Strawberry Coconut Cheesecake

Tasty Tidbits's Note:

Since this cheesecake needs to chill for several hours,it's easiest to bake it a day ahead of time. Prep and cook times don't reflect this.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

CRUST

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted,divided
• ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (or digestive biscuit crumbs)
• ½ cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut , toasted,cooled
• ¼ cup sugar

FILLING

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese , room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup unsalted butter , room temperature
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup canned cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)
• ¼ cup coconut rum (such as malibu)

TOPPING

• ¼ cup seedless strawberry jam
• 2 tablespoons water
• 3 (1 pint) containers strawberries , stemmed,sliced

Directions:

1. For crust; preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Brush 9 inch diameter cake pan with 2 inch sides with 1 TBs melted butter.
3. Line oan with parchment paper; lightly brush paper with some of melted butter.
4. Blend crumbs, coconut, sugar and remaining butter in medium bowl.
5. Press mixture over bottom of prepared pan.
6. Bake crust until lightly browned at edges, about 10 minutes.
7. Cool.
8. Reduce oven temperature to 300*F.
9. For filling; Using electric mixer, beat first 4 ingredients in large bowl until blended.
10. Beat in eggs 1 at a time.
11. Beat in cream of coconut and rum.
12. Pour batter over crust.
13. Place cake pan in a large roasting pan.
14. Add enough water to roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of cake pan.
15. Cover roasting pan with foil.
16. Bake cake 1 hour.
17. Remove foil.
18. Bake until cake is pale brown, puffed, and just set in center, about 40 minutes.
19. Cool cake in water bath 2 hours.
20. Remove from water; run knife around cake to loosen.
21. Chill cake in pan 3 hours.
22. (can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.).
23. Preheat oven to 350*F.
24. Place cake in oven 2 minutes.
25. Remove from oven.
26. Place sheet of foil, then 10 inch diameter cardboard round or tart pan bottom on top of cake.
27. Turn cake over.
28. Shake gently, allowing cake to settle onto foil and round.
29. Remove pan and parchment.
30. Place plater atop cake and turn cake right side up onto platter.
31. Remove round and foil.
32. For topping; simmer jam and 2 TBS water in small saucepan.
33. Brush top of cake with warm jam.
34. Overlap berries atop cake, covereing completely.
35. Brush remaining jam over berries and chill.
36. (Can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead).

Reviews

[Scoutie]

I first saw this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, the July 2004 edition. It is outstanding! I use a 9 1/2 inch springform pan wrapped with heavy-duty (long) aluminum foil for placing in the water bath. I also use sweetened shredded coconut and use 3/4 cup sugar rather than 1 cup. Something that should be mentioned regarding preventing cracks is not to overbeat the cheese cake mixture. Also, a restaurant chef once told me to put a small dish of boiling water in the back of my oven when baking cheesecakes. Since then I have no cracks! If you really like the coconut flavor, like we do, you can add some coconut extract to the batter. Thanks so much for posting!

[San Marcos Sunshine]

I must comment on the preparation. I wanted to try making this as a traditional cheesecake baked in a spring form pan. However, I was out of heavy duty wide foil, so I couldn't line the pan bottom effectively to prevent the water bath from seeping in. Ever onward...I merely put foil over the top and baked at the low temperature suggested. As expected, a deep crack formed in the center, but I added a layer of sour cream touched with a bit of the extra Coco Lopez to fill the crevasse. I’m not sure if putting the water bath on a lower oven rack below the cake would have helped. In any case, these are fine ingredients, and I’m certain it’s easier to remove if made in a spring form. Just have the foil ready and enjoy it with fine Spring strawberries. I shared with neighbors who gave it a hearty thumbs up for taste. I’ll try this again MA!

[Julie Leo]

This was great!! I made two cakes, one I made fallowing the instuctions and the other I added some crushed strawberrys to the filling just folding it in lightly. Both turned out wounderfull. Thank so much! Julie