Strawberry Cheesecake Layers

I have heard people say cheesecake is hard to make. It isn't really, just time consuming. The trick is to make sure everything is completely smooth without adding air to the batter. You do this by mixing long, not fast. My Kitchenaid mixer never goes above 2 when making cheesecake.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C fine graham cracker crumbs
3 T Sugar
3 T melted butter

5 8oz pkg Cream cheese at room temperature
1 C sugar
3 T flour
1 T vanilla
1 C sour cream
4 eggs
3 T  strawberry preserves
1  t strawberry extract
4 drops red food color

Preheat oven to 325F. Position oven racks - one on bottom and one in middle of the oven. Combine graham cracker crumbs and 3 T sugar,, add melted butter and combine well. Press into the bottom and 1/4 up the sides of a 10" spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven to cool. Beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add sugar, flour, vanilla,, and sour cream. Beat until smooth scraping sides of bowl often. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Scrape bowl. Beat another 5 minutes or so until the batter is completely smooth. Pour 3/4 of the batter into spring form pan. Add preserves and extract to remaining batter and mix until thoroughly combined. Add food color and mix until solid pink in color. Slowly pour on top of batter in the pan. Place on center rack in oven. Place 9 X 13 inch pan filled with 1 inch of water on oven bottom rack. Bake for 1 hour 5 minutes. The center will appear jiggly, but the cake is done. Turn oven off. Crack open oven door and leave cake in oven until oven is completely cool.  About an hour. About 15 minutes into oven cooling, pull rack and run a knife around the edges of cake to loosen from pan. Slide rack and cake back in oven leaving oven door cracked open.  Remove from oven and allow to finish cooling on rack. Put in refrigerator once cooled. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before garnishing with sliced strawberries, whipped cream, etc.