Great dessert for Valentine’s Day. Just drag the little strawberry blobs into the shape of hearts.
Crust:
1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
Combine ingredients and press into the bottom of a 9″ springform pan. Chill for 30 minutes to firm
Sauce:
20 oz sweetened, frozen strawberries, thawed
1 Tbsp cornstarch
Run through a blender, pour into a small sauce pan, bring to a boil, boil 2 minutes, cool. Reserve 1/3 cup to swirl through the cheesecake. The rest is a sauce you can drizzle over the slices to serve.
Filling:
3 – 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1 – 14 oz can sweetened, condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 eggs
Pour half of the filling into the springform pan. Dot the top of the cheesecake with half of the reserved 1/3 cup of strawberry sauce. Use about 1/2 tsp per drop. Use something like a wooden skewer to lightly swirl the dots of sauce into a pretty pattern.
Gently spoon the rest of the filling into the pan. Dot and swirl the rest of the reserved sauce over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to most likely 50 minutes until set. Remove from the oven and immediately run a very thin knife blade around the edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake from the sides. This will help keep the top from cracking. It helps to coat the knife with cooking spray.
Cool on the counter for one hour, then chill overnight. Pour a little of the strawberry sauce over each slice when serving.