Strawberry cheesecake

We grow strawberries in the cool springs garden and in the spring, use them with others from surrounding farms to make strawberry freezer jam. This keeps all year for use in dessert recipes such as this strawberry cheesecake. If you don’t have freezer jam handy, use good quality strawberry preserves. Melt them with a little water and a squeeze of lemon, and then cool before using to top the cheesecake. Enjoy!

Makes: 1 cheesecake (serves 12)

Prep time: 30 min.

Bake time: 50 min.

Ingredients

• (3) 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups chopped fresh strawberries

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup strawberry jam or preserves
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 12 fresh strawberries to garnish

Directions

1. Mix the crumbs and butter, and press into the bottom of a springform pan.
2. In a food processor, mix the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Pulse in the strawberries, leaving some larger pieces.
3. Pour into the pan and bake for 50 minutes or until barely set in the center. Chill thoroughly before slicing.
4. To make the sauce, heat the strawberry preserves with water and lemon juice. Cool before topping the cake. Garnish with a fresh strawberry.

Meet the Chef: Chef Aimee Blume grew up in Huntingburg, Indiana. She earned a degree in Fine Art at the University of Southern Indiana and worked as a field archaeologist before attending Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Oregon. She cooked at locations in the Pacific Northwest; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Rome, Italy; and New Orleans, Louisiana, before coming back to the Evansville area.

Chef Blume's culinary passion is regional cuisine that has taken shape in a specific location over centuries. She loves American staples such as gumbo, fried chicken with milk gravy, and grilled salmon, but be prepared to see Thai chicken coconut soup, Arabian braised lamb shanks, and stuffed poblano chiles with fruit on her table as well.

Currently, in addition to serving as the corporate chef for OFS, she is a food and features correspondent for The Evansville Courier & Press and a culinary instructor. 

Cool Springs Cookbook is a gift to those who have spent time with us and have shared dinner at OFS, Cool Springs.  

We believe that very few things in the world today can create tighter, lasting bonds than the savory aromas and conversations that stir the senses over dinner. It’s when we discover why we enjoy working together and why we call each other family.

Click the link below to download a printable recipe card.

Sign up to subscribe to our Imagine A Place magazine and receive more inspirational content delivered directly to your inbox each month.