Light as Air No-Bake Cheesecake. Perfect for a Hot Summer Night
August 1, 2012 in Brunch, Cakes and Cupcakes, Dessert, Pretty Pictures, Recipes, Sweet
I’m not sure if you caught my first article in the Huffington Post, and this is SO appropriate for a hot summer day, I felt compelled to share it here on my blog as well. I would love to hear how it turns out for you and how YOU made it your own!
I have a confession….rather my HUSBAND has a confession to make. He doesn’t like my baked cheesecakes. I know. I can hear your gasps of horror. The sweet man waited almost 20 years to tell me this. He suffered through all of my attempts and smiled and cleaned his plate. Up until I mentioned making him a cheesecake for when he came home FINALLY for good. He was silent for a bit on the phone, then quietly and timidly said…”um, Carrie? I don’t really like baked cheesecakes. Well, YOUR baked cheesecakes” Don’t worry. I got that worked out. I made a cheesecake he LOVES! Plus, it’s perfect for summer. It’s a no-bake. I really feel like I have perfected the no-bake cheesecake. ESPECIALLY if you like just a little less tang of cream cheese and more creaminess. This cheesecake is super light, creamy and just sweet enough. It goes with a thousand different toppings…really anything. We personally had cherry pie filling and homemade lemon curd. It would have been amazing with fresh bananas and hot fudge too….Uhm…excuse me while I go dig out the leftovers from the fridge and find my bananas and hot fudge. Yay!
| Light as Air No-Bake Cheesecake |
- 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 stick butter, browned and cooled
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2-8 ounce blocks of cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups very cold whipping cream
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped (save the pod for your sugar)
- 1 1/4 tsp. powdered gelatin
- 3 Tbsp. your favorite liqueur (I used raspberry)
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- In a 9 inch springform pan, combine crumbs, butter and sugar until it resembles wet sand. Press into the bottom and up the sides of the pan as much as possible so that it is pressed nice and tight. I used the flat bottom of a smooth glass to make sure that it was all pretty and flat. Refrigerate until ready to use to allow it to firm up nicely.
- In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the liqueur and vanilla extract. Allow to stand 5 minutes to bloom the gelatin. Microwave for 5-10 seconds just to liquefy. Stir to ensure it is completely dissolved. Set aside.
- In stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla bean until VERY smooth and creamy.
- Meanwhile whip the cream until medium peaks form.
- Slowly add the gelatin to the beating cream cheese.
- Add about 1/3 of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture to loosen up the batter.
- Fold the rest of the whipped cream into the batter and pour into the graham cracker crust.
- Smooth the top and refrigerate at least two hours.
- Serve with your favorite topping or get really wild and go naked!!
Enjoy! And be good sweet readers. But not too good! That’s boring ;)
Hi! I found your blog off of pinterest and it looks amazing. Just tried this (it’s chilling in the fridge now) substituting Neufchâtel cheese and instead of 3 tbsp liqueur, 1 tsp lemon extract and the rest of the 3 tbsp with water. The batter tastes amazing and so light, I can’t wait to try the completed cake in the morning! Thank you!
*My iPad isn’t letting me add stars but i would give this 5!