Strawberry Cheesecake

Ok so I had to share this one too. This cheesecake was the best I can remember ever eating. Though, I don't eat cheesecake all that often. Usually not even once a year! It's not something I'm proud of but there you have it. A baker that fails at eating cake..

This cheesecake had the perfect ooey gooey texture that just makes you want to eat more and more and more.

Double Strawberry Cheesecake:

Crust:
200g digestive cookies
100g butter, melted

Filling:
700g full fat philadelphia
1 tsp vanilla sugar(or extract)
1 1/4 dl sugar
3 eggs
80g frozen strawberries, defrosted
strawberry jam

Blend or crush the digestive cookies and mix them with the melted butter.
Press the mixture into a medium-small springform and chill for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 150C.
Whip the philadelphia, vanilla and sugar until smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time and don't forget to scrape down the bowl.
Gently fold the defrosted berries into the mix.
Put about half of the mix into your springform.
Gently spread a layed of strawberry jam on top, not too thick.
Add the other half of the cheesecake mix on top of the strawberry jam.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until it's slithly browned in the middle and a little bit darker around the edges.

If you don't want it to crack, wrap the bottom of the springform in aluminum and put it in a deep baking tray that you fill with water about half way up the side of the spring form. Bake it like this.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this for my love on his birthday since he loves pumpkin pie and cheesecake and so pumpkin cheesecake wins any day in his book.

I made another cheesecake a while back and to be honest I liked that one much better. This one was a little more creamy and less sticky-cheesecakey which is how I like it, but it had a good pumpkin flavour and my lover ate the whole thing almost by himself. It was his cake afterall! ;p

Pumpkin Cheesecake:

Crust:
1 ½ cups digestive cookie crumbs
1/3 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup sugar

Mix all 3 ingredients in a bowl, then press it into a medium sized spring form pan.
Bake at 175C for 8 minutes, dont let it brown. Cool while you make the filling.

Filling:
673 g philadelphia
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 small can pumpkin puree(420g)
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp corn starch
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, pumpkin and condensed milk. Add corn starch, cinnamon and nutmeg and beat well until really mixed.
Poor filling into crust and bake for 50-60 minutes until the edges are set but the center still jiggles slightly.
Let the cake cool and stick in the fridge over night.

If you dont want the cheesecake to crack while you bake it, cover the bottom of the springform in tinfoil and put in a deeper oven tray. Fill the tray with water so that it comes about halfway up the sides on the springform.