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Neapolitan Zebra Cheesecake

May 20, 2013 by overtimecook 35 Comments

neapolitan zebra cheesecake on Overtime Cook

Every now and then, a person is lucky enough to come up with an idea that’s pure genius. I consider myself endlessly lucky to have a platform, both here on the blog and in my magazine column, where I can share my occasional stroke of brilliance with a couple of folks.

Well this one was one of my most incredible strokes of genius. Ages ago, I posted this Zebra Cake. Then I took it a step further with this ever popular Zebra Bundt Cake. And ever since then, the concept of zebra cakes and such have been in my head constantly.

I wanted to create a zebra cheesecake, but plain chocolate and vanilla has been done so many times, and I wanted to do something a little more extraordinary. That’s when I came up with the idea of this Neapolitan Zebra Cheesecake. It’s gorgeous, it’s impressive, and the flavors are simply awesome together. After all, who doesn’t love this amazing flavor combination?

The recipe was published recently in my magazine column, and it might have been my most popular recipe ever. Facebook blew up with my amazing readers posting pictures of this gorgeous cake, so I knew I had to share it with my lovely blog readers.

Next time you want to impress, make this cheesecake. It’s not as complicated as it looks. It’s a matter of making three quick batters, then spooning them in carefully. Go ahead. You know it’s worth it!

neapolitan zebra cheesecake 2

 

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Neapolitan Zebra Cheesecake
Author: Miriam Pascal, OvertimeCook.Com
 
Originally published in my column in Ami/Whisk magazine.
Ingredients
For the crust:
  • 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons butter, melted
For the Strawberry Layer:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup flour
  • ½ cup strawberry purée*
  • 1 teaspoon strawberry extract (optional, but strongly recommended)
  • A few drops food coloring (optional but recommended)
  • *(blend frozen strawberries that have been defrosted in your food processor to make the purée.)
For the chocolate layer:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ¼ cup cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup flour
For the vanilla layer:
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup milk
  • ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons flour
Instructions
To prepare the crust:
  1. Mix together the graham crackers, sugar and melted butter until combined. (It will have the texture of wet sand.) Press along the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Press a round measuring cup along the edge to smooth it out. Place the crust in the freezer while you prepare the batter.
To prepare batter: combine all ingredients for strawberry mixture in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. (You can do this with an electric mixer or a whisk.) Set aside. Repeat to make chocolate and then vanilla batter.
To assemble the cheesecake:
  1. Remove the crust from the freezer. Place a small scoop (*see note) (about 2-4 Tablespoons) of the vanilla batter in the center of the crust.
  2. Next, place a scoop of the chocolate mixture in the center of the vanilla. This will cause the vanilla mixture to spread out. Then, place a scoop of the strawberry mixture in the center of the chocolate, again, this will push the chocolate mixture out towards the edge.
  3. Repeat with the remaining batter, alternating between the colors. (Note about the size of the scoop- the smaller the scoop, the more impressive your cheesecake will look, but the longer it will take. Just make sure the scoops are the same size for each flavor.)
  4. Bake the cheesecake at 350 for 65 minutes. To prevent cracks, turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool slowly for at least an hour.
  5. If you don't want to make your own crust, divide the batter between two pre-made graham cracker crusts and bake for 40-45 minutes.
  6. *Note: I heard from many readers who used squeeze bottles and piping bags to place the batter in neat, even circles. This might also make the process easier.
3.2.2925

 

neapolitan zebra cheesecake alt

Thanks everyone for stopping by! And come back soon for some more delicious recipes! -Miriam

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Filed Under: Cake, Cheesecake/Dairy Desserts, Dairy, Dessert, Holiday Tagged With: baking, cheesecake, Chocolate, dairy, dessert, neapolitan, Recipes, strawberry, vanilla


Comments

  1. sweetbakedlife says

    May 21, 2013 at 12:20 am

    Wow, now that’s a cheesecake! Beautiful!

    Reply
  2. brucha says

    May 21, 2013 at 12:42 am

    Crazy how viral this recipe went! Well deserved Miriam!

    Reply
  3. Urban Bakes says

    May 21, 2013 at 2:48 am

    Absolutely beautiful!!

    Reply
  4. Tali Simon says

    May 21, 2013 at 5:01 am

    This is the first I’ve seen of it, so thank you for sharing it on the blog! It’s gorgeous and SO clever. No wonder it was a hit!

    Reply
  5. Lucia says

    May 21, 2013 at 5:18 am

    Wow. Beautiful cake!

    Reply
  6. Marie @ Little Kitchie says

    May 21, 2013 at 7:55 am

    What a beauty!

    Reply
  7. Goldy says

    May 21, 2013 at 7:57 am

    My sis made this for shavuos. Was awesome and gorgeous!!!

    Reply
  8. Poppy says

    May 21, 2013 at 10:24 am

    Wow, that is a thing of beauty!

    Reply
  9. Designs by Statman says

    May 21, 2013 at 11:17 am

    Reminds me of the Zebra clown from Madagascar !!

    Reply
  10. Designs by Statman says

    May 21, 2013 at 11:18 am

    This should be a one spoon slice not two spoons !! 🙂

    Reply
  11. Laura@Baking In Pyjamas says

    May 21, 2013 at 3:16 pm

    Your cheesecake looks great, I love the Neapolitan theme.

    Reply
  12. eastofedencook says

    May 21, 2013 at 3:26 pm

    Adore the swirling neapolitan colors and flavors! A terrific dessert!

    Reply
  13. dalya says

    May 21, 2013 at 6:03 pm

    i love all ur recipes but can u post some healthy ones please? we all ate a lot over shavous

    Reply
    • overtimecook says

      May 21, 2013 at 6:14 pm

      I’ve got loads of healthy recipes in my archives. Check out the recipe index. Enjoy!

      Reply
  14. sarahannrosalia says

    May 22, 2013 at 7:15 pm

    Reblogged this on sarahannrosalia and commented:
    Ohmygoodness.. I must make this

    Reply
  15. rainydaylookbook says

    May 23, 2013 at 4:02 am

    This looks amazing! Such a good idea.

    Reply
  16. Shanna S (@PinaCocoblog) says

    May 23, 2013 at 11:53 pm

    Love this. Seriously so cool looking!!

    Reply
  17. wallflourgirl says

    May 24, 2013 at 9:36 pm

    This is absolutely gorgeous. This isn’t just lucky genius–you’ve got some real talent here, girl 🙂

    Reply
  18. Words We Women Write says

    May 25, 2013 at 8:50 pm

    Welcome to WWWW, where cheesecake is a food group. 🙂

    Reply
  19. themondaybox says

    May 29, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    Impressive indeed! My first thought when I saw the photo of this gorgeous cheese cake was, “Wow!” Thoughts of imagined cakes and cookies can keep a person up at night, but if the result is an inspired recipe like this, its worth it!

    Reply
  20. Danny @ 1227 Foster says

    June 1, 2013 at 3:17 pm

    Simply a work of art 🙂

    Reply
  21. leah :) says

    June 2, 2013 at 8:09 pm

    GORGEOUS and DELICIOUS looooking!!!!!!!!!!!

    mmmhmmmmhmmm!

    Reply
  22. Olivia says

    June 4, 2013 at 8:39 am

    I made this and it came out really great. I only used chocolate and vanilla but increased each batter by 1.5 times to make it the same size. My only suggestion is to cream the cream cheese and sugar first before adding the other ingredients to avoid cream cheese lumps! But great concept!

    Reply
  23. Cravings of a Lunatic says

    June 9, 2013 at 9:28 pm

    Dang woman, this is something else. Really gorgeous, this is a stunning.

    Reply
  24. ibakecakesandthings says

    August 5, 2013 at 2:27 pm

    This look delicious!

    Reply
  25. Marilyn Seay says

    January 1, 2014 at 2:16 pm

    This is a neat idea, I make the Neapolitan cupcakes and cake, but never thought of making a cheesecake out of this recipe. I have to try this but I will used my own recipe . Thanks for the idea. Please visit my website, and I’m on mobile as well. Have a bless and Happy New Year.

    Reply
  26. Ruth says

    May 19, 2014 at 3:48 pm

    Just wondering if this desert can be frozen?!
    Looks heavenly!

    Reply
  27. Joana Rodriguez says

    May 26, 2014 at 6:18 pm

    Love making cheesecake and this one is amazing! I actually tried this one last year when you posted it, however I guess I failed on the amount of each flavor as I placed it into the pan! The end result was not impressive and defined like yours! Any tips that you can give me before I try it again!!!

    Reply
  28. AILUY says

    May 26, 2014 at 8:28 pm

    Do you think I can make this crustless?

    Reply
  29. Cal says

    June 13, 2014 at 1:05 pm

    How long would you bake individual cheesecakes? How many would this make?

    Reply
  30. Dalia says

    May 28, 2015 at 7:27 am

    If I use a pre purchased graham cracker crust, do I use the same quantity of ingredients or do I reduce it by half? It seems quite small for so much cream cheese and other ingredients. Thanks for letting me know. … i am a big fan of yours all the way from Zurich.

    Reply
    • overtimecook says

      May 31, 2015 at 2:16 am

      Divide it between two graham cracker crusts.

      Reply
      • Dalia says

        June 3, 2015 at 6:00 pm

        Thanks, Could you also add measurements in grams on your recipes?

        Reply
        • overtimecook says

          June 4, 2015 at 8:00 am

          I’m sure there are websites that will do the conversions for you. 🙂

          Reply
  31. Miriam says

    May 10, 2017 at 10:06 am

    I recently learned that Karin Green, a popular Israeli cookbook author, has a famous cheesecake that is called a bullseye cake, which you would probably call a zebra cake. I am getting so psyched for Shavuot!!

    Reply

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