Strawberry-Coconut Cheesecake

Crust
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, divided
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut,* toasted, cooled
1/4 cup sugar

Filling
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 large eggs
1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López)**
1/4 cup coconut rum (such as Malibu)

Topping
1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam
2 tablespoons water
3 1-pint containers strawberries, stemmed, sliced

Baking cheesecake in the gentle, even heat of a water bath (bain-marie) ensures a uniform texture. *Available at specialty foods stores and natural foods stores. **Available in the liquor section of most supermarkets

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Line pan with parchment paper; lightly brush paper with some of melted butter. Blend crumbs, coconut, sugar, and remaining butter in medium bowl. Press mixture over bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust until lightly browned at edges, about 10 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

For filling:
Using electric mixer, beat first 4 ingredients in large bowl until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in cream of coconut and rum. Pour batter over crust. Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Add enough water to roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of cake pan. Cover roasting pan with foil.

Bake cake 1 hour. Remove foil. Bake until cake is pale brown, puffed, and just set in center, about 40 minutes. Cool cake in water bath 2 hours. Remove from water; run knife around cake to loosen. Chill cake in pan 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cake in oven 2 minutes. Remove from oven. Place sheet of foil, then 10-inch-diameter cardboard round or tart pan bottom on top of cake. Turn pan over. Shake gently, allowing cake to settle onto foil and round. Remove pan and parchment. Place platter atop cake and turn cake right side up onto platter. Remove round and foil.

For topping:
Simmer jam and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Brush top of cake with warm jam. Overlap berries atop cake, covering completely. Brush remaining jam over berries; chill. (Can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead.





Serving Size: 1 Cheesecake

Number of Servings: 12

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CHEF4LIFE.