Strawberry Oreo Cheesecake

RECIPE: STRAWBERRY OREO CHEESECAKE

Strawberry Oreo Cheesecake is a no bake, easy to make, simply irresistible creamy dessert with fresh strawberries and oreo crust. Prefect for any celebration or just as a fancy treat. To make this delicious cheesecake, I have used vegetarian gelatin. I love using Dr. Oetker’s Vege – Gel. Whenever I run out of it, I replace it with agar agar.

What I have realised is that if I am not demoulding the cheesecake and if I have used fresh double cream, then there is no need to use any gelling agent. However, if you use a cake tin to make one big cheesecake then you need to add a gelling agent.

Very Berry Yummy

Whenever strawberries are in season, I love enjoying them on their own or use them differently. During summer I love Strawberry Finger Millet Smoothie or Mango Strawberry Smoothie for breakfast. When in season, the best dessert to make in a jiffy and enjoy is Strawberries And Cream. If you have a bit of time, another easy dessert to put together is Strawberry Mousse without any eggs or gelatin. A delightful and fun brunch especially for Valentine’s Day is Chocolate Crepes With Strawberries. Another special and easy to make decadent treat is homemade Chocolate Coated Strawberries.

Want to give some home baked goodies as a present to friends or family? How about some eggless Strawberry Choco Chip Cupcakes. During Ganesh Chaturthi I love making Strawberry Rose Modak. Serve it as a delicious strawberry kesari as a part of an Indian Dinner Party. Can’t wait for summer season to make  Strawberry Frozen Yogurt.

These days one doesn’t have to wait till summer to enjoy Strawberry Green Bean Salad,  Mango Strawberry Salad or an Avocado Strawberry Salad.

Memories

What an awful day I’ve had. Had to sit in the National ID Card office for over 2 hours. I had applied for the new generation ID card. According to their records my new ID card was prepared and is ready. However, they couldn’t find it. I knew that if I left their office leaving them with the relevant details, nothing will be done. Till it was time for them to close they could not find my id card.

So that task still remains to be tackled. It really baffles me why government offices can never work with efficiency! They clearly have not heard of consumers rights. They behave as though they are doing us a great big favour. One of the staff, was ‘barking’ out instructions. Yes  barking… there was no politeness and she spoke to everyone with anger. It took a great effort on my part to keep my mouth shut as I knew if I told her something, she would actually make getting my id card even more difficult.

Today’s Post – Strawberry Oreo Cheesecake

This post is long overdue. I had actually prepared the cheesecake when I was in Bangalore visiting my daughter. In fact, had made it for my birthday. My daughter’s friends were coming home to celebrate with me. We had planned to order pizzas and I decided to make the dessert at home. The strawberries available in the market were simply beautiful and so sweet. My daughter suggested that I use Oreo for the crust layer. Must admit, I was a bit skeptical but Oreo seems to be the new fad.

So Oreo it was. And instead of making one big cheesecake I went for individual portions as it is so much easier to serve for parties without the tension and mess of demoulding it. Truth be told, strawberries and Oreos make a fanastic combination. Next time, have to remember to save some whole Oreo cookies to top the cheesecake with.

Ingredients Required For Strawberry Oreo Cheesecake

• Oreo Cookies – 150g or around that. Should be about 1½ cups of oreo crumbs. Crush the cookies in a food processor without removing the cream part. Process to a fine or slightly coarse texture.
• Butter – melted, to add to the oreo crumbs.
• Fresh Strawberries – remove the stem and leaves. Process in a food processor without any water. If they strawberries are large, cut them into halves to make the processing easier.
• Vege-Gel – I like to use Dr Oetker’s vege-gel which I get from UK.  Can use normal gelatin. If you want to use agar agar powder, allow it to bloom in the water for 5 minutes. Then heat it to melt it over the stove or in the microwave oven. If using agar agar then you will have to make the strawberry puree a little hot before adding agar agar to it.
• Water – about 2-3 tbsp of normal tap water for bloom the gelatin or agar agar. Add gelatin, vege-gel or agar agar powder to the water and allow it to bloom for 5 minutes. Melt it in the microwave for 30-40 seconds. Or place the bowl over hot water and keep mixing till it melts.
• Cream Cheese – use good quality cream cheese. Should be soft and not watery.
• Whipping Cream – I prefer to use fresh cream but when not available I use non dairy whipping cream. However, much rather prefer to look for fresh cream. When in India, I like to use Milky Mist Fresh Cream when it is available.
• Vanilla Extract – for this dessert, I actually crushed a half of vanilla pod with the strawberries. The pod had dried up and I didn’t want to throw it away. Even though dry it still added the required flavour.
• Powdered Sugar – grind normal sugar at home or use store bought icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar). Add according to your taste. If the strawberries are really sweet then you may need only ⅓ cup. Or use ½ cup.

Topping Suggestions:

• Dark Chocolate Chips
• Fresh Strawberries
• Strawberry Sauce
• Oreo Cookie
• Whipped Cream

Watch How To Make Strawberry Oreo Cheesecake