Strawberry sauce for cheesecake

[PJ]

I have made three cheesecakes for a party for tomorrow night. I have used the canned "Thank You Brand" cherries, and the blueberry saucesin the past, and they are okay. But I would like to make a delicious strawberry sauce from scratch Does anyone have a wonderful sauce recipe, using fresh strawberries, and maybe bourbon added.

[PJ]

Dear Friends,


I was asked to bring cheesecake to a cookout for tomorrow night. I have baked 4 cheescakes, and they turned out wonderful. But my problem is I want to serve sauce along with the Cheesecakes, like Blueberry, and Cherry. But I really would like to make a strawberry sauce from scratch. Doesn't anyone have a delicious and simiple recipe to share with me. I know this would just please so many people to have this kind of varity ty. Please Help!

[Pete]

PJ, if you can get your hands on fresh, beautiful strawberries then you have to do very little to make them taste good. Merely slice them, sprinkle them with sugar and let them sit for a few hours. The sugar will draw out the juices giving you a very fresh tasting sauce. No cooking involved. I don't know that I would use bourbon with the strawberries (this is coming from a bourbon fan). I can think of better matches. Amaretto, an orange flavored liqueur, a little port, or even a little dark rum would be a better match. If you want to get really crazy you can make an herb simple syrup to toss your strawberries with, instead of the sugar. Just make sure that the herb flavors are subtle. Too strong an herb flavor would ruin the dish. Some herbs to try are tarragon, lemon thyme, lemon balm, any of the basils, any of the mints, lavender, or lemon verbena.

[PJ]

Originally Posted by Pete

PJ, if you can get your hands on fresh, beautiful strawberries then you have to do very little to make them taste good. Merely slice them, sprinkle them with sugar and let them sit for a few hours. The sugar will draw out the juices giving you a very fresh tasting sauce. No cooking involved. I don't know that I would use bourbon with the strawberries (this is coming from a bourbon fan). I can think of better matches. Amaretto, an orange flavored liqueur, a little port, or even a little dark rum would be a better match. If you want to get really crazy you can make an herb simple syrup to toss your strawberries with, instead of the sugar. Just make sure that the herb flavors are subtle. Too strong an herb flavor would ruin the dish. Some herbs to try are tarragon, lemon thyme, lemon balm, any of the basils, any of the mints, lavender, or lemon verbena.

Pete, Thank you for this information. Sounds wonderful. But I though I had to boil the strawberries with sugar until the sugar dissolved or something, then add cornstarch? Can you help me out on this. I don' want the sauce runny. Thank you

[Pete]

It really all depends on what you are looking for. Yes you could cook your strawberries and thicken them up. You will end up with a nice thick sauce, but then you sacrifice the nice fresh flavor of strawberries in season. Without cooking, your sauce will be much thinner and more runny, but will taste fresh and vibrant. My choice, any day, especially in strawberry season would be to not cook it. Another option would be to top your cheesecake with whole strawberries. To do this, slice off the stem end so that the strawberries lie flat. Arrange them, in concentric circles, so that they cover the whole cake. Then heat some preserves, with a little water, to melt (Apricot preserves work best). Strain to remove any pulp. Brush this over your strawberries to give them a nice shine. This isn't really a sauce, but it looks nice and helps you to avoid cooking your strawberries. As you can see, if you have nice strawberries I really am against cooking them. They just lose so much of that fresh flavor that screams summer. Of course, if you can't get really nice fresh strawberries then go ahead and make a cooked sauce.

[Suzanne]

Not much to add to Pete's good advice -- except that one possible nonalcoholic addition to a fresh strawberry sauce is balsamic vinegar, especially if your strawberries are NOT perfect. The regular dark kind is good, but if you can find white balsamic, that might look better. Cut up your berries, add just a little sugar and a slug of balsamic vinegar, let it sit in the fridge for a while, then puree (blender or food processor) and strain through a very fine strainer to catch the seeds. (You don't absolutely have to strain it, but it is nicer that way, without the crunch.) Adjust the flavor if necessary with more sugar, vinegar, or a shot of lemon juice. You get a really nice fresh sauce (or "coulis" in this case), and while it won't be as thick as if you cooked it with starch, it will be reasonably substantial.

[PJ]

Thank you both Suzanne and Pete for the helpful advise. I am going with fresh strawberries, and just glaze them as Pete suggested. I like the fresh idea, and it makes sense not to lose flavor and freshness by heating the strawberries; s o, I'm going with that. I so much appreciated the information and suggestions...thank you! Pj