Chef Marcus Paslay’s Valentine’s Strawberry Cheesecake

Love is in the air/Everywhere I look around…

Yes, love is in the air. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and Chef Marcus Paslay has the perfect sweet treat for your sweetie! The chef of Clay Pigeon, Piattello, Walloon’s, and Provender Hall graciously shared his recipe for his Valentine’s Strawberry Cheesecake. I will admit that I’m not a huge dessert fan, but when I made this (I try to test all the recipes we get from chefs), I fell in love. Soooo creamy and not too sweet! A perfectly sweet ending to a romantic evening for two or a weekend dinner for the whole family!

Chef’s Valentine’s Strawberry Cheesecake

Ingredients

Cheesecake Base

1 pound Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
125g sugar
125g sour cream, softened
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
2 whole eggs

Strawberry Sauce

1# strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2 cup sugar
Fresh lemon juice to taste

Graham Cracker Crumble

200g Graham Crackers
125g melted butter
165g light brown sugar
Pinch of salt

To garnish

Fresh strawberries
Mint Leaves
Powdered Sugar

Directions

For the Cheesecake base, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Preheat oven to 350.

Meanwhile, soften cream cheese and sour cream to room temperature. Paddle cream cheese and sour cream with a hand or stand mixer until mixed without lumps. Add sugar, vanilla, and continue to paddle until mixed. Add eggs 1×1 until incorporated.

Thoroughly spray eight 4oz aluminum souffle tins with nonstick spray. Fill tins with cheesecake mixture, leaving about 1/2″ clearance from the top. Place tins in a baking dish- for best results, use a baking dish that is taller than the souffle tins. Gently pat dish on the counter to remove large air pockets. Carefully ladle the boiling water into the baking dish at least ½ way up the tins, but not so high that they float. Carefully transfer dish to the oven and bake until they’re just set- approx. 1 hour, rotating halfway through. Remove from water bath, and cool for 1 hr at room temp before moving to refrigerator to cool completely before removing cheesecakes from tins.

For the strawberry sauce, place the strawberries and sugar in a small pot. Gently cook, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries have released their liquid and are soft throughout. Puree and strain. Adjust seasoning once cool with lemon juice, and thin with water if needed.

For the Graham Cracker Crumble, crush graham crackers in a food processor, or in a plastic gallon bag with a rolling pin. Mix ingredients and toast in a 350 oven for 12 minutes, stirring halfway

To plate, gently squeeze the sides of the tins to release the cheesecakes. Turn upside down and pat until they fall out. Place a cheesecake on each plate, and drape with the strawberry sauce. Spoon a few neat piles of crumble around, garnish with sliced fresh strawberries, dust with powdered sugar, and mint leaves to garnish.