When it comes to official desserts, cheesecake is definitely Matt’s favourite. But it should be a traditional Greek cheesecake, otherwise, it does not deserve his attention.

I, too, love strawberry cheesecake for its unique flavour and incredible texture. It’s not too sweet, not too crunchy, but just right. It’s also a super easy recipe to make: it only requires minimal baking.

I got this recipe from my Greek friend, and of all the so-called easy cheesecake recipes I’ve come across, this one is definitely the best. I hope it becomes your favourite recipe too.

History of cheesecake

You might think that cheesecake was invented in France or Italy, where cheese is a national treasure, or even New York where it’s extremely popular, but no. Evidence of the first cheesecake was found in Greece. It seems that Greek cuisine truly does have everything.

Moreover, records show that cheesecake was served during the first ever Olympic games in 776 BC, presumably because it contains protein and provides energy, which is super important for competing athletes. So, if you order a cheesecake today, you can have a clear conscience; it’s literally the dessert of champions.

Today, cheesecake has become so popular that it can be found in almost every country in the world. Moreover, there are so many cheesecake variations that one year may not be enough to try them all, even if you have cheesecake for dessert every day.

However, to tell you the truth, after trying a fluffy Greek cheesecake once in Corfu (in Paxinos, a restaurant in Benitses more specifically), I’ve never found anything better. And the best part? This easy strawberry cheesecake recipe can be made at home, or on the road; it doesn’t matter where you are!

Follow the recipe underneath to get your perfect creamy cheesecake.

Easy strawberry cheesecake recipe

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Cooling Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes

A delicious greek cheesecake recipe that won't leave you disappointed!

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Ingredients

• Digestive biscuits: 250 g
• Butter: 80 g
• Whipping cream or double cream: 400 g
• Powdered sugar: 8 tsp
• Cream cheese: 500 g
• Vanilla extract: 1 tbsp
• Strawberry jam: 300 g

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and collect your ingredients.
   
   
   
2. Smash the biscuits. You can use your hands or put them in a plastic bag and crush them into fine crumbs with a rolling pin or a potato masher. The finer the crumbs, the softer the base of the cheesecake will be.
   
   
   
3. Melt the butter on the stove on a low heat.
   
   
   
4. In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter with the biscuit crumbs.
   
   
   
5. Line the baking tray with parchment paper. Press the biscuit mixture into the bottom of the tray and bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees.
   
   
   
6. After baking the base, let it cool completely at room temperature.
   
7. While the base is cooling, add whipped cream, powdered sugar and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Whip the ingredients together using a food processor or electric whisk until it thickens and gets smooth. You should have a smooth consistency with air bubbles.
   
   Be careful not to overdo the cream otherwise it will be too much like batter, but if you do not whip it enough, the cream might be too runny. Keep an eye on it and check the consistency every now and then.
   
   
   
8. When the filling is whipped and the base is cooled, pour the soft cheese mixture from the mixing bowl on top of the biscuit base. Smooth it out so that it covers the base evenly.
   
   
   
9. Leave the cheesecake in the fridge, preferably overnight or for 4 hours.
   
10. Before serving, coat the cheesecake with strawberry jam (or any other jam of your choice).
    
    
    
11. Serve your delicious cheesecake and enjoy!
    
    

Notes

• You can always experiment with the cheesecake flavour, serving it with different jams every time like blueberry jam or cherry jam.
• Decorate your cheesecake with fresh fruits and berries: fresh strawberries, raspberries or blueberries look amazing on the top of the cheesecake. Not to mention, they taste great!
• If you have a sweet tooth, you might want to experiment with melted chocolate or caramel on top.
• You can also experiment with a different base. The classic base uses digestive biscuits, but you can use chocolate biscuits or other plain biscuits of your choice.
• Sometimes it can be hard to find cream cheese for the strawberry cheesecake recipe. As it's the main cheesecake filling, it's integral to the entire recipe. If you still want to persevere, you can swap cream cheese with other soft cheeses like mascarpone cheese, cottage cheese, or quark. With cottage cheese and quark, you need to blend them until nice and smooth before adding whipping cream.
• You can store cheesecake for 2-3 days in the fridge.

FAQ

Can I freeze cheesecake?

Yes, you can. And in fact, I have a funny story about it. My first attempt to make a Greek strawberry cheesecake was not quite successful. I did not have a whisk so I could not whisk the cream filling enough to get the smooth consistency needed, but I thought that in the fridge overnight, it would get harder. Well, the fridge was on a little higher than expected and it did get harder. In fact, it became a nice iced strawberry cheesecake. Sometimes a simple mistake can lead to a new culinary discovery.

Can I leave the base unbaked?

Yes. Sometimes when we travel we don’t have an oven, but we don’t let it stop us if we’re craving a good piece of creamy strawberry cheesecake. Just press the butter and biscuit base into the bottom of the tray (unbaked) and pour the cream cheese mixture on top.

Is strawberry cheesecake gluten-free?

No. If you follow our recipe, it contains gluten in the biscuits. Nevertheless, you can always try to find gluten-free digestive biscuits and use them for your cheesecake instead.

What to do when cheesecake is too runny?

If your cheesecake is too runny, you can save it by making it in a glass instead, or put it in a freezer and eat it as an ice-cream-cheesecake.

Why is cheesecake called cheesecake?

That is indeed an interesting question. I would say that because of its structure, it’s more of a pie or tart, not a cake. On the other hand, it’s a sweet dessert and cheese pie is something that I would consider savoury.

After some research, I found out that cheesecake originally had a completely different name. In Greece, they used to call it plakous, which means “flat mass”. It was only in the 20th century that cheesecake got its modern name.

Savour every last bite

This strawberry cheesecake recipe will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about cheesecakes. If you want to accompany it with something Greek to stay in theme, we’ve got you covered. Your main could be a delicious layered moussaka, a mouthwatering beef stifado stew, or a slow-cooked meat (or veggie) pastitsada.

If you’re more interested in similarly tasty desserts, look no further than Matt’s Millie’s Cookies recipe, or Yelena’s homemade coconut macaroons.