AIR FRYER STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

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AIR FRYER STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE
Wow, this is so good, and so easy.  If you’re like me and love Strawberry anything, you are going to love this cheesecake,.  It’s got fresh strawberries in the cheesecake and it has such a wonderful flavor.  It’s topped with strawberry frosting, and more fresh berries, and it’s just delicious!  It’s like a slice of heaven, and I guarantee your guests, or family will love this as well.  Keep this one handy.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE AIR FRYER STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE:

FOR THE CRUST:

• 
  1 sleeve of graham crackers – crushed
• 1 Tablespoon of sugar
• 1/2 stick of butter – melted

FOR THE FILLING:

• 3 – 8 ounce packages of Cream Cheese – softened
  1 cup of sugar
  1/2 cup of heavy cream (Plus a little more if needed)
• 4 ounces of Jello Vanilla Instant pudding
• 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of fresh strawberry puree – about 25 berries
• 2 Tablespoons of sugar (Add to the berries)
  Bright pink food coloring gel

TO DECORATE:

• 1 can of Strawberry Frosting
• Additional berries to top
  Crisco Shortening – for the pan, and for parchment paper – see instructions

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

Place the graham crackers in a blender, or food processor, and blend into crumbs.  Place the graham cracker crumbs in a bowl, and add the sugar, and stir well.  Add the melted butter, and blend well to coat crumbs in butter.  Line the bottom of a 6 inch cake pan with parchment paper, and press the crumbs evenly into the bottom of the pan.  Place the pan in the freezer.
Wash the Strawberries, and dry on paper towels.  Remove the stems of about 25 large berries, and place them in a blender or food processor.  Add the 2 Tablespoons of sugar, and blend, or process the berries, until they are pureed.  Set aside.

In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, place the cream cheese, sugar, and heavy cream, and blend until smooth. Add the Vanilla extract, lemon juice, and eggs, and mix until well blended.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix until smooth and creamy.   Add the Instant pudding, and mix until blended into the cheesecake batter.  Add the pureed Strawberries, and blend until the berries are mixed well with the cheesecake; batter will be light pink.  Add 3 or 4 drops of the bright pink food coloring gel, and blend until well mixed, and all food coloring gel is incorporated into the cheesecake.  (If you think it needs a little more food coloring gel, add a couple more drops until you achieve desired color). 

Remove the pan from the freezer, and brush the pan with Crisco shortening, from above the crust to the top of the pan, then pour the cheesecake into the pan, on top of the crust.  Place in the Air Fryer, and turn the Air Fryer to the ‘BAKE’ setting.  Turn the temperature to 325, and set the time for 20 minutes.  When the 20 minutes is up, and the Air Fryer beeps, gently pull the basket of the fryer out, and, brush Crisco on a piece of Parchment paper, and place over the top of the pan, and place a piece of foil over the parchment paper. You don’t have to seal the parchment or foil around the pan, this is just to prevent the top from burning.  Place the basket back in the Air Fryer, and set the time for 20 minutes.  When the air fryer beeps, and goes to off, pull the basket out, and check the cheesecake, being careful to remove the foil, and parchment paper. If the Parchment paper sticks to the cheesecake, don’t worry, you’re going to add frosting to the top when it’s cool.  The cheesecake will probably be really wiggly in the middle, so, place the parchment and foil back over the pan, and place it back in the air fryer, and set the time for another 20 minutes.  Remove the cheesecake at the end of the 20 minutes, and check it again to see if it’s still wiggly in the center; if it is, set it for 10 more minutes, and finish baking the cheesecake.  At the end of the 10 minutes, don’t pull the basket to the Air fryer, and instead, let the cheesecake cool in the basket for about an hour.  At the end of the hour, remove the basket from the Air Fryer, and remove the foil and parchment.  Remove the pan from the basket, and set on a wire rack to cool completely.  When cheesecake has cooled, cover it with foil, and place in the refrigerator overnight to completely set the cheesecake.  At the same time, when you put the cheesecake in the refrigerator, place the can of frosting in the fridge to chill as well. 

Before serving, Remove the Frosting from the refrigerator, and let stand for about 10 minutes.  Place the frosting in a piping bag, with a large star tip.  Remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator, and remove the foil.  Run a sharp knife around the pan, between the pan and the cheesecake, to loosen it.  Turn the pan over onto a plate, and have ready, a cake plate, cake stand, or serving plate.  Tap the bottom of the pan to loosen, and keep tapping the bottom of the pan until the cheesecake slides out.  Place the serving piece of choice on the bottom of the crust, and flip the cheesecake over onto the serving piece, i.e., cake plate, stand, etc.  When the cheesecake is on the cake plate or stand, pipe the Strawberry frosting onto the top of the cheesecake, in a fluffy ribbon, or large dollops around the edge and in the center.  Place slices of fresh Strawberries, and chopped pieces of berries on top of the frosting to decorate the cheesecake.  Serve, and Enjoy!

Makes approximately 8 – 2 inch pieces of AIR FRYER STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

NOTE:  When mixing the cheesecake, after you add the Instant pudding, you may need a few more drops of heavy cream.  Don’t add a lot of heavy cream, because even though the cheesecake batter may appear really thick, when the Strawberry puree is added, it will thin the batter a bit.   ALSO:  If you don’t have a 6″ pan, you can use a 7″ Spring-form pan to bake this – however, it won’t be quite as thick as the piece shown, but it will be close, and you’ll probably get one more piece to serve from the 7″ pan!

If you enjoyed this recipe check out our other air fryer recipes:

• Air fryer cherry pie wontons
• Air fryer Twix cheesecake