Ingredients
Method
- Prepare the strawberry cheesecake and vanilla cake one day in advance.
Strawberry cheesecake (no bake)
- Whip the cream cheese with half of the sugar (50g or ¼ cup).
- Add strawberries and lemon juice to a blender; pulse to create a puree. Sieve the strawberry puree to remove seeds.
- Mix gelatin into warm (not hot) milk and let it bloom for 5-10 minutes. Microwave for 10 seconds to slightly melt the gelatin. Add the melted gelatin to the strawberry puree and mix well. Mix the strawberries into the whipped cream cheese.
- Separately, whip the heavy (or double) cream with the remaining sugar until soft-medium peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry cream cheese mixture using a spatula.
- Place the cheesecake mixture into a 20 cm (8-inch) pan or cake ring. Let it set in the fridge overnight (minimum 6-8 hours), or freeze for 2-3 hours.
Vanilla cake
- Preheat your fan-assisted oven to 170°C (340°F). Prepare two 8-inch (20 cm) cake pans by lining the bottom with baking paper and greasing the sides with butter and flour.
- In a large bowl, add flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder; whisk to combine. Add butter, then use your mixer on a low setting to combine until the mixture resembles sand and is not sticky or tacky.
- Add half of the milk and all the oil to the flour. Mix on medium for 2 minutes until the mixture looks fluffy like thick buttercream. Scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times.
- In a small bowl, add the remaining milk, vanilla paste, and eggs; whisk quickly. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the batter, mixing slowly to incorporate the liquids. Stop mixing once the liquid is incorporated; the batter should be fluffy and quite thick, not runny.
- Divide the cake batter between the two prepped cake pans. Tap the bottom of each pan or use a skewer to swirl the batter and release air bubbles.
- Bake both cakes on the middle rack of your preheated oven for 30-32 minutes. Do not open the oven during baking. After 30 minutes, insert a skewer into the cake to check for doneness. If the skewer is clean, the cake is ready. If batter remains on the skewer, bake for a few minutes longer and recheck every 3-4 minutes.
- Once baked, let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then ease them out. Place the cake upside down on a cooling rack to flatten the top.
- Once cooled, cover the cakes in plastic wrap and chill overnight or freeze for at least 40 minutes.
Strawberry compote filling
- Cut half of the strawberries into cubes, then add them to a saucepan. Add sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract on top, mixing well.
- Cook over low-medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the fruit breaks into smaller chunks.
- Separately, mix cornstarch and water, ensuring no lumps. Add the mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. The sauce should be slightly runny, not very liquid. If needed, mix more cornstarch and water, then add to the sauce to thicken. Let the compote cool completely before using.
- Cut the remaining strawberries into slices and add to a bowl with a few teaspoons of sugar. Mix to coat them in sugar, then chill in the fridge for 30-40 minutes. Remove excess syrup before using the strawberry slices. Use the remaining syrup to brush the cakes.
Cream cheese frosting
- For the full method, check the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting post. Use three times the quantity indicated in that post.
Crunchy crumbles
- Add biscuits and freeze-dried strawberries to a food processor. Pulse a few times to achieve a crumbly texture with larger biscuit chunks for added texture.
Assembling the strawberry cheesecake cake
- If necessary, level the vanilla cake with a knife to create perfectly flat and even layers. Place the first cake layer on the bottom. Pipe a ring of cream cheese frosting around the perimeter of the layer to seal in the filling.
- Use a cake ring for this step. Add the strawberry compote (or jam) and thinly sliced fresh strawberries. Add a thin layer of cream cheese frosting on top of the strawberries to seal them in, leveling it with a spatula.
- Add the layer of strawberry cheesecake on top and gently press to adhere it to the frosting.
- Pipe a ring of frosting around the perimeter of the cheesecake, then fill the inside with strawberry compote. Add more strawberry slices, then pipe a thin layer of frosting on top to seal them in. Level everything with a spatula.
- Place the remaining vanilla cake layer on top, pressing it gently into place. Refrigerate everything for 2-3 hours until the frosting hardens.
Decorating the cake
- Cover the entire cake in cream cheese frosting. Level everything with a spatula to create a smooth finish.
- Fit the frosting piping bag with a cupcake star-shaped nozzle. Angle the nozzle at 45 degrees, then pipe in a swirling motion around the top perimeter of the cake. Alternatively, pipe dollops of frosting to create the border.
- Fill the inside of the ring with strawberry compote, then sprinkle crunchy crumbles on top.
- Add more crunchy crumbles to the sides of the cake, towards the bottom, as desired.
- Decorate the top with fresh strawberries, berries, and mint leaves. Chill the cake for 2-3 hours before cutting and serving.
Nutrition
Notes
- I recommend using a kitchen scale in grams for more accuracy. The cups used for the conversion are standard US customary cups (1 cup flour = 136g). There are many different types of cups across the globe, which is why I strongly recommend using grams instead.
- Fresh strawberries are recommended. If using frozen, make sure you thaw them properly, then drain any excess liquid.
- Cake flour or type 000 flour yields a much softer cake. If you cannot find it, you can still use plain white flour, but the cake won’t be as fluffy. If using plain flour, only mix the flour with the butter for 1 minute.
- Use non flavoured vegetable oil such as sunflower or canola (rapeseed) oil.
- You can replace the strawberry compote with jam to speed up the process.
- You can use plain or vanilla biscuits or graham crackers. Use crunchy biscuits to add more texture.
- Freeze dried strawberries cannot be replaced with fresh fruit. If you do not have it, just leave it out entirely.