The price was hard to beat - $1.00 for a pint of strawberries. And I knew just what I wanted to do with them.
Cheesecake.
Tofutti's Better than Cream Cheese is to me one of the best CF products around. Lately I've been making a cream cheese frosting with it that the kids just love. But all that cream cheese frosting left me craving cheesecake. It's had been a while since I had made a cheesecake and I wanted to try something a little different than what I had made in the past. And the strawberries were my inspiration.
The cheesecake is an adaptation of a recipe by
Tyler Florence . For the strawberry topping, I followed
this recipe from allrecipes.com . While I used orange zest in the cheesecake there is no reason why you could not use lemon or lime zest for a different flavor. And the strawberry topping is not just for cheesecake but can also be served over ice cream, or maybe even with some GFCF pancakes.
For this day, though, the pairing of strawberries and cheesecake was a marriage made in heaven. And the four harshest critics I know, my children, were in total agreement.
STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
Cheesecake adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence
Cheesecake Ingredients
For the Crust
2 cups ground GFCF graham crackers (
recipe here )
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup CF butter, melted (I used Earthbalance Buttery Sticks
For the filling
20 oz. GFCF cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated (or lemon/lime zest)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup CF sour cream (I used Follow Your Heart)
Combine the crust ingredients in a bowl until evenly moistened. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 10" springform pan. Press the crumb mixture evenly on the bottom and sides of the pan. Refrigerate the crust until ready to use.
For the filling, place the cream cheese in a mixer and beat on low speed until smooth. Slowly add in the sugar and beat until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and zest, then beat in the sour cream. Pour the filling evenly over the crust.
Preheat the oven to 325°. Set the cheesecake pan on some aluminum foil and fold the foil up the sides of the pan. Place the plan inside a large roasting pan. Carefully pour boiling water in the baking dish until water is 1/3 to 1/2 way up the cheesecake pan - the foil will prevent the water from seeping into the cheesecake pan. Carefully place the roasting pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the roasting pan for 30 minutes, then place the cheesecake (still in the springform pan) into the refrigerator and chill for 4 hours.
Strawberry Topping
recipe found at allrecipes.com
Ingredients
1 pint strawberries, cleaned, stemmed, and quartered
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Place 2/3 of the strawberries in a saucepan over and add the sugar and vanilla. Using a potato masher, mash the strawberry mixture in the saucepan until well only tiny pieces of strawberries remain and the mixture is well incorporated. Cook the strawberry mixture over medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and pour over the remaining strawberries in a bowl. Stir to combine, then refrigerate until ready to use.
After the cheesecake has firmed up in the refrigerator, spread the strawberry topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake.
Cut, serve, and enjoy!
Cheesecake.
Tofutti's Better than Cream Cheese is to me one of the best CF products around. Lately I've been making a cream cheese frosting with it that the kids just love. But all that cream cheese frosting left me craving cheesecake. It's had been a while since I had made a cheesecake and I wanted to try something a little different than what I had made in the past. And the strawberries were my inspiration.
The cheesecake is an adaptation of a recipe by Tyler Florence . For the strawberry topping, I followed this recipe from allrecipes.com . While I used orange zest in the cheesecake there is no reason why you could not use lemon or lime zest for a different flavor. And the strawberry topping is not just for cheesecake but can also be served over ice cream, or maybe even with some GFCF pancakes.
For this day, though, the pairing of strawberries and cheesecake was a marriage made in heaven. And the four harshest critics I know, my children, were in total agreement.
STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
Cheesecake adapted from a recipe by Tyler Florence
Cheesecake Ingredients
For the Crust
2 cups ground GFCF graham crackers ( recipe here )
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup CF butter, melted (I used Earthbalance Buttery Sticks
For the filling
20 oz. GFCF cream cheese (I used Tofutti)
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated (or lemon/lime zest)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup CF sour cream (I used Follow Your Heart)
Combine the crust ingredients in a bowl until evenly moistened. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 10" springform pan. Press the crumb mixture evenly on the bottom and sides of the pan. Refrigerate the crust until ready to use.
For the filling, place the cream cheese in a mixer and beat on low speed until smooth. Slowly add in the sugar and beat until creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Add the vanilla and zest, then beat in the sour cream. Pour the filling evenly over the crust.
Preheat the oven to 325°. Set the cheesecake pan on some aluminum foil and fold the foil up the sides of the pan. Place the plan inside a large roasting pan. Carefully pour boiling water in the baking dish until water is 1/3 to 1/2 way up the cheesecake pan - the foil will prevent the water from seeping into the cheesecake pan. Carefully place the roasting pan in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the roasting pan for 30 minutes, then place the cheesecake (still in the springform pan) into the refrigerator and chill for 4 hours.
Strawberry Topping
recipe found at allrecipes.com
Ingredients
1 pint strawberries, cleaned, stemmed, and quartered
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Place 2/3 of the strawberries in a saucepan over and add the sugar and vanilla. Using a potato masher, mash the strawberry mixture in the saucepan until well only tiny pieces of strawberries remain and the mixture is well incorporated. Cook the strawberry mixture over medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and pour over the remaining strawberries in a bowl. Stir to combine, then refrigerate until ready to use.
After the cheesecake has firmed up in the refrigerator, spread the strawberry topping evenly over the top of the cheesecake.
Cut, serve, and enjoy!