Strawberry cheesecake
No-bake strawberry cheesecake
I mean, who doesn't like a creamy, light strawberry cheesecake?
I came up with this recipe a year ago, by chance, on our 3rd wedding anniversary. I just wanted to have a quick yummy desert that any busy mom can make during her baby's nap time. It was summer, so a no bake cheesecake was such a great idea. But I didn't have any fresh strawberries. Due to the pandemic, we tried to shop for groceries around 3 times a month and avoid closed and crowded spaces as much as possible. Therefore, I ended up using some store bought strawberry jam instead and it turned up to be a delicious choice as well.
I recently bought some fresh strawberries and one evening I thought: "hmm... I could actually make some fresh jam out of them to use it in my cheesecake."
And that's how this recipe was (re)born!
Ingredients:
For the strawberry jam:
- 320 gr. of strawberries (260 gr. after removing the green leaves)
- 200 ml. of water
- 40 gr. of sugar
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 5 gr. of corn starch
For the cake base:
- 200 gr. of digestive biscuits
- 50 gr. of melted margarine
- 3 strawberries
- 1 tsp of powdered sugar
For the cream:
- 200 gr. of soft cream cheese - I like to use Philadelphia
- 40 gr. of sugar
- juice of half of a large lemon
- 200 ml. of sweetened vegetal whipping cream
For the decoration:
- lemon peel
- shredded coconut
- 2 strawberries
Method:
Wash the strawberries and dry them out with a paper towel. Remove the green leaves, slice the strawberries in 4 quarters and then cut each wedge in 4 small pieces (as seen in the below picture).
After I removed the green leaves and some bruised parts from the strawberries, I was left with 260 gr of actual fruit to use for the jam.
Place the fruit in a non-stick pan together with the water, lemon zest and sugar. Bring everything to a boil and simmer for approximately 10 minutes or until the water disappears and you are left with a chunky jam texture. Then sift in the 5 grams of corn starch as you continuously stir with a whisk or with a wooden spoon to avoid lumps. Cook for 5 more minutes until the mixture becomes thicker.
It's important to taste your jam along the way and check its consistency. If it's too watery, add an extra 2,5 g of corn, starch. Pure the jam with a fork to get a smoother texture - but don't use the blender. Transfer it into a bowl and cover directly with cling film to stop a skin from forming on the jam. Chill over night in the fridge.
Using a food processor, grind the digestive biscuits into a fine powder. If you don't have a food processor you can use a rolling pin to smash them into a fine powder. Add the melted margarine, and blend or stir for a minute until the mixture can be molded in your hand when you touch it.
I used a 28 cm plate and a 18 diameter ring to form the cake.
With a spatula, scope the grinded biscuits and press them as evenly as possible into the bottom of the cake ring to form the biscuit base. It's probably going to be around 1 cm thick. Do not remove the cake ring at this point. Refrigerate it for 1 and 1/2 hours.
Once the base is set, thinly slice the 3 strawberries and place them on top of the biscuit base. Sift 1 tsp of powdered sugar on top of them and return the cake base into the refrigerator.
Let's make our cheesecake mix!
Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese (do not use light cream cheese as this contains a lot of water and it will prevent it from firming up) with the powdered sugar until it turns soft and shiny - it shouldn't take longer than a minute. Gradually add the lemon juice while you continue to mix it.
Next you will gradually incorporate the vegetal whipping cream and beat it continuously until the mixture is nice and firm. If you'll turn the bowl around, the mixture should not slip out of it.
Now you can fold in 3/4 of the chilled jam. The cheese mix might look a little bit runny at this point, but it will firm up in the refrigerator.
Do not incorporate warm jam into the cheese mix, as this will split the composition.
The remaining 1/4 of the jam, spread it on top of the biscuit base. It will be a very thin layer of jam, but it will make a difference when you'll cut into it. You'll get a nice layer of biscuit, next, some fresh strawberries, jam, and a generous layer of fluffy cream cheese on top.
Now you can add the cream cheese into the cake ring. Level it with a spatula and refrigerate it for up to 5 hours. It should remain fluffy like a mouse, but it will firm up in the fridge and it will hold its shape as you remove the cake ring.
Cake decorating equipment
The decoration on top is optional. But it adds a nice touch to the cake. I wanted to recreate the actual strawberry flower that has white petals and a yellow pistil. I think some mint leaves would have looked great as well, but since I didn't have any, I saved some of the strawberry leaf and placed on top of them a small round strawberry slice. For the flowers, I used 3 different sizes of fondant cutters, and placed them on top of the cake (without applying pressure on the cake), filled them with shredded coconut. I gently pressed with the tail of a teaspoon in order for the coconut decorations to stick on to the cake and keep its form when the flower shape cutter was removed. And finally, for the yellow pistil I cut out some small round pieces of lemon peal with a very sharp knife.
I reckon this is a nice spring-summer dessert that's easy to make and tastes super refreshing.
Until next time, stay safe!