Strawberry Cheesecake Cake – strawberry cake layers on top of a graham cracker crust with a cream cheese filling, frosted in a cream cheese buttercream.
Valentine’s Day is one week from today. That means it’s time to start thinking about what dessert you’re going to make to celebrate the big day. I’ve got just what you’re looking for with this Strawberry Cheesecake Cake
Strawberry Cake
This past week my brother in law called me to just chat about the stuff I have been baking. He told me that he and his girlfriend have been taking a strawberry and cutting a hole in the middle, and placing graham cracker crumbs in it. They thought it would be fun if I turned their little snack creation into some kind of dessert. Well, that got me thinking about how delicious it would be to make some kind of strawberry cheesecake cake and this delicious recipe was born!.
Here is a breakdown of the cake
-Strawberry Cake Layers
-Graham Cracker Crust
-Cheesecake Filling
-Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Buttercream
With every bite of this cake, I drifted a little closer to heaven. It really was amazing. I just couldn’t stop eating it, and to be honest, I didn’t.
Cheesecake filling
This is a no bake cheesecake filling. For the filling, whip the heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks and then set aside while you mix the cream cheese and sugar together in a separate bowl. Once the cream cheese mixture is smooth, you’ll then fold in the whipped cream. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
How to bake the best cake layers
- Let your oven preheat for 20 minutes
- Use good quality pans (I use fat daddio’s)
- Spray your pans with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper
- Once you add the dry ingredients, don’t over mix your gluten
- Use room temperature wet ingredients
- Use fresh baking powder (I change mine out every 30 days)
Recipe
Strawberry Cheesecake Cake
Ingredients
For the Graham cracker crust
- 2 cups finely ground graham crackers about 18 full rectangular crackers, pulverized (I used Keebler’s graham cracker crumbs instead)
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
For the strawberry cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 oz package of strawberry flavored Jell-O
- 4 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk room temperature
For the cheesecake filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Cream cheese buttercream
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter slightly chilled
- 4 ounce cream cheese slightly chilled
- 6 cups powdered sugar measured and then sifted
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Optional
- 4 Tablespoons strawberry jam
Instructions
For the graham cracker crust
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Spray three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and then line with parchment paper. Spray again. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. With a rubber spatula, stir until all the graham cracker crumbs are combined with the melted butter. You should be able to squeeze the mixture with your hand and have it stick together.
- Divide the mixture evenly (about ¾ C in each) between the three pans and press down firmly with your hand or the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 10 minutes. While the crust cools, make the cake batter.
For the strawberry cake
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, strawberry Jell-O, and granulated sugar for about 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl, and then beat for 2 more minutes.
- With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the egg whites and the whole egg, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla. Mix for another 2 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. If it looks a little curdled, that’s okay, it’s normal. Once you add the flour it will smooth out.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Don’t over mix. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and make sure you’ve gotten all of it.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared graham cracker pans (about 16 ounces of batter in each pan). I used three 8-inch pans and my cooking time was 28 minutes. Baking time should be between 28-31 minutes for the 8-inch. Check to see if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick into the top of the cake. It should come out with just a few crumbs.
- Let them cool in the pans for 15 minutes and then invert onto wire cooling racks until completely cooled.
For the cheesecake filling
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese for about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, and on medium speed, sprinkle in the granulated sugar.
- In a chilled stainless steel bowl, whisk the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
- With a rubber spatula, fold half of the heavy whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture. Then fold in the rest.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
For the cream cheese buttercream
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar until it’s all incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, add the cream, vanilla and salt.
- Turn the mixer to medium and beat the frosting for 3 minutes, or until it is light in color.
- Use a wooden spoon to give it one last stir and push out the air bubbles.
Assembly
- Level cakes, if needed. Place the first cake layer, graham cracker crust side down, in the center of a cake board with a dollop of frosting to act as glue.
- Spread half of the cheesecake filling over the cake layer. If you want to add a little extra strawberry flavor, this is where you could add the strawberry jam.
- Place the next cake layer with the graham cracker crust side down onto the cheesecake filling. Apply the rest of the cheesecake filling.
- Place the final cake layer, with the graham cracker crust side down onto the cheesecake filling.
- Apply a thin coat of buttercream over the cake. This is the crumb coat. You’ll then freeze the cake for 15 minutes to set the crumb coat and lock in the crumbs.
- After the crumb coat is set, finish frosting the cake with the remaining buttercream.