#FifteenCheesecakes ~ Classic Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce

Today we are helping Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla celebrate her 15th wedding anniversary with waaaayy more than #fifteencheesecakes.

Here's what everyone brought to the cheesecake table, listed in alphabetical order. Enjoy!

Berry Cheesecake Bars by Baking and Creating with Avril

Cherry Cheesecake Bites by Cookaholic Wife

ChocolateCaramel Cheesecake by Dancing Veggies

Chocolate Cheesecake by My Hobbie Lobbie

Chocolate Topped Peppermint Cheesecake by Amy's Cooking Adventures

Classic Cheesecake with Strawberry Puree by Making Miracles

Cookies & Creme No-Bake Cheesecake by Hapa-tite!

Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars by Tara's Multicultural Table

Easter Basket Mini Cheesecakes by Little Bit of Everything

Everyday Cheesecake by Things I Make (for Dinner)

Irish Cream Cheesecake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Layered Cinnamon Streusel Cheesecake Cake by Famished Fish, Finicky Shark

Lowfat Blackberry Cheesecake by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

Matcha-YuzuCheesecake with a Meyer Lemon Gelée by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Mini Churro Caramel Cheesecake by Cheese Curd In Paradise

Mini Maple Pecan Cheesecakes by Join Us, Pull up a Chair
Mom's New York Cheesecake by Taste Cook Sip

Mudslide Cheesecake by Sew You Think You Can Cook

{No Bake} Marshmallow Cheesecake by An Affair from the Heart

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake by Angels Homestead

Ricotta Cheesecake with Shortbread Crust by Living the Gourmet

Samoa's cheesecake by Goodie Godmother
Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars by The Savvy Kitchen
Sopapilla Puff Pastry Cheesecake by Pink Cake Plate

SkinnyVanilla Bean Cheesecake by Renee's Kitchen Adventures

Twix Cheesecake Brownie Torte by Making Memories With Your Kids

For #fifteencheesecakes I had my cheesecake recipe all picked out - I read through all of the tips and suggestions for baking a cheesecake in a water bath (which I have never done before) - I had my ingredients pulled out - I even had a Reynold's oven bag around the bottom of my cheesecake pan to prevent leaks into the cake (which I thought was such a great tip!) And then... then I couldn't find my roasting pan... anywhere.

I have had a roasting pan for the past 10 plus years - I think I got it at some point after moving into our house in Hiram and don't use it often, but it's always worked great when needed. We moved late last October though - and somewhere between there and our new house it wandered off, or got donated, or trashed, or misplaced... I have no idea! But I did not discover this until I was ready to bake this cheesecake.

So what was I to do?! I almost jumped in the car and made the trip to the store to get a new pan. But I decided to risk it and bake the cheesecake exactly as written, with no water bath. I put a pan of water under the cake instead - hoping that might help produce at least some of a similar effect.

I'm pretty sure it did not work the same way, at all, as a water bath - but, irregardless of my issues with how I ended up baking this cheesecake, it was absolutely DELICIOUS! You can bet as soon as I locate my roasting pan, or buy a new one, I will be trying this again to see the difference with a water bath. This cheesecake has a perfect flavor; rich, decadent, just a light tanginess, super creamy, and with the strawberry sauce? Over the top. We all loved this recipe so much! I am so glad I finally gave baked cheese cake a try, and can't wait to do this one justice with the correct baking process!

New York Cheesecake from Food for a Hungry Soul

Ingredients

5 large eggs, room temperature

2 cups (one pint) sour cream, room temperature

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

8 tablespoons (one stick) butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Directions

1. Generously butter the inside of a 10-inch springform pan.  Wrap a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil tightly around the outside bottom and sides, crimping and pleating the foil to make it conform to the pan.  This will help to prevent water seeping into the pan when you put it into the bain-marie.  Position the baking rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 300* Fahrenheit. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the sour cream until well blended.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese with the butter until smooth and creamy.  Add this to the egg-sour cream mixture and beat until smooth. 
4. Add the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat thoroughly, about 2 minutes. 
5. Pour into the prepared springform pan and place in a roasting pan (or other pan) large enough to prevent the sides from touching.  Place in the oven and carefully pour in enough very hot tap water to reach halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
6. Bake for 2 hours, 15 minutes, or until the cake is very lightly colored and a knife inserted in the center emerges clean.  Remove from the water bath and carefully peel the aluminum foil (or oven bag / slow cooker liner) from around the pan.  Let stand at room temperature until completely cool, about 4 hours.  Refrigerate, covered, until well chilled.  For best flavor and texture, this cheesecake should be chilled overnight before serving.

Note - please visit Katy's site linked above for  comments / feedback to help ensure you get good results with this recipe if you're not familiar with baking cheesecakes and water baths (neither of which I'd done previously to making this recipe).

Strawberry Sauce / Puree from Spusht

Ingredients

1 lb box of strawberries, fresh

¼ cup sugar

2-3 Tbsp of water

1 tsp of white vinegar or lemon juice

Directions

1. Cut the greens off of the strawberries, rinse well. 
2. Dice the strawberries into small pieces (depending on how "chunky" you want your sauce - unless you plan to puree, then just quarter the strawberries), place berries in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat along with water, vinegar/lemon juice, and half the amount of sugar, stir, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes checking every few minutes to make sure it's not boiling off all the liquid. 
3. When the strawberries are soft and the sauce has thickened, taste and adjust sugar as desired.  
4. If you want a finely pureed consistency, allow the mixture to cool and then put it in a blender and puree until the desired consistency is reached.

Note: Use within 2 - 3 days, or freeze any remaining sauce for later use.