Oreo Strawberry Cheesecake - Creamy Cheesecake with Fresh Strawberries

This Oreo strawberry cheesecake is the third cheesecake recipe on this blog, the first 2 being my easy cheesecake and New York cheesecake. 

This strawberry cheesecake is slightly different than my earlier 2 cheesecakes. Firstly, I made this cake with an Oreo cookie crust (while the other 2 were with Digestive cookie crusts).

Secondly, I have added fresh strawberry filling into the cheesecake batter so you will find lovely pink specks of pureed strawberry in the cheesecake that gives this Oreo strawberry cheesecake all the delicious goodness of fresh strawberries. The other 2 cheesecakes were made with classic cream cheese filling without any additional ingredients.

This Oreo strawberry cheesecake recipe follows the New York cheesecake closely. In fact, it was adapted from the New York cheesecake recipe for a strawberry cheesecake. 

This is a very easy cheesecake to make, and one that is deliciously creamy and full of Oreo and fresh strawberry flavor. I choose to top this easy Oreo strawberry cheesecake with a simple layer of fresh whipped cream and fresh halved strawberries. I must say, the combination of the Oreo chocolate crust and the creamy strawberry cheese filling is absolutely divine. 

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How to Make

Ingredients

These are the ingredients in my strawberry cheesecake with Oreo crust:

Crust

• Oreo cookies (with filling)
• Butter (melted)

Filling

• Cream cheese (at room temperature)
• Castor sugar
• Plain flour
• Vanilla essence
• Eggs
• Sour cream
• Salt
• Strawberry filling

Garnish

• Whipped cream
• Strawberries

Preparing the Oreo crust

Preparing the Oreo cookie crust

1. Start by lining your springform pan with parchment paper. Lining your cake tin with parchment will make it so much easier to transfer your cake onto a serving plate.
2. Next, crush the Oreo cookies along with their filling into fine crumbs.
3. Add melted butter to the Oreo crumbs and mix until the crumbs are well moistened.
4. Press down the crumbs firmly into the bottom of your prepared springform tin with the back of a spoon or the back of a drinking glass. Set the prepared Oreo crust aside.

Making the filling

1. First and foremost, prepare the strawberry filling. You can make your own strawberry filling and this can be made at least 2 weeks in advance and refrigerated. Follow my strawberry filling recipe here but puree the strawberries instead of chopping them for a smoother filling. This filling will be added to the Oreo strawberry cheesecake batter before baking and for easy cutting of the cake (chunky fruit pieces will make it harder to cut smooth slices of the cheesecake), it is best to puree the fruits before adding them to the filling.
2. To make the Oreo strawberry cheesecake batter, start by creaming the cream cheese (at room temperature) for about 30 seconds. 
3. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the flour, sugar, and salt, and beat again for another 20 seconds.  
4. Next to go into the Oreo cheesecake batter are the eggs and vanilla essence. Add both the eggs and the vanilla at once. Beat for about 10 seconds, scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat again for another 10 seconds. Beat longer if the batter is not smooth but be careful to not overbeat as overbeating at this stage will incorporate too much air into the batter, causing your cheesecake to have a bubbly surface after baking.
5. Scrape the bowl again and fold in the sour cream until it is all well combined. 
6. Finally, fold the strawberry filling into the batter. Mix well.

Baking and decorating the cheesecake

1. Pour the batter into the prepared Oreo crust and bake the Oreo strawberry cheesecake in a water bath at 160 degrees Celsius for 55 minutes. 
2. For the water bath, you can put your tin into a slightly larger cake tin and place both the tins into a baking dish filled with water before placing all three tins in the oven. Alternatively, you can wrap the sides of your cake tin with foil and place it in a baking dish filled with water. I went with the former.
3. After 55 minutes, turn off the oven and let the Oreo strawberry cheesecake sit in the oven for about 10 minutes. At this stage, the cheesecake should be firm on the sides but still wobbly in the center. It will continue to cook as it cools down, so it is important that the oven is turned off once the cheesecake reaches this stage. Over baking can cause your cheesecake texture to be rubbery and possibly crack too. Let the cake rest at room temperature for another 20 minutes before loosening the cake tin and removing it. 
4. Refrigerate the Oreo strawberry cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight. To decorate the cheesecake, spread a thin layer of fresh whipped cream on top and arrange fresh strawberries before serving. Leftovers should be kept refrigerated.

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Notes

Cheesecake baking can be pretty daunting for some people - cracked cakes, unsightly bubbles on the surface of the cheesecake, and rubbery texture are some of the common issues that are dreaded when it comes to baking cheesecakes. All these problems can be easily overcome if you follow the tips below:

Line cake pan with parchment

• Lining your cake tin with parchment will enable you to transfer the cheesecake out of the bottom of the cake tin onto a serving plate smoothly.
• To do this, chill the cheesecake first so that the crust does not break as you try to transfer it.
• Also, because of the butter in the crust, the paper will tend to stick to the crust. Use a knife to loosen the paper underneath the crust carefully and only then slowly slide the cheesecake onto a serving plate.

Reduce baking temperature

• Cheesecakes must be baked in low temperatures. Too high a temperature will result in cracked tops. It can also result in over baked cheesecakes with a rubbery texture. 

Place the cake on the lowest rack in your oven

• Place the Oreo strawberry cheesecake on the lowest rack in your oven. This will avoid the surface from turning overly brown and help avoid cracks in your cheesecake.

Avoid over beating the cheesecake batter

• Over beating will cause too much air to be incorporated into the Oreo strawberry cheesecake batter. You will know your batter has incorporated too much air if you see too many air bubbles in it as you prepare the batter.
• You can try to break as many air bubbles as you can as you level your cake top, but it is impossible to break all. The best is to avoid incorporating too much air into the batter by mixing the ingredients only to the extent that they are just combined.

Ensure the interior of your own is moist by placing a water bath

• Water baths or bain-marie help keep the interior of your oven moist. A moist oven will help in making sure your cheesecake does not become dry and crack up.

Disable the 'fan' function in your oven

• If your oven has a 'fan' function, disable it. This is another reason that can potentially contribute to cracked cheesecakes.

Avoid overbaking the cheesecake by keeping to the baking time

• Over baking can not only cause your Oreo strawberry cheesecake to crack, it can also cause the texture to become rubbery.
• Ideally, a cheesecake is done when its sides have turned firm to the touch but it's center still wobbly. The cake will continue to cook to perfection as it cools down so it is very important to keep to the baking time as indicated in the recipe.

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Like this Oreo and strawberry flavored cheesecake recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out

• Easy Cheesecake Recipe - A Simple Baked Cheesecake
• Strawberry Filling - An Easy Homemade Recipe
• Mini Christmas Cheesecake - Pretty Festive Treats
• Jam Filled Shortbread Cookies
• Peanut Butter Oreos - Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
• Ultimate Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Oreo Crust
• Mint Oreo Ice Cream - An Easy Homemade Recipe
• Pineapple Cheesecake with Coconut

Recipe (Printable)

Here is the full printable version of my baked Oreo strawberry cheesecake recipe. And while you are at it, don’t forget to also read my cheesecake recipe notes right above for tips that will help ensure you make the best Oreo strawberry cheesecake every single time!

And that's my Oreo strawberry cheesecake recipe for you!

Happy Baking 🙂