Ain't got nothin' but love

I turned to one of my coworkers, 4H, during a recent happy hour. "Your birthday's next week, what kind of cake do you want?" She answered almost immediately - cheesecake. And so I decided to try yet another cheesecake - a no bake one. I won't lie. I actually looked long and hard at that already prepared cheesecake filling, but felt that would be copping out.

Instead I decided to make my own, using gelatin to thicken the filling so I wouldn't have to cook it. I went back to the crust. I really like cheesecake crust I decided. Even with the gelatin this didn't get as thick as I would have liked it. But it sure was creamy. It goes oohhs and ahhhs all over the office, and one of my other coworkers told me she wanted cheesecake on her birthday too. And she's continued to remind me daily that her birthday is only a couple months away.

No Bake Cheesecake

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Tbs. water
• 1 tsp. unflavored gelatin

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and lemon zest in food processor.
   
3. Add the butter and process until the crumbs begin to stick together.
   
4. Press the crumbs evenly and firmly over the bottom and 2 inches up the side of a 9-by-2 1/2-inch springform pan. Bake the crust 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Beat in 1/2 cup of the cream and the vanilla until incorporated.
6. Place the water in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let soften for 5 minutes. Place the saucepan over low heat and stir until the gelatin is dissolved, then gradually whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup cream.
   
7. Add the gelatin mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute. Spoon the filling into the cooled crust. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

Serves 12.
Each serving has:

Calories		483.2
Total Fat		38.1 g
	Saturated Fat	22.1 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	2.4 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	11.5 g
Cholesterol		110.3 mg
Sodium		331.2 mg
Potassium		120.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate		30.6 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.3 g
	Sugars	23.4 g
Protein		6.8 g