Culinary Disasters

My boy Mike over at Mike’s Table made a post a couple weeks ago calling for strawberry posts.  I apologize to him for waiting till the last possible minute to get this submitted (the deadline is a couple hours away) but I still wanted to get something done.  I have been racking my brain for the last couple of weeks trying to figure out how to combine strawberries with bacon and either a lack of sleep or common sense kicked in because I could not think of a single way it would work.  

This is the first cheesecake I have made in years (yeah I know nothing like waiting till the last minute and trying something brand new)  so any suggestions please pass them along and yes I still hate baking. 

For the crust you will need:

• 1.5 cups of crushed graham crackers
• 8 TB of butter

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. 

Melt the butter over medium-low and then combine it into the graham crackers.  Mix thoroughly.

Press the crust into a buttered 9 inch spring form pan and make sure to bring it up the sides a couple of inches.

Place the crust in the oven for 15 minutes.  Remove and let it cool.

For the filling you will need:

• 2 lb of cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 lb of strawberries
• 1/2 cup of cream
• 4 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 12 ounces of white chocolate

Chop the strawberries into quarters and put into a blender.  Pulse until it is liquid.  You may have to add a TB of water to help move it along.

Strain the mixture into another bowl and set aside.

Using a double boiler (fancy phrase for bowl over a pot filled with water) over medium melt the white chocolate.

I am using the KitchenAid mixer but if you have a hand mixer feel free to use that.  Beat the cream cheese on medium till fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). 

Add in the sugar and mix till combined thoroughly.  After the sugar has been combined add in the eggs one at a time waiting for each egg to be worked into the mix before adding the next one.

Pour in the white chocolate and cream.  Mix till combined.  Pour the cheese mixture into the spring form pan with the graham cracker crust.

Use a spoon to drop a couple spoonfuls of the strawberry over top. 

Using a fork swirl the strawberry mixture around.  Keep adding strawberry and swirling till you are happy.

Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake till the outside is set and the middle still is wobbly if gently shaken (about an hour).  Remove from the oven and run a knife between the pan and the crust.  Let the mixture cool for 30 minutes and then transfer to the fridge overnight.

Remove the spring form pan, serve, and enjoy!

Tags: Dessert, All //