Simple Strawberry Chamomile Cheesecake.

The prettiest, Simple Strawberry Chamomile Cheesecake for your Tuesday summertime baking. This is not like any other cheesecake you’ve had before. It’s a cross between a classic cheesecake and a French Basque cheesecake. It has flaky puff pastry crust surrounding the creamy cheesecake filling. It’s flaky on the outside, but creamy, rich, and swirled with sweet strawberry chamomile jam. Bonus? This cheesecake is simple to make and (almost) impossible to mess up. Embrace the crackle on top. Embrace the imperfections. And enjoy yourself some summer cheesecake!

I’ve said this so many times now, but my best recipes tend to be the ones that I think up on the day of making. They’re the ones that are never planned or thought out. They’re usually inspired by what’s in my fridge, what’s surrounding me outside, or family and friends. This cheesecake wasn’t supposed to be today’s recipe. But when one recipe idea falls flat, I gotta pivot and try something new.

Enter this cheesecake. I realized that the ice cream recipe I’m working on needed more time than I had planned for. The thing about ice cream recipes? They need lots and lots of time for testing because they need plenty of time to freeze. This freezing time always gives me issues because I never plan for it.

So, while I’ve got some ice cream in the works, it’s currently in my freezer “chilling out”. Since ice cream clearly wasn’t happening for today, I figured cheesecake was a very good swap.

Scratch that, an extra delicious swap. But guys, as mentioned above, this is not your average cheesecake…

(strawberry layer of cheesecake)

(after adding the “plain” layer and swirling)

The idea.

A couple of things inspired this recipe, but it was really built in my head. I wanted to use the fresh berries in the fridge and the chamomile from the garden. So I knew right away that my flavor profile was strawberry chamomile. With that in mind, I also knew I wanted to keep this simple…no stressing about cracks on top of my cheesecake…this needed to be “no fuss”.

I thought back to last year’s blueberry basque cheesecake and decided to steal a few elements from that recipe, but also incorporate elements of a classic cheesecake.

So I used a puff pastry crust instead of graham cracker. But I kept the filling a little more similar to a classic cheesecake with no heavy whipping cream. Instead of blueberries on top, I swirled in homemade strawberry chamomile jam…or really saucy jam.

It’s the best of the two and it is very delicious.

(just after baking, before adding the reserved jam)

The details.

As I said, this is pretty simple.

Start with that saucy strawberry chamomile jam. Boil together fresh strawberries, honey, and lemon juice until the strawberries release their juices and the sauce becomes “jammy”.

Add a few chamomile tea bags and let the jam sit for a bit to allow time for the chamomile tea to be infused into the berries. When you open up the pot, you’ll immediately be hit with the sweet smells of strawberries and hints of chamomile. It is oh so wonderful!

Now, a few things. First, this is a saucy jam, so while it will thicken up as it cools, the berries should still have some sauce around them.

Second, if you’d prefer not to use chamomile, that’s totally fine. You can simply skip the tea and make strawberry cheesecake. That will be great too.

Lastly, if you’re not into the chamomile tea idea and also don’t want to mess with making the jam (even though it’s super easy), you can use store-bought jam. That should work nicely too.

Now, let’s finish it up.

Onto the filling. It’s pretty classic…cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla, with a bit of sour cream. Whip it all together and that’s your filling. Simple.

The jam is swirled into half of the filling, then pour the filling over that puff pastry crust. The plain fill

ing is then poured over the berry filling causing it all to immediately swirl together. This creates the prettiest strawberry swirls throughout the cake.

And now you bake. And honestly? The waiting time is probably the trickiest part, but the outcome is well worth it. When the cake comes out of the oven it will be a little jiggly in the center and puffed up on top…with most likely a crack or two.

This is OK and exactly what you want. This is a cheesecake that embraces the cracks, so don’t stress. As the cake cools, it will settle down a bit. Chill the cake until ready to serve, then top with the remaining strawberry jam just before serving.

And that’s it. Every bite is a little flaky, has creamy cheesecake, and is swirled with sweet strawberries and hints of warming chamomile tea. This simple cheesecake is every bit as delicious as it sounds.

A great Tuesday night baking project, don’t you think? Yes, yes. Let’s make…and then be sure to share a photo on Instagram. I love seeing everyone’s creations!!

Looking for other cheesecake recipes? Here are a few ideas: 

Simple Blueberry Basque Cheesecake

Whipped Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

No-Bake Eton Mess Berry Cheesecake

Lastly, if you make this simple strawberry chamomile cheesecake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Simple Strawberry Chamomile Cheesecake

4.52 from 41 votes

8

by Tieghan Gerard

calories 413kcal

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Prep20 minutes mins

Cook40 minutes mins

Chill Time1 hour hr

Total2 hours hrs

Unlike any other cheesecake...it's a cross between the classic and a French Basque. Simple to make, hard to mess up!

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, halved
• ▢ 1/4 cup honey
• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 3-4 chamomile tea bags, (optional, see note)
• ▢ 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• ▢ 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions 

• 1. Add the strawberries, honey, and lemon juice to a medium-size pot set over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook 5-8 minutes or until the jam has reduced and thickened by 1/3, but still has some sauce to it. Remove from the heat, submerge the chamomile tea bags, cover and steep 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags and let the jam cool.

  2, Meanwhile, place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 8x8 inch square pan with parchment paper.

  3. Gently roll the puff pastry out on a clean surface to 1/4 inch thickness. Press the pastry inside the pan and up the sides of the pan. It's OK if the pastry does not go all the way up the sides (see above photos). Transfer to the fridge and chill while you prepare the batter.

  4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl until very smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time until the eggs are fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then reduce the mixer speed to medium-low. Add sour cream, vanilla, and salt, and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Divide the batter in half. Stir 1/2 cup jam into one half of the batter, reserve the remaining jam for serving.

  5. Pour the strawberry batter into the prepared pan. Now gently pour the plain batter over the strawberry batter, the batters will mix. Using a knife, gently make swirls throughout. Transfer to the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until just set, but still a little jiggly in the center. Allow the cheesecake to cool slightly, then transfer to the fridge to chill completely, at least 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve topped with the remaining strawberry jam.

Notes

Chamomile: this can easily be omitted if preferred. The cheesecake will be great either way! 

Nutrition

Calories: 413kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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