Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake

I love when the weather warms up and the grocery stores have tons of delicious, beautiful berries!  I picked up a bunch of strawberries and blueberries during my last trip to the store.  And I had some lemons in the fridge because I love to drink lemon water!

So I wanted to make some cheesecake for the hubby who loves it!  I love lemon cheesecake and he loves strawberry, so I wanted to combine the two and I came up with this delicious cheesecake recipe!  

Then, I was in the kitchen getting everything ready to start making the cheesecake.  I pulled out the graham crackers for the crust... and they were expired.  Not just expired, but almost a year old!  I guess I really don't use graham crackers very often!  I was kinda annoyed thinking I would have to run to the store.  So I looked through the pantry for a substitute.  I found Whole Wheat Ritz crackers.  And now I know they are not your normal ingredient for a cheesecake crust, but it worked out really well!  You obviously can use graham crackers instead, but it's nice to know that if you are in a bind, you can substitute ingredients in a pinch.   Crackers, cookies, biscotti... lots of options!

Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups Ritz crackers, finely crushed  (OR graham crackers!)
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 tbsp. sugar

Cheesecake:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 2 oz. heavy cream
• 2 oz. sugar
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• zest of 1 lemon, and half the juice
• 6 strawberries, cut up in a small dice

Directions:

1. Mix the crust ingredients together in a bowl, and press into the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan.
2. Bake in a 350° oven for 10 minutes.  Pull out of oven and let cool until the filling is ready.
3. In a mixer bowl, cream the cream cheese until smooth.
4. Add the egg, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla, zest and lemon juice and mix until combined.
5. Lastly, mix in the strawberry pieces. 
6. Pour cheesecake mixture into tart pan. 
7. Bake for 25 minutes.  *Normally, you would want to bake a cheesecake with a water bath so it does not crack.  Since this is baked in a shallow tart pan, it bakes fast enough that you do not need a water bath.  
8. Cool in the fridge for 4 hours. 
9. Depan and enjoy!  

Crushing the crackers in a ziploc bag using a rolling pin.  

Enjoy the cheesecake with freshly whipped cream and berries!  

What kind of cheesecake is your favorite?!  I have lots... Chocolate, Lemon, and Pumpkin just to name a few!  Now I have added Strawberry Lemonade to my list too!!