the best cheesecake topped with homemade strawberry sauce

Adapted from this recipe by simplyrecipes.com - no pictures sorry guys! I lost them, but trust me this is really good.

Strawberry topped cheesecake
I listed this recipe in a follow-along sort of recipe, so it's sorta listed in a weird way. Just think of it as preparing a few small steps to make a whole cheesecake and you can follow along me making this yummy cheesecake.

First, we're gonna make the filling
CHEESECAKE
2 8oz packages of cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
splash of vanilla (1 tsp)
2 eggs
1/3 cup and 2 tbsp sour cream
1/3 heavy whipping cream

1. A few hours before, set your cream cheese out to let it soften. I had one package set out a few hours before and one that's been out the ride home from the grocery store (I had to go buy another package real quick because one of my packages had gone bad.
2. In a clean bowl, add your cream cheese and whip it with a hand mixer for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add 1/2 cup a sugar to the mix and turn on your hand mixer for another 3 minutes.
4. Next, add a pinch of salt and splash of vanilla and whip it until incorporated.
5. Add an egg one at a time and whip until incorporated. Followed by sour cream, whip until incorporated and lastly whipping cream.
6. Set the filling into the fridge while you prepare the rest of the cheesecake, it'll set up a little in the fridge making it a little more solid.


Next I prepared my pan in which I will bake my cheesecake. I used a 8x8 square pan because I couldn't find my cake pan (I don't have a spring form pan). If you do have a spring form pan, please follow the first step in preparing the crust on this recipe. She wraps aluminum foil around the pan so no water can leak into the crust. We're gonna bake our cheesecake in a water bath.

You can skip this pan if you don't want to use a square pan. If you do have a square pan, please follow these steps in preparing the pan.

CRUST
1 1/2 crushed graham crackers (1 package crushed)
1 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp melted butter
pinch of salt

1. Place graham crackers in a big ziploc bag and crush it with a rolling pin or anything on hand. Use can also place it in a food processor and pulse it a few times.
2. Add 1 tbsp of sugar and a pinch of salt and combine.
3. Melt 5 tbsp butter in the microwave. Add butter into the graham crackers and stir. It should look like  slightly wet sand and should be able to stick together and form together when you pat it tight. If your crust doesn't stick, add a little more melted butter.
4. Press your graham crackers into your pan. Make sure it's even and nicely packed together.
5. Turn your oven on to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and add your pan with crust to let it bake for 10 mins. Yes, even when it's preheating, I like to use the heat from the oven as it's warming up to slightly bake the crust.

Preparing water bath
Find any pan big enough to fit the cheesecake pan and a water bath. I used a roasting pan. Take a kettle and boil some water enough for the water bath to fill about half-way up the cheesecake.

After the crust is done baking, take the cheesecake filling from the fridge and spread it nicely and evenly in the pan. Add the cheesecake to the roasting pan and add water bath. Be careful because the water will be hot!

Bake in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes. Watch for the cheesecake top, it might turn a little golden brown. Add an aluminum foil over the cheesecake. Be careful of any steam that will escape when you open the oven door to do this though!

When it's done baking. Turn off the heat and crack the oven open slightly and place a chopstick or skewer so the oven door remains slightly open. This will cool the cheesecake slowly and allow it not to crack.

Afterwards, chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

SOUR CREAM FROSTING
a little over 1/4 cup of sour cream
2 tbsp powered sugar
few drops of vanilla

While our cheesecake is baking we can make this sour cream frosting. I remember making this frosting the first time and I was very skeptical about the taste. Sour cream in frosting was something I've never heard of before, but this is my favorite frosting. It's sweet and tangy.
Just mix the sour cream and a few drops of vanilla. Add powdered sugar to taste little by little. 2 tbsp of powdered sugar makes the frosting a little sweeter, so if you want more tangy-ness, add less sugar. This makes a thin frosting for the cake, so double up if you want more frosting.

HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY SAUCE
8-10 cubed strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Sour cream frosting and strawberry sauce? That does sound like a little too much topping for a cheesecake, but let me tell you, these two work so well together with the cheesecake. The taste is heavenly.

1. Cube about 8-10 strawberries for this sauce and combine with 1/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Reduce on stove for around 5-10 minutes paying careful attention to not let it boil over. Be careful with this because it is boiling sugar and water and I want every one to be safe. At first you sorta cook the sauce on a high heat, and you turn the heat down to let it simmer. You really have to stand by and watch this sauce because it can boil quickly and spill over the sauce pan. The key it to just let it thicken, reduce and do it's thing. Why I think works best it cooking it on med-high heat at first stirring often, and then turn it on low-med to let it simmer and reduce, stirring less often. When the sauce looks thicker than originally, turn off the heat. Remember it may look a little liquidy, but it will thicken as it cools.

2016 is gonna be a good one // Update

Hey guys,

my last post was back in August stating that I'll be back posting a cheesecake recipe soon, but life went ahead of me and I got lost in school, work and life but I'm back and I'm making a commitment this time.

As 2016 is literally just in a couple of days, I'm making changes and 2016 is gonna be a good year for me. I'm gonna focus on myself, make myself a better person in all areas and just focus on being happy again.

So to go along with that, I've made some goals for myself.

• don't worry about what others think of you, if they don't like you why does that matter anyway. You know what you want to make yourself happy and the approval of others isn't gonna get you there. Because let's be real they don't have anything to focus on but themselves and you're all you got in the end. 
• get rid of fuckboys, you don't need them as a boyfriend - you are awesome and you are worth it so don't lower your standards for anyone not willing to chase. 
• get back into the blog - post something every 3 weeks and try to post something good
• get good grades get an A in nutrition and microbiology STUDY MORE in the library or at home
• get abs and get strong arms - this means cleaning up your diet
• which leads to cut out sugar, you've had an unhealthy amount this past year plus it's not good for your health anyway. it's okay for the occasional here and there with friends but that's it. and cook more.
• work out three times a week
• do yoga to get more flexible
• get to be a morning person. you got an 8am again anyway, stick to it. 
• just drink water and tea. just water and tea.
• try to volunteer at least once a month
• surround yourself with positive energy, positive quotes and positive people
• and finally get to sleep on time you got an 8 am, you need it. 

This is a hell of a lot of goals, but you can do it. Everyone else has got the same amount of hours in a day as you do, you just need to get your shit together and manage your time well. 

2016 you will be a selfish year, but a big, fat selfish to focus on myself and improve myself. I will be happier than I have ever been before.

Always with lots of love and joy,

Julia