Strawberry Jelly Heart Cheesecake

Valentine’s Day is here and I wanted to make something special. I remembered seeing something called as Strawberry Jelly Hearts in some magazine last year. I started searching in the internet for the recipe but I could find only pictures, no recipe. So I decided to give myself a try and I made these Strawberry Jelly Heart Cheesecake. I adapted the cheesecake recipe with few modifications of my own from Tyler Florence of Food Network.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1½ cups finely ground graham crackers
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp brown sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1 pound or 16 ounce Cream cheese
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
16 ounce Sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
1 packet Strawberry Jello
Few Strawberries

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degree F.

For the crust:
Mix together all the crust ingredients until they are evenly moistened. Grease the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the pan using the bottom of a glass or measuring cup. Refrigerate the pan for 15 minutes.

For the cheesecake batter:
Using a handheld electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time beating after each addition until mixed. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and creamy, for about 2-3 minutes on medium speed (Stop mixing and scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater as necessary). Beat in sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat on low speed for about 3 minutes until smooth, but the batter should not be over-beaten. Now pour the batter into the spring form pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Cover the sides and bottom of the pan with aluminum foil. Now place the springform pan on a large pan (any oven-safe pan in which the cheesecake pan fits). Pour boiling water into the outside pan until the water is about 1 inch along the sides of the cheesecake pan. This is called as water bath. Water bath prevents the cracking of the cheesecake. It is important to note that the cheesecake pan is covered properly with aluminum foil or else water will get into the cheesecake. Now place the spring form pan along with the outside pan in the oven. Bake for 75minutes. The cake should not be completely set in the center, it should still jiggle, so be careful not to overcook it. The cake will become firm after it is chilled in the refrigerator(The baking time may vary depending on the oven ).

Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Cut out small hearts out of strawberry and place them on the cheesecake. Allow the cake to cool completely for about 2-3 hours. Loosely cover the pan and refrigerate for a minimum of 5 hours though it would be better to refrigerate the cake overnight.

Now prepare the strawberry jello according to the package instructions and pour it slowly on to the cheesecake. Refrigerate until the jelly is set. (I placed the strawberries after the cheesecake was fully set. When I poured the jello mix the hearts started swimming in the jello. I had a difficult time holding them in the correct place).

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

Slice the cheesecake with a thin non-serrated knife, which is dipped in hot water. After each cut the knife should be wiped clean. You could cut the cheesecakes in different shapes using cookie cutters but make sure the cutter is hot. I made a few hearts out of them.

I am sending these Strawberry hearts to Poojas’s Valentines Day Event and Zorra’s A Heart for Your Valentine.