Baked Honey and Vanilla Cheesecake
Oh-so-creamy honey and vanilla cheesecake with lots of strawberries on top.
Happy long weekend! And happy Easter, if you are celebrating!
I'm so excited that my first dessert recipe is this delicious cheesecake I made for my family's Easter dinner.
I used to find cheesecake, especially the baked ones, so intimidating. I tried following the directions about water baths in typical cheesecake recipes but my cakes still came out with cracks :( After trying a few different techniques, I think I have figured it out and it is so simple! Instead of putting the springform pan containing the cake into a casserole dished filled with water, as most recipes instruct, put your springform pan on the top baking rack and put a casserole dish with A LOT of water in the baking rack below. SO EASY, super creamy and zero cracks! :)
If you try this recipe, let me know what you think of it. Happy eating!
There was some crust leftover and I giddily ate the excess
I love the graham cracker crust. I build the crust up along the sides of the pan, not just the base.
Ingredients:
Crust
- 400 g graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 3 blocks (250 g each) cream cheese, room temperature
- 3/4 cups honey
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla
Topping
- Strawberries (as many as you want)
- 1/4 cup of honey
- Lemon juice (a squeeze but you can adjust as you like)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease an 8 1/2 to 9-inch springform pan.
In a bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press onto the bottom and sides of the pan, stopping 1 inch shy of the rim. Bake crust until firm (10-12 minutes). Remove the pan from the oven and let the crust cool.
Place a large roasting pan or casserole dish filled with water in the oven. The pan will stay in the oven as the cake bakes to keep the oven humid. This will prevent the cheesecake from cracking and make it creamier.
Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until very creamy. Beat in honey, then cornstarch and salt. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after adding each. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until blended and smooth.
Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top. Bake the cake in the center of the oven until edges are set but the centre is jiggly, about 45 mins. Turn the oven off and leave the cake in for another 45 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen it from the pan. Cool on a rack in the fridge overnight (or for at least 4 hours). Remove the side of the pan and transfer the cake to a plate. Prepare the topping: slice strawberries, toss with honey and a squeeze of lemon juice. Decorate the cake with the glazed strawberries. I usually add a little more honey on top of the cake as well.
