No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe (Step by Step Guide)

This post is dedicated to Vince, Ellaine and Saki. 

It's strawberry season and we brought home some strawberries freshly picked from Benguet. One thing about strawberries is it rots easily so I thought I'd experiment and preserve the strawberries by making some no-bake cheesecake.

Here's how I did it:

Crust

Place a cup of crushed Graham Honey Crackers in a bowl.

Melt 1/3 cup of butter. I normally do this by steaming it so it doesn't become oily.

Crush 1 cup of peanuts or cashew. We like it a bit crunchy so I don't crush it too much. (I use peanuts because my son is allergic to cashew).

Add the cup of peanuts/cashew in the bowl.

Add 1 Tbsp. of brown sugar.

Mix well.

Add the melted butter onto the bowl. Mix well.

Put the crust mixture into a 9" baking pan or Pyrex dish. Or you can use aluminum trays (I prefer this because it's easier to limit what we eat and I can easily give a tray or two to my Mom).

Flatten the crust mixture to the bottom of the pan using a spoon or the bottom of a glass.

Let the crust harden in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

Filling

Chop into small cubes 2 cups of strawberries (about 20 pieces).

Dissolve a pack of Knoxx Unflavored Gelatin in 1/4 cup of hot water. Let cool.

Make sure that the cream cheese has softened before you start making the filling. I usually take it out of the fridge while I make the crust. Place a bar of cream cheese in a bowl. Process cream cheese with 1/2 cup of sugar. Add sugar slowly. Add a cup of all purpose cream and mix well and then add the dissolved gelatin.

Add two cups of chopped strawberries. Use a spatula to mix.

Get the hardened crust from the freezer.

Add the filling and the put it in the freezer. Let it freeze for at least 3 hours.

EAT!

Optional: add fresh strawberries on top before serving.

No Bake Mango Cheesecake

I attended the Maya Kitchen Cheesecake class early this month and told myself that I'd make at least one cheesecake this month. My boys were also eager to sample it. Got some ingredients last weekend when we went grocery shopping and I immediately put myself to work.

Of course, I started with the easiest recipe -- the no-bake cheesecake. Haha.

Ingredients for the crumb crust:

1 cup crushed graham crackers (approximately 2/3 of a 200 gram pack if you don't find the crushed one)
1 cup finely chopped cashew nuts
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Ingredients for the cream cheese filling:

1 225-gram pack cream cheese (I found out that Magnolia has, it's cheaper and it tasted yummy)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups thick cream
1 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water (if you can't find Knox, you can use Petroaco the local brand)
3 medium sized mangoes, chopped

An hour before you start, bring out of the fridge the following: cream cheese and butter.

How to make the crumb crust:

1. Crush the graham crackers and cashew nuts. Combine in a bowl and mix well.

2. Melt the butter (don't burn it! You'll know it's burnt if it smells like popcorn). Add to the dry mixture. Mix well.

3. Press evenly over the base of the prepared pan. (You can opt to use the bottom of a glass to press it on the pan).

4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

How to make the cream cheese filling:

1. Prepare the gelatin mixture. Set aside to cool.

2. Mix cream cheese and sugar using an electric mixer. Just use low speed and add the sugar in parts. (Or you can use a blender, but better to use an electric mixer).

3. Add the cream and mix until the mixture is smooth and well-combined. Do not over-mix though because this will create bubbles.

4. Add the cooled gelatin mixture.

5. Stir in chopped mangoes and pour into chilled crust.

6. You can refrigerate or put it in the freezer for about 3 hours (best to leave it overnight).

Here's the finished product: