Cheesecake with Glazed Strawberries

This cheesecake is my favourite cheesecake. :) I made this cake to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. Definitely, one slice a day is never enough for hubby. :p

Ingredients:
For the crust:
§ 200g digestive biscuits, crumbed
§ 50g unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
· 2 packages cream cheese (@ 250g each)
· 100 ml castor sugar
· 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
· 2 eggs
· ½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the topping:
Ø 250 g strawberries, hulled and sliced
Ø 2 tsp gelatin powder
Ø 250 ml water
Ø ½ tsp icing/dusting sugar

Tools and preparation:

- Preheat oven to 180’C,
- Grease the cheesecake pan or the pyrex/glass pie mould (diameter 23 cm) with a little butter or oil.

Methods:

1) Crust: In a bowl, combine digestive cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press into bottom of pie mold or cheesecake pan and freeze.
2) Filling: In a big bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until very smooth for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in lemon juice and vanilla sugar.
3) Pour over frozen crust, smoothing out to sides of pan. Baked in preheated oven (180'C) until top is light brown and centre has a slight jiggle to it, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool in a pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. The cake will sink slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before decorating with the topping.
4) Topping: Heat the water in a milk pan over a low heat. When the water is almost boiling, turn off the heat and take the pan out of the stove. Sprinkle the gelatin powder and the icing sugar onto the water and mix well until there’s no lump. Pour the mixture over the chilled cheesecake slowly and top with sliced strawberries. Refrigerate the cheesecake again for 2 hours or until the gelatin is set.

Tips:

- Make sure that the filling ingredients are well beaten. Otherwise, the egg whites and yolks will be separated during baking process.
- Don't let cool the baked cheesecake in the oven to avoid burning or overcooked. Instead, take the baked cheesecake away from the oven immediately and let it cool on a wire rack on the counter.