This cheesecake with strawberry sauce is all you need for the perfect dessert. It's silky, creamy, and light and the strawberry topping for the cheesecake is thick and perfect. It is great served at the holidays, for special occasions or anytime you want a delicious classic dessert.
Cheesecake with strawberry sauce, is to me, the perfect fruit topped dessert. This recipe is my creamy cheesecake recipe but with the addition of the most amazing strawberry sauce. It is my go to recipe for a fruit topped cheescake that I make in all seasons.
If you love cheesecake with toppings on it, then you are going to LOVE this recipe.
If you prefer an even simpler cheesecake recipe, maybe my mini cheesecake bites or my mini Key lime cheesecakes are what you are looking for. You can still add strawberries to these cheesecakes or any fruit topping you prefer.
I do hope you give this full-sized classic strawberry cheesecake a try!
Ingredients
Cheesecake
- Cream cheese: Any brand will do.
- Granulated Sugar: To add sweetness, granulated sugar is added to the cream cheese mixture.
- Eggs: Eggs are an important component as they help bind all the ingredients together and give structure to the cheesecake when baked. They also contribute to its smooth and silky texture.
- Graham cracker crust: This is the base for the cheesecake.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract. If you like working with vanilla bean paste, you can certainly use that as well.
Strawberry Topping (Strawberry Sauce)
This simple strawberry sauce is thick enough to cling to the cheesecake and it looks and tastes amazing. Here is what you will need (full recipe below)
- Fresh strawberries. The freshest the strawberries, the better.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar is perfect.
- Lemon. The lemon really pairs well with the strawberries and brightens the flavor.
- Corn starch. This is optional but it really helps thicken the sauce.
How to make cheesecake with strawberry sauce
This is a foolproof recipe and I will give you all the instructions you will need to create this delicious classic strawberry cheesecake at home.
- Preparing the graham cracker crust: You want to make the graham cracker crust first then press it into the cheesecake pan and pre-bake it.
- Make the cheesecake filling: Mix the cream cheese, vanilla and eggs until silky smooth.
- Assemble and Bake: Fill the cheesecake pan with the pre-baked crust with the filling then place it in a water bath and bake in your preheated oven.
- Cool then refrigerate: The cheesecake needs time to cool and time to set up in the fridge. Plan for this step!
- Make the strawberry sauce: Mix the sugar, and lemon in a medium saucepan and cook down.
- Puree strawberries: In a food processor, puree the strawberries that you just cooked.
- Add cornstarch: This is optional but mixing a little cornstarch with the strawberry puree really helps thicken the sauce.
- Mix the halved fresh strawberries with sauce: Half some more fresh strawberries then gently mix those into the sauce that you pureed.
Now you have the perfect strawberry sauce for your cheesecake!
Variations
In our house, we love eating this strawberry cheesecake just the way it is but that does not mean different toppings are not welcome 🙂 Here are some ideas!
- Blueberry sauce. We love using our homemade blueberry sauce for this cheesecake. This is our version of blueberry pie filling.
- Berry sauce. Our easy homemade berry sauce is like a berry compote but better.
- Fresh fruit. Fresh berries, fresh strawberries, peaches, raspberries or your favorite fruit are all perfect toppings for this dessert.
- Cherries. Fresh cherries or cherry sauce are classic on top pf cheesecake. If you have cherry pie filling this works perfectly!
- Whipped cream with some shaved chocolate or chocolate chips are great for chocolate lovers!
Tips
- Room temperature ingredients: You want to make sure you use all room temperature ingredients for the best cheesecake with strawberry sauce. This will ensure the cheesecake is mixed evenly before baking and the texture of the cheesecake will be light and creamy after cooking.
- Refrigeration: After baking your cheesecake, let it cool completely at room temperature before transferring it to the refrigerator. This step allows the cake to set properly and prevents condensation from forming on the surface.
You can also cover the cheesecake with strawberry sauce with plastic wrap or aluminum foil before placing it in the refrigerator. Making sure no part of the cake is exposed to air helps ensure if will not dry out.
Storing
Homemade cheesecakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days without issue.
You can also store the cheesecake in a container. If you go this route, an airtight container that is slighter larger than your cake will work best. You can also slice up and store the slices individually.
Substitutions
This is my favorite strawberry cheesecake recipe because I think it is perfect as is and so creamy which is how we like our strawberry cheesecake. There are some great ways to switch things up, especially if you don't have all of the exact ingredients. Here are some ideas:
- Use a different brand of cream cheese if you can not find Philadelphia cream cheese. Just make sure to use full-fat cream cheese for this recipe.
- If you do not have graham crackers, you can use any type of biscuit cookies for the crust. Maybe vanilla wafers or crushed Oreos.
- If you don't want to make your own crust, you can buy an already-made graham cracker pie crust from the store.
More cake recipes
If you love this strawberry cheesecake recipe, you may also like these:
The Best Cheesecake With Strawberry Sauce
Equipment
- 1 9-inch spring form pan
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs You can pulse full size graham crackers in a food processor or smash them up well in a ziploc bag
- 3 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoon granulated white sugar If you like a more decadent dessert you can use brown sugar instead of regular granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt or 1/16 teaspoon regular salt
Cheesecake Filling
- 24 oz cream cheese at room temperature This is three full blocks of cream cheese. You should take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator about 1 hour before you are ready to use it.
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar - plus 2 tbsp this is ¾ plus 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry Sauce
- 2 pints Fresh strawberries cleaned and cut in half
- 1 large lemon juiced
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Corn starch optional
Instructions
Strawberry Sauce
- Add one pint of strawberries to a medium pot along with sugar and lemon.2 pints Fresh strawberries, 1 large lemon, ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the the strawberries are soft.
- Remove from heat and let come to room temperature.
- Now add the cooked strawberries to a food processor and mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, add cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of the pureed strawberries and mix well.2 tablespoon Corn starch
- Add this mixture into the pureed strawberries and mix well then pour into a bowl
- Add the remaining fresh strawberries to the pureed strawberries and gently mix.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Making the graham cracker crust
- Pre-heat your oven 425 degrees
- In a large bowl, add your ground graham crackers, melted butter, salt and sugar and mix well.1 cup graham cracker crumbs, 3 tablespoon melted unsalted butter, 3 tablespoon granulated white sugar, ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- Now pour crust into bottom of your spring form pan and press it down on the bottom.
- Place the crust in the pre-heated oven for 2-3 minutes then remove and let cool.
Cheesecake Filling
- In a large bowl, add your room temperature cream cheese, and sugar and mix really well.24 oz cream cheese at room temperature, ¾ cup granulated white sugar - plus 2 tbsp
- Now add the eggs one at a time and mix well.3 large eggs
- Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour cheesecake filling into the springform pan over the pre-baked graham cracker crust.
- Take a large sheet of aluminum foil and place the springform pan on top.
- Now wrap the aluminum foil up the sides of the pan making sure there are no gaps.
- Place the cheesecake in a large roasting pan.
- Boil hot water. I like to use a tea kettle for this.
- Once water is boiling place the roasting pan with the cheesecake in it in the oven on the middle rack.
- Now pour the hot water into the roasting pan making sure that the water goes up the sides of the pan by 1 inch and gently slide the oven rack in to the oven and close the door.
Baking
- Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 250 degrees and continue baking for about 40-45 minutes or until the VERY center of the cheesecake barely moves when shaken.
- Remove from the oven and lift cheesecake out of water bath then let cheesecake cool completely in the pan.
- Once the cheesecake comes to room temperature, place in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours or overnight to completely chill and set up. Do not remove from the pan yet.
- Once it is fully chilled you can run a sharp knife along the edge of the cheesecake and pan then remove the spring form mold.
- Top with strawberry sauce right before serving. Keep refrigerated.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer hereTried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
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