"Strawberry" Cheesecake

(Ignore the horrible camera phone pic)

I have the strawberry in quotation marks, because it obviously isn't real strawberry. The grocery store was completely out of strawberries, and until about 3 seconds ago I didn't realize that I could use frozen... Oh well. It's delicious. And it's pink =)

It's "strawberry" because I stirred in a pack of strawberry jello at the end (I was determined to make a Valentines Day themed desert. And honestly, I LOVE the addition of the jello. It made it a little sweet and tart and I could probably eat the whole thing in one sitting.

"Strawberry" Cheesecake

Graham Cracker Crust
Ingredients

• 2 cups of Graham Cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• 1/2 cup of melted butter

Directions
In small bowl toss together graham crumbs, margarine or butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of 9-inch springform pan. Chill in freezer while preparing filling.

Cheesecake Filling
Ingredients

• 4 8 ounce packages of softened cream cheese
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
  
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions
1) In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy. Add 1 1/3 cups sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and vanilla. Beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition. Stir in sour cream. Once batter is combined, add the pack of jello.

2) Pour hot water in a large roasting pan. Once the cheesecake is in the water bath, the water should come up about one inch up the side. Bake the cheesecake at 325 degrees for 1 hour & 10 minutes. Once done open up the oven door a few inches and let cool in the oven for about 25 minutes. Take out of the oven and cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator.

The cheesecake needs to refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but over night is preferable.

Notes
-Don't forget to wrap the pan TIGHTLY in aluminum foil. The last thing you want is for water to seep into the pan and you end up with a soggy crust.

-If you have real strawberries, puree them with a sprinkle of sugar and swirl the puree into the batter before baking. Use a toothpick to create pretty swirls.

-This cheesecake is super easy and very low maintenance to prepare. And the taste is phenomenal. It's so creamy and delicious and I'm not kidding when I say I could eat the whole thing.