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Saturday, September 20, 2008

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

16 comments:

  1. I like this kind of cheesecake better than the cooked kind, which comes in handy because I'm deathly afraid of making a baked cheesecake!

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  2. the prepared cheesecake tub is actually yummy, and while i would NEVER no not NEVER scoop it into a crust and claim it as my own.... i did one time use it as a last minute dessert. plop some of it into a pretty bowl and serve it alongside strawberries and graham cracker sticks for dipping!

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  3. Yum, I love no bake cheesecake! Great blog, I'll be back soon to visit!

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  4. The cheesecake looks delicious. My mom used to make a version of no bake cheesecake similar to this! I loved it! Great job!

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  5. Mmmmm... that looks completely decadent.

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  6. huh, why don't I have co-workers like you???

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  7. How sweet of you to no-bake for your co-workers!

    I like the cherries too!

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  8. Since I'm not big on baking this would be perfect for me! Looks yummy!

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  9. That looks great, much better than the no bake cheesecake I tried to make a month ago - which was just mush - it never set up :-(

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  10. i want to, but i am trying to cut back on sweets... : (

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  11. Wow. Not only does that cheesecake look fabulous (my favorite dessert of all time, btw) but those cherries on top are TO DIE FOR! YUM!

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  12. i always end up with a big ass crack in the middle of my baked cheesecake.

    i'm too lazy to do the water bath thing.

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  13. that is so sweet that you make your CWs goodies for their b-days. maybe i should start doing that as well....

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  14. Man, I didn't know you were taking birthday orders...

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