Strawberry Cheesecake With Traditional Jam
This recipe was inspired by an old Guatemalan tradition from the highland markets.
Ingredients
- 8 cookies
- 30 g / 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 250 g / 1 cup cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50 g / 4 tablespoons sugar
- 120 ml / 1/2 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
- + Added:
- 1 pound of strawberries
- For the homemade strawberry jelly:
- 1 pound of strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed with the water
Instructions
- First, crush the cookies. You can use María cookies, although any neutral cookie will work. If you don’t have a food processor, you can place them in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin. While you crush the cookies, melt the butter and add it to the cookie crumbs until a dough forms. Then, distribute the mixture into small cups.
- Next, beat the cream cheese with the heavy cream, adding the vanilla and sugar little by little. When the filling is ready, you can place strawberry slices along the inside walls of the cups to add extra freshness. After that, add the filling and place the cups in the refrigerator.
- While the cups are chilling, cut half a pound of strawberries into small cubes and add them to a pot over medium-high heat. Add the water, sugar, lemon juice, and the remaining ingredients for the jelly. Once the jelly is ready, remove the cups from the refrigerator and spoon some of the strawberry jelly on top. Finally, you can add a strawberry slice on top for decoration.
Notes
This recipe was inspired by an old Guatemalan tradition from the highland markets, where vendors would combine simple, everyday ingredients to create fresh desserts that could survive long journeys under the sun. According to local stories, strawberry harvest season was a time of celebration in the western regions of the country, especially around Chimaltenango and Quetzaltenango, where families would wake up before dawn to pick the reddest strawberries from the fog-covered fields. It is said that one grandmother, known in her community as Doña Rosita la Dulcera, loved to reward the children who helped in the harvest. But she didn’t always have flour or an oven, so she invented a chilled dessert made from crushed María cookies—popular and affordable across Guatemala—mixed with fresh cream produced by the neighboring dairy farmers. She gently folded in vanilla, a flavor cherished in many Central American households, and sweetened the mixture just enough to remind the children of festive days. What made her dessert unforgettable was the strawberry jelly she cooked over a wood fire. Using the strawberries the children had picked, she created a thick, fragrant syrup that she poured over the creamy filling. People said the aroma traveled across the whole village, announcing that a new batch of postre de cosecha—the harvest dessert—was ready. Over the years, families adapted Doña Rosita’s recipe, preparing it in small cups for celebrations, school festivals, picnics, and Sunday lunches. Today, this dessert honors the simplicity and creativity of Guatemalan home cooks, the importance of sharing food with loved ones, and the joy of turning fresh, local ingredients into something truly special.