Strawberry Banana Cheesecake

As per all of our family birthday celebrations, no party is now complete without one of my desserts. Usually I go with some sort of cheesecake, and this time was no exception. Although my brother is a big chocoholic, I really wanted to make a cheesecake that reflected the summertime, and therefore went along the fruit path. I came up with this recipe on the fly, and was quite surprised with the consistency and taste. I particularly enjoyed the comment made by my cousin: "It's like a strawberry banana milkshake in solid form!"

The truth of the matter was that he was right...it had both a distinct strawberry and banana flavor and the little chunks of banana were reminiscent of a milkshake. As for the consistency, my mother likened the cake more to a mousse rather than a cheesecake. However, it seemed that everyone actually enjoyed the soft, creamy texture of the cake instead of the usual density that a cheesecake brings to mind. After seeing everyone's reactions, I think I might try my hand at some mousse cakes and see how they turn out. After all, a girl can experiment with one type of cake for so long before wanting to spread her wings a little.

The cake itself should not have been difficult to make, except for the fact that my mixer broke halfway through the process. My family has been faithfully served by the same hand-held Black and Decker mixer for the past 16 years. Unfortunately, as I was making my brother's birthday cake the mixer decided that it had run its course and, with one last whirl, gave up and died on me. Luckily it had remained alive long enough to do the grunt work...I used it long enough to beat together the cream cheese and sugar, as well as two out of the three eggs for each of the batters. Still, I got quite a workout by hand mixing the rest of the ingredients, starting with the last eggs and then of course the fruit and sour cream.

In the end, it turned out to be a delicious cake and now I'm looking for a new hand-held mixer which will hopefully serve me just as well as the previous one did for so long. My dreams of course would be for a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, but the price tag on it will keep me dreaming a little longer...so I'm settling for a good hand-held mixer instead. Any suggestions would be appreciated, preferably one that has a slow speed setting which is actually slow. Until I get a new mixer, I guess I'll try making other things to pass the time.

Strawberry Banana Cheesecake
Note: I used an 11" springform pan to make this recipe, therefore doubling the proportions of a normal cheesecake and making two complete batters. I still had a little extra left over of each batter and made it into mini cheesecakes in metal tart forms. I honestly don't know the proportions for a regular 9" cheesecake, so I will post the recipe I used. If you're anxious about the leftover batter, either make mini cheesecakes like I did or split the batters in half, make two 8" or 9" cakes and then freeze one. Cheesecakes can sit in the freezer, tightly wrapped for a good three months.

For the crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4-1 cup caramel
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped

Combine the sugar, cinnamon, graham cracker crumbs, and melted butter. Transfer the mixture to a 11" springform pan and press down gently along the bottom and sides. Bake for 8 minutes at 350 Fahrenheit. 

Allow the crust to cool a little before you pour the caramel on top. Make sure to spread all along the bottom, and then sprinkle the mixture of walnuts and pecans over top.

For the banana filling:

• 1 lb (2 blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 bananas, mashed
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Mash the bananas and add the teaspoon of lemon juice to the puree. You can process the bananas in a food processor, but I personally liked having the banana chunks run throughout the cake...it made the banana flavor stand out.

Beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla until well combined. Gently fold in the banana mixture until the batter is fully mixed and no streaks are present.

Pour the banana batter into the springform pan halfway up the sides. You will probably have some extra batter leftover, but don't be tempted to use it all otherwise you won't have room for the strawberry layer. Place the pan in the freezer for about 10 minutes, allowing the banana layer to firm up a little before pouring the strawberry layer on top.

For the strawberry filling:

• 1 lb (2 blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups strawberries + 2 tbsp sugar + 1 tbsp lemon juice

To make the puree: There are proper methods to making strawberry puree using fresh or frozen strawberries, but they involve prepping hours ahead of time, and I often don't plan on making the cake until I actually find the time to do it. Therefore, my simple puree method involved roughly cutting up two cups of strawberries, sprinkling two tablespoons of sugar, and heating it up in a small saucepan until the strawberries became soft. I then dumped it all in a blender and pureed the mixture with a tablespoon of lemon juice, leaving it in there to cool while I worked on the rest of the batter.

As with the banana batter, beat together the cream cheese and sugar, then add the eggs in one at a time and then the sour cream and vanilla. Lastly fold in the strawberry puree until the batter is fully combined. Pour the strawberry layer over the banana layer (you will have extra batter) until the batter is about 2 cm from the top.

Bake the cheesecake in a water bath, or with a pan of hot water on the lowest rack, for 50 minutes at 325 Fahrenheit. Without opening the oven door, turn off the oven and let the cake sit there for another 1-1/2 hours before removing. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate at least 4 hours, though preferably overnight, before serving.

Note: If you choose to make mini cheesecakes with the leftover batter, bake them in muffin sized tart shells at the same temperature for 15 minutes. Afterward, turn off the oven and let them sit there for another 20 minutes before partially opening the oven door. Allow the cheesecakes to cool completely in the oven with the door ajar and then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.