strawberry cheese cake

sunshine!

Sat, Dec 13 2008, 8:02 pm

STRAWBERRY MARBLED CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar

Cheesecake:

24 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
10 ounces frozen strawberries (thawed), in syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Puree strawberries and cornstarch in blender. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat until thickened, then cool. Combine melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
Bake at 350 F. for 10 minutes. Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour half of the batter over the crust then add half of the strawberry mixture by spoonfuls to the batter. Pour remaining batter into the pan then add the remaining strawberry mixture by spoonfuls. Swirl the mixture with a knife until it resembles a marbled effect. Bake at 300 F. for 50-60 minutes or until set. Allow cheesecake to cool then remove from rim of pan. Chill overnight before serving.

You can top with this glaze:

2 c. fresh strawberries
3/4 c. water
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. sugar
Crush 1 cup strawberries. Add water and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is thick and clear. Cool room temperature. Halve remaining berries. Place atop chilled cheesecake. Pour glaze over. Chill 2 hours