Strawberry Cheesecake With A Pretzel Crust
The strawberry pretzel salad we all know and love gets a reboot as a dessert in this easy strawberry cheesecake recipe. Salty crunchy pretzels combined with a rich and creamy cheesecake, all topped with a delicious strawberry sauce…it’s the perfect summer treat!
Ingredients
For the crust
- 4 cups pretzels
- 10 tblsp unsalted butter
- ¼ cup sugar
For the cheesecake (all ingredients should be at room temperature)
- 2 ½ lbs cream cheese
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tblsp all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 5 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- ½ cup heavy cream
For the strawberry topping
- 1 pint fresh strawberries, stemmed and roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Start by making your crust. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Pour 4 cups of pretzels into a large ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to smash into crumbs.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the 10 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Add ¼ cup of sugar and continue cooking for 30 seconds, or until sugar dissolves. Remove the butter and sugar mixture from heat and add the crushed pretzels. Combine well and add the pretzel mixture to your springform pan, pressing the mix flatly against the bottom of the pan.
- Bake crust for 12 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Reset your oven to 500 degrees.
- While your crust is cooling and your oven increases in temperature, prepare your cheesecake filling. Place the cream cheese in a large bowl and beat on high for about 30 seconds until soft and creamy.
- Gradually add the sugar, flour, and vanilla and beat for another 1-2 minutes. Finally, add your eggs slowly (I do one or two at a time) and beat until just incorporated, scraping the sides down as you go.
- Add the heavy cream and beat on low speed for a few seconds until just combined.
- Once your crust has cooled slightly pour the cheesecake mixture into your pan. (If your springform pan seems full, you may want to place a cookie sheet under it for baking to catch any spills.)
- Bake at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven to 200 degrees and bake for an additional hour. Once finished, turn the oven of, open the oven door slightly and allow the cake to cool in the oven for an additional 30 minutes before removing it from the oven and allowing it to cool completely.
- At this point, you may wish to “unmold” your cheesecake. Slowly run a knife around the edge of your springform pan to loosen the cake, then unlock the pan to remove the side. Chill in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours.
- Prepare your strawberry topping. Combine your strawberries, sugar, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce begins to thicken, remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- When you’re ready to serve the cheesecake, drizzle the strawberry mixture over the top of the cake, slice, and serve.
Notes
- This cheesecake will keep for 3-5 days in the refrigerator, although it’s best eaten as soon as it’s ready as the pretzel crust does lose some of its crunch after a few days.
- The recipe for the cheesecake filling is referenced from the Joy Of Cooking cookbook.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!