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, the lemon juice and the eggs, and mix until well blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix until smooth and creamy. Add instant pudding and mix until blended into cheesecake batter. Add the strawberry puree and mix until the berries blend well with the cheesecake dough; the dough will be light pink. Add 3 or 4 drops of the bright pink food coloring gel and mix until well blended, and all the food coloring gel will be incorporated into the cheesecake. (If you think you need a little more food coloring gel, add a couple more drops until you get the desired color.)
) Remove the mold from the freezer, and brush the mold with Crisco butter, from the top of the crust to the top of the mold, then pour the cheesecake into the mold, over the crust. Place it in the air fryer, and turn the air fryer to the “BAKE” position. Turn the temperature to 325, and adjust the time for 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes have passed, and the Air Fryer beeps, gently remove the basket from the fryer, and, brush Crisco on a piece of parchment paper, and place it on top of the pan, and place a piece of aluminum foil on the parchment paper. You don’t have to seal the parchment or the aluminum foil around the pan, this is just to prevent the top from burning. Put the basket back in the fryer, and set the time for 20 minutes. When the fryer sounds and goes off, take out the basket and check the cheesecake, taking care to remove the aluminum foil and parchment paper. If the parchment paper sticks to the cheesecake, don’t worry, you’ll add frosting on top when it’s cold. The cheesecake will probably be very wavy in the middle, so, place the parchment paper and aluminum foil back on the pan, and place it back in the air fryer, and set the time for another 20 minutes. Remove the cheesecake at the end of the 20 minutes, and check again to see if it still moves in the center; if so, leave it for 10 more minutes, and finish baking the cheesecake. At the end of the 10 minutes, do not pull the basket into the fryer, and instead, let the cheesecake cool in the basket for one hour. At the end of the hour, remove the basket from the fryer, and remove the aluminum foil and parchment. Remove the mold from the basket and place it on a wire rack to cool completely. When the cheesecake has cooled, cover it with aluminum foil and place it in the refrigerator overnight so that it sits completely. At the same time, when you put the cheesecake in the refrigerator, put the can of icing in the refrigerator to cool as well.
Before serving, remove the icing from the refrigerator and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Place the icing in a bag with a large star. Take the cheesecake out of the refrigerator and remove the foil. Run a sharp knife around the pan, between the pan and the cheesecake, to