Roasting strawberries helps to concentrate their flavour, giving a lovely berry intensity to this deep-filled cheesecake. For maximum depth of flavour and colour, look for fruit that is bright red all the way through, with no white at the stalk end.
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Yields:
10 serving(s)
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
2 hrs 50 mins
Total Time:
3 hrs 20 mins
Cal/Serv:
544
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
100g
butter, melted, plus extra to grease
375g
digestive biscuits
FOR THE FILLING
250g
seedless strawberry jam, we used Hartley's
200g
full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese
250g
mascarpone
2tsp.
vanilla bean paste
2Tbsp.
plain flour
3
medium eggs, plus 1 yolk
Red food colouring, optional, see GH TIP
FOR THE ROASTED STRAWBERRY TOPPING
500g
strawberries, hulled, larger ones halved
1Tbsp.
caster sugar
2tsp.
cornflour
Directions
Step 1 Preheat oven to 180°C(160°C fan) mark 4. Lightly grease a 20.5cm round springform tin, and line base and sides with baking parchment. Wrap the outside of the base and sides with a double layer of foil to make the tin completely watertight.
Step 2Whizz the biscuits in a food processor until finely crushed (or bash in a food bag with a rolling pin). Add the melted butter and pulse or mix until combined. Press biscuit mixture into the base and sides of the lined tin, making sure it comes about 5cm up the sides of the tin. Press firmly in place with the back of a spoon. Bake for 10min, then set aside to cool slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 150°C (130°C fan) mark 2.
Step 3For the filling, put the jam, cream cheese, mascarpone and vanilla into a large bowl. Beat with a handheld electric whisk until just combined and smooth (or use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Beat in the flour and egg yolk, followed by the whole eggs. It’s important not to overmix here. Add a few drops of red food colouring, if using.
Step 4Pour the filling into the crust and put into a deep roasting tin. Pour in water from a freshly boiled kettle to come halfway up the outside of the wrapped tin. Bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 1hr 50min-2hr, until the filling is set with a slight wobble. Leave to cool in the water bath for 1hr, then remove the cheesecake tin from the water, remove the foil and chill the cheesecake (in its tin) for at least 3hr, ideally overnight.
Step 5For the topping, preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Put the strawberries in a shallow roasting tin and roast for 35min, stirring halfway, until they are collapsing and have released lots of juice. Transfer to a fine sieve set over a bowl and mash with a spoon, working the pulp well to extract all the juice (discard the seeds). Transfer the sieved purée (you should have about 200ml) to a medium pan, add the sugar and cook over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. In a small bowl or cup, mix the cornflour with 2tbsp cold water until smooth. Add the cornflour mix to the pan and cook, stirring, until bubbling and thickened, then set aside to cool completely. Cover and chill until needed.
Step 6Remove cheesecake from the fridge 30min before serving. When ready to serve, carefully unmould from the tin and transfer to a cake stand or plate. Spoon over the topping and serve.
GET AHEAD Make the cheesecake and topping up to 3 days ahead and keep chilled. Complete recipe to serve.
GH tip Any hint of strawberry colour will magically disappear when baked in a filling like this, so we added a tiny dash of red gel colouring to give a hint of berry pink. You can leave it out if you prefer – the filling will be a warm oaty colour instead.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
Emma is Cookery Editor for Good Housekeeping and loves nothing more than sharing her bottomless enthusiasm for all things food and drink with anyone who wants to learn (and even those who don’t!). From super simple one pan suppers to showstopping wedding cakes and everything in between, there’s very little that doesn’t come out of her kitchen. When not developing recipes, writing features or styling food for photography she can be found hiding behind the mountain of cookery books that’s slowly overtaking her house, or exploring restaurants, food shops and festivals in search of the next big thing to share with readers. On the rare days when she’s not thinking about food, you’ll find her in a cosy pub at the end of a long walk with her dog and expert food taster, Angua.
