Strawberry Cheesecake with an Almond Crust
A creamy, tangy baked cheesecake of cream cheese, mascarpone, and crème fraîche, flecked with vanilla bean and lemon, on a buttery almond crust. It's crowned with a glossy topping of jammy cooked strawberries and fresh berries. Grain-free and refined-sugar-free, and a true celebration cake.
Yield: One 9-inch cheesecake, 12 slices · Active: 40 min · Total: 3 hours, plus chilling overnight · Best in North America from late spring into early summer, when strawberries are at their peak (winter into spring in Florida and Southern California) · Best eaten: midday or early afternoon
Ingredients
Almond crust
2 cups almond flour
¼ cup grass-fed butter, melted
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 pasture-raised egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Cheesecake filling (all at room temperature)
16 oz cream cheese
8 oz mascarpone
½ cup crème fraîche or sour cream
⅔ cup honey or maple syrup
Seeds of 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract)
Zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 tbsp juice
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
4 pasture-raised eggs
Strawberry topping
1½ lb fresh strawberries, hulled
3 tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp arrowroot mixed with 1 tbsp water (or 1 tsp grass-fed gelatin bloomed in 1 tbsp water, for a glossier, firmer set)
To garnish: fresh mint or basil leaves, and edible flowers
Method
Make the crust. Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment. Process or stir the crust ingredients until they form a soft dough, then press it firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake 10–12 minutes, until lightly golden. Let it cool, and lower the oven to 325°F.
Set up the water bath. Place a rimmed pan of hot water on the lowest oven rack. It keeps the oven moist, which helps the cheesecake bake gently and evenly without cracking.
Make the filling. Beat the cream cheese and mascarpone on low speed until completely smooth, scraping down the bowl. Beat in the crème fraîche, honey, vanilla, lemon zest and juice, and salt. Add the eggs one at a time on low speed, mixing just until each disappears. Don't overmix, since beating in air causes cracks.
Bake. Pour the filling over the cooled crust and tap the pan gently on the counter to release air bubbles. Set it on the rack above the water bath and bake 60–70 minutes, until the edges are set and the center still has a 2–3-inch wobble, like gelatin.
Cool slowly. Turn off the oven, prop the door ajar, and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour. Then run a thin knife around the edge (so it doesn't crack as it shrinks), and let it cool to room temperature.
Chill overnight, or at least 6 hours.
Make the strawberry topping. Slice the strawberries. In a saucepan, simmer half of them with the honey and lemon juice over medium heat for 6–8 minutes, until jammy. Stir in the arrowroot slurry and simmer 1 minute more, until thick and glossy (or stir in the dissolved gelatin off the heat). Let it cool completely, then fold in the remaining fresh strawberries.
Serve. Release the springform and spoon the strawberry topping over the chilled cheesecake. Garnish with mint or basil and edible flowers, and slice with a hot, dry knife.
For a deeper strawberry flavor: Roast the strawberries for the sauce at 400°F for 15 minutes with the honey and lemon before thickening them. Roasting concentrates their sweetness.
Make ahead: The cheesecake keeps up to 3 days refrigerated before topping, and the strawberry sauce up to 3 days. Top the cheesecake the day you serve, so the fresh berries stay bright.
Storage: Refrigerated up to 4 days, or frozen (without the topping) up to 1 month.
Tips for a Perfect Cheesecake
Room-temperature ingredients blend smoothly without overmixing. Take everything out of the fridge 1–2 hours ahead.
Mix on low speed, and add the eggs one at a time.
Bake low and slow, with a pan of water underneath.
Look for the wobble. The center should still jiggle when you take it out; it firms up as it chills.
Cool it gradually, in the turned-off oven, then at room temperature, then in the fridge.
Nourishment Notes
Strawberries — vitamin C (a single cup provides about a full day's worth), folate, manganese, ellagic acid, and anthocyanins.
Cream cheese, mascarpone, and crème fraîche — vitamins A, D, and K2, plus butyrate, from grass-fed dairy; crème fraîche and sour cream are cultured, which gives them their tang.
Pasture-raised eggs — choline, lutein, and vitamins A, D, E, and K2.
Almond flour — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.
Grass-fed butter — vitamins A and K2.
Lemon — vitamin C and d-limonene.
As a circadian treat, this cheesecake lands best at midday or in the early afternoon, when your body handles sweets most gracefully in daylight.
Sourcing
Strawberries — organic, from a farmers' market in season (conventional strawberries carry some of the highest pesticide residues of any fruit)
Cream cheese — organic, full-fat, cultured cream cheese from grass-fed cows, with no gums or stabilizers
Mascarpone — organic, made from grass-fed cream, with no gums or stabilizers
Crème fraîche or sour cream — organic and cultured, from grass-fed milk; Bellwether Farms makes crème fraîche
Eggs — organic and pasture-raised
Almond flour — organic and fresh (keep it in the fridge)
Grass-fed butter — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows
Honey and maple syrup — organic, local honey; organic Grade A dark maple syrup
Arrowroot or grass-fed gelatin — organic arrowroot, or gelatin from grass-fed, pasture-raised cattle
Lemons — organic (you're using the zest)
Mint, basil, and edible flowers — organic and pesticide-free
Vanilla — organic vanilla beans or pure vanilla extract
Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall