Celebrate National Cheesecake Day with this Strawberry Cheesecake recipe

Happy National Cheesecake Day!!! July 30th is officially the day we celebrate this delicious dessert.

Cheesecake is a sweet dessert that is made with fresh soft cheese, eggs and sugar. It can have a crust that is made from graham crackers or crushed cookies. It may be baked or unbaked and is usually refrigerated. The cake can be plain, or toppings can include fresh fruit, chocolate syrup, fruit glaze or syrup or whipped cream.

Strawberry CheesecakePhoto bysendacake.com

INGREDIENTS:

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup of confectioners' sugar
• 6 tablespoons of butter, melted

For the cheesecake:

• 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup of granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Stir together all of the crust ingredients and mix well until thoroughly combined.
• Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch spring form pan.
• Make the bottom layer thicker than the sides.
• Mix the soften cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.
• Mix in the eggs and vanilla, mixing again until smooth.
• Pour the cheesecake filling into the pie pan.
• Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake for about an hour until the center is almost set.
• Run a butter knife around rim of pan to loosen the cake.
• Let cake cool before removing rim then refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours until you are ready to serve it.
• Top with fresh strawberries and syrup and enjoy!