Description
Celebrate every bite of this lush, water-bath baked cheesecake layered with homemade strawberry sauce and topped with sweet & crunchy strawberry-cookie crumble—decadent and show-stopping for any gathering.
Ingredients
Crust
2 cups (200 g) graham-cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp (25 g) granulated sugar
6 Tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling
24 oz (680 g) full-fat cream cheese, softened
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 g) full-fat sour cream, room-temperature
3 large eggs, room-temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla-bean paste
Strawberry Sauce
2 cups (300 g) fresh strawberries, hulled & chopped
¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
Crunch Topping
20 golden sandwich cookies (≈ 180 g), crushed
½ cup (12 g) freeze-dried strawberries, crushed
1 Tbsp strawberry gelatin powder (Jell-O)
3 Tbsp (42 g) unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
Prep Pan & Oven – Heat oven to 325 °F / 165 °C. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan in double foil.
Crust – Mix graham crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press firmly into pan bottom. Bake 8 min; cool while you prep filling.
Cheesecake Batter – Beat cream cheese until silky. Mix in sugar, then sour cream. Add eggs one at a time, scraping bowl, then vanilla. Pour over cooled crust.
Bake – Set pan in a larger roasting pan; add 1 inch hot water. Bake 55–65 min until edges are set and center wobbles slightly. Turn oven off, crack door, cool 1 h, then chill ≥ 4 h or overnight.
Strawberry Sauce – Simmer strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice 8 min until jammy. Cool completely.
Crunch Topping – Pulse cookies and freeze-dried strawberries to coarse crumbs. Stir in gelatin powder, then melted butter until clumpy.
Assemble – Spread cooled strawberry sauce over chilled cheesecake. Press strawberry-cookie crumbs onto top and sides. Chill 30 min to set before slicing.
Notes
Rich twist: Swap 8 oz cream cheese for mascarpone.
Pretty pink batter: Whisk 2 Tbsp strawberry gelatin into cheesecake batter.
Out-of-season berries: Use frozen strawberries straight from the bag for sauce.
Gluten-free: Choose GF vanilla cookies and grahams; procedure unchanged.
- Prep Time: 25 min
- Cook Time: 55–65 min
- Category: Dessert / Celebration Cheesecake
- Method: Baked Cheesecake (Water Bath) + Layered Assembly
- Cuisine: American / Nostalgic Treat
