Classic Baked Cheesecake

1. Biscuits: Any plain crackers will work fine here, you need 2 cups of crumbs.

Australia: Arnott’s Marie Crackers, Arrowroot and Nice are ideal, I’ve made it with all these. US: Use 28 squares / 14 full sheets, yes I measured it with my last Graham Cracker packet I brought back from my last trip. UK: Digestives are ideal, I LOVE digestives!

The crumb should be like wet sand so when pressed, it stays packed firmly, especially up the wall. Adjust if necessary with more butter. It’s delicate when uncooked but once the filling is cooked, it becomes much more stable.

2. Cream Cheese – In the UK and some parts of Europe, block cream cheese isn’t available. If you can only get spreadable cream cheese in tubs (softer than block), skip the sour cream.

3. Lemon Juice or Water – Depends on sweetness of strawberries. If they aren’t that sweet, use water instead.

4. Inverted cake pan with overhang paper: The base of springform pans have a slight ridge. By inverting it, there is no ridge which makes it easier to slide the cheesecake on a serving platter without ruining the crust. There is no risk of batter leakage as the crust is thick enough to hold it all in.

5. Crumbs: OR crush in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin or large can.

6. Cool in oven: This helps stop the surface from cracking.

7. Different measures: Cups and spoons vary slightly between countries (US and CAN are different to most of the rest of the world). I have made this recipe using both US and Australian measures, using Australia Marie crackers and US Graham Crackers. The Graham Cracker crust is slightly crunchier because the biscuit doesn’t crush to a fine sand like Marie Crackers do. Both are delicious!