Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Easy Strawberry Cheesecake

One of my husband's co-workers specifically asked me for this recipe after I sent a bunch of it with my husband to the barracks work. One of his co-workers commented that it was better than the cheesecake served at the Cheesecake Factory.

This surprisingly easy strawberry cheesecake is a variation off of the New York-Style Cheesecake recipe found in The Cake Mix Doctor. I used fresh strawberries that were starting to dry out just a little bit, which probably reduces the amount of moisture in the finished cake. I wouldn't recommend using frozen berries as they just produce too much water.

Easy Strawberry Cheesecake
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
4 Tbsp butter, melted (1/2 a stick)
4 eggs
2 pkg. cream cheese (total of 16 oz.), at room temperature
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
2 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

1) Heat oven to 325° Lightly grease a pan. I used two 9" round springform pans, but you could also use a 13 x 9 inch baking dish.

2) Set aside 1/2 cup of the cake mix for the filling. Place the rest of the mix (most of the box), melted butter, and 1 egg in a mixing bowl to make the crust. Mix until the batter makes a ball, then transfer it to your pan and spread evenly on the bottom and up the sides.

3) For the filling, mix the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in a mixing bowl. (The beauty of this recipe is that you don't need to clean the bowl and beaters you used to make the crust.) Blend until just combined, then add the 1/2 cup of reserved cake mix, remaining 3 eggs, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat for a minute.

4) Stir in the fresh strawberries, then pour into the crust. Spread the filling around so that it's an even layer inside the crust.

5) Bake at 325° until the center doesn't jiggle when pan is shaken and top is kind of shiny. This will take at least 40 minutes. When it's done, transfer it into the fridge and let it cool there for at least an hour. Anything made with cream cheese seems to taste better the next day, and this is especially true for cheesecake. I try to let mine sit in the fridge a full day (or at least overnight) before serving.

19 comments:

  1. An interesting cheesecake recipe which uses a cake mix. Hmmm, I may have to try this because it sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's really quite good. The cake mix is primarily used to make the crust, but reserving a portion of it for the cheesecake helps to stabilize the cream cheese and yogurt so it holds together as a cake.

      BTW, I'll be posting a few more cake recipes in the future. I've got the following scheduled:
      * Ginger Peach Berry Cobble (Aug. 7)
      * Lime Cake (Aug. 21)
      * Lemon Cream Cheese Crumble Bars (Oct. 30)

      Delete
  2. Yum - this recipe seems very simple. I like to make cheesecakes, but I'll admit to a few failures early on. I like the idea of the greek yoghurt (in place of traditional sour cream). Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The vanilla Greek yogurt is a bit sweeter than sour cream, but given that sometimes fresh strawberries are a bit tart, I think it evens out. You could reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe by using plain Greek yogurt.

      I'm not sure if I would want to use regular yogurt as a substitute for Greek, because the Greek yogurt is a lot thicker and closer in consistency to the traditional sour cream.

      Delete
  3. Looks good, but I'm going to resist. We're supposed to be on a diet over here.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds delicious and is going to be something I'll definitely try. Love the idea of using Greek yoghurt (a favorite thing breakfast/snack). Thank you for sharing and I will be looking forward to your other recipes (:

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds really yummy and not too difficult. Might have to just give this a try!

    Ann

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
    I bookmarked it and should try it :-)

    Adorebynat - Handmade Party Decorations and Stationery

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks wonderful! Now I am hungry! LOL


    Bloggers Guild
    <><
    http://ChristieCottage.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Absolutely scrumptious! Take care, Michelle.
    Anna

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am so going to try this recipe!!! thanks for sharing :). It looks awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This sounds so good and I'm going to make it next week after I pick up fresh strawberries from the farmers market on Wednesday. If it involved cream cheese, I'm in!

    ReplyDelete
  11. yum! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Looks so yummy I am gonna have to try this one!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think you left out what to use the butter in...I just followed the recipe and saw the melted butter still sitting in the counter. I took all the somewhat dry cake mix out of the pan, mixed in the butter and smoothed it down. My guess was that it was to be used in the crust. Also, I made one big one. It's still in the oven but licking bowl was dee-lish

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for catching that. Yes, the melted butter is supposed to go into the crust. I have edited the entry to fix omission.

      Delete
  14. Yummy! I love cheesecake, I will be trying this one.

    ReplyDelete