My boyfriend Alex's birthday was fast approaching, and I had no idea what to make him. Last year, I had truly outdone myself with a ridiculous chocolate cake from Epicurious--the Mile High Chocolate Cake, which comprises four layers of chocolate glued together with butter and more chocolate. This year, I wanted to do something different, but I wasn't sure what. I flipped through the photos of to-die-for cakes on the Food section of Pinterest trying to find something. Finally, I stumbled upon a photo of a chocolate cake that eventually led me to another cake entirely--Martha Stewart's Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake.
I love strawberries. I love cheesecake. What deranged person doesn't? (Well, I know some people but we won't talk about them). Alex, being an intelligent human being, also loves strawberries and cheesecake, especially when they are combined.
The cake was pretty labour-intensive and must have used every pan / bowl in my broom-closet-sized kitchen, but hot damn, it was good.
I've made cheesecakes before, but they were always too dry and not as delicious and when I had gotten them from New York landmarks such as Junior's or Zaro's. The trick with this cheesecake was the way in which it was baked. When I first read the instructions, I had one of those, "Wait...what...?" moments. I read the steps about 3 times, feeling my blonde hair absorbing all my intelligence, until I realized that while it sounded terrifying, the step was probably not so bad in practice. Martha instructs that you wrap a springform pan in 2 layers of tin foil, place it in a roasting pan, and fill the roasting pan with boiling water until it reaches half way up the springform (O_O). But, once you do it, it's not too hard. My kitchen was not equipped with a baking pan large enough to accommodate my springform, so I did it gangsta style: in a cast iron frying pan.
The cake was per-fect. In every way. The strawberry layer was superb, the mascarpone cheese made it taste like a real, authentic, restaurant-quality cheesecake. My boyfriend's eyes rolled back with delight, his new roommates realized I was worth keeping around, his sister, with whom I have a gentle baking competition, admitted defeat and I got a piece of cheesecake.
The Recipe:Ingredients:1 pound strawberries, hulled
3 tablespoons light corn syrup (*alternative: I substituted honey for corn syrup and it was delicious!*)
1 cup finely ground graham crackers (about 4 sheets)
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 pound plus 13 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved (you can also use 3 tsps of vanilla extract if you cannot find / afford vanilla bean)
8 1/4 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
Steps:Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place strawberries in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with corn syrup, and toss gently to coat. Bake until syrup thickens and strawberries turn deep red and shrink slightly, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Transfer strawberries and syrup to a medium bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Let cool completely.
Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and the melted butter in a small bowl. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan to make an even layer. Bake until crust is firm to the touch and has just darkened, about 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let crust cool completely.
Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Put cream cheese into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-low speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl, then gradually add remaining cup sugar and the salt. Scrape down sides of bowl; add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl, and mix in vanilla bean seeds and mascarpone until very creamy and no lumps remain, about 3 minutes. (Reserve vanilla bean for another use.)
Transfer 5 cups cream cheese mixture to bowl with mashed strawberries; stir to combine. Pour strawberry-cream cheese mixture on top of crust; smooth with an offset spatula. Carefully spoon dollops of plain cream cheese mixture on top, smoothing with an offset spatula.
Wrap the exterior of the springform pan in 2 layers of foil; set in a large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with boiling water until water reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake cheesecake until set, about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath, and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours (up to overnight).
Voila!
Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart Online: http://www.marthastewart.com/340256/strawberries-and-cream-cheesecake
