Summer Crowd Pleaser - no bake strawberry cheesecake
Introduced as a Summer crowd pleaser and slice of heaven at my appearance on NH’s ABC WMUR’s Cooks Corner on Wednesday 15 August, 2018. Wheat eaters just substitute wheat graham crackers, shortbread or oreos, otherwise recipe is same.
I’ve made variations of this cheesecake for years, from when I lived in London UK. I also make a chocolate peanut butter version, white chocolate raspberry, dark chocolate orange, margarita, white chocolate hazelnut praline, chocolate Kahlua, Irish cream. Play with flavor variations using these quantities as a guide. Four versions published at Beyond Celiac - originally National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.
This is not a baked custard cheesecake. It is a gelatin set cheesecake that I first made in England and continue to make. Apart from the crust there is no baking and you don’t have to bake the crust,. So no worrying if you've overcooked the custard style, no cracking of cheesecake, overnight cooling etc. It is very popular with my students and clients and you can vary it with different chocolates and liqueurs. It is stiff when you remove it from the fridge but softens to more of a mousse consistency when it's been out of the fridge for half an hour. Gelatin stops it melting in the heat.
Crust
Roughly 6-8 oz (180 -250g ) weight in total, gluten free ‘Oreo’ or look-alike cookies, finely crushed (including white cream filling– cookies vary in size and weight). Trader Joe's also make their own gf version of 'oreos' OR same weight of gluten free graham crackers or shortbreads finely crushed
½ stick (2oz, 56g) of butter melted
Filling
1 lb (2 x 8oz blocks, 2 x 250 g) of cream cheese at room temperature (lite cream cheese is fine)
1/3 c powdered (icing) sugar
1+1/3 cup (8oz, 250g) gluten free semi sweet chocolate chips - Nestle Tollhouse is labeled gf.
1+1/2 cup (12 fl oz, 375 ml) whipping or heavy cream
1 envelope (2+1/4 tsp, 7 g) of Knox gelatin sprinkled on 2 tablespoons (30ml) cold water in microwave safe bowl
¼ c (60 ml, 2 fl oz) brandy, rum, Amaretto, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, Chambord. Fra Angelico- choose one, optional but amazing and adult only.
1 teaspoon ( 5 ml) gluten free vanilla extract
More whipped cream (and chocolate curls) to garnish.
Cover of my Delicious Gluten Free Cooking ebook and little boy on front cover of NCA (National Celiac ) magazine is my son with chocolate face from baking with me.
1. Preheat oven to 350* - optional , no need to for totally no bake
2. Mix together crushed cookies and melted butter. Press into bottom of 9-10” greased spring form pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, remove from oven and leave to cool. This makes a firmer crust, but you can also just leave cookie crumbs and butter to firm up uncooked or leave in the freezer while you make cheesecake. This is also not the normal very thick crust that crumbles on the plate. I prefer a thinner crust.
3.Heat ½ cup (120 ml) of cream in a 2 cup microwave safe container for about 44 seconds in microwave. Add chocolate chips and let stand for about 2 minutes. Stir to help chocolate melt. If needed, microwave gently for 20 seconds at a time, until the mix is totally smooth with no chocolate lumps.
4. In a separate 6-8 c (1-2 ltr) bowl beat together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and optional alcohol and beat until smooth.
5. Leave gelatin and water to sit for 2 minutes. Heat for about 12 seconds (start with less time so liquid doesn’t ‘boil over’) in the microwave until you can see the gelatin dissolve and form a pale yellow see through liquid with no grains visible any longer. It is important to totally dissolve the gelatin otherwise it will set into little chewy lumps.
6. Slowly beat chocolate mix and dissolved gelatin into cream cheese mix.
7. Pour remaining 1 cup of cream into bowl that was used to melt chocolate and beat cream until stiff.
8. Gently beat cream into cream cheese mix. Pour mix into cooled crust and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until firm. In a N.E. winter, the deck makes a wonderful quick fridge.
9. Once chilled, run a thin plastic spatula or knife around edge between cheesecake and pan, release spring form and remove. Gently run a knife between cookie base and bottom of pan and slide cheesecake onto serving plate.
For a fancy finish, piped whipped cream rosettes around top edge of cheesecake, and top with chocolate curls.
Wash and slice fresh strawberries, mix with sugar and leave until strawberries produce juice. Spoon over cake or serve on side. Out of good strawberry season I have found bought strawberries frozen with sugar are a good substitute. I will also pick fresh strawberries and freeze them with sugar which then dissolves on thawing.
Put base of spring form pan into pan so it is held in a ‘table’ position, not a bowl position, otherwise the cheesecake will not slide off the base.
Straight from the fridge, the cheesecake is quite firm, after half an hour it has a very mousse like consistency but is still firm enough to slice. The gelatin stops cheesecake from melting in the heat.
A chocolate cookie base is far crisper and harder than a graham crust but softens after one day. It is like a chewy cookie.
To make the cheesecake go further, prepare it in a wider spring form pan or make 2 smaller cheesecakes as it is very rich. As shown on air, even make this in cupcake cases for a party.
I whip 1 cup of whipping cream with 1 tablespoon of same liqueur etc as in cheese mix and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar and spread or pipe around edges. Finish with chocolate curls. Use a potato peeler on softened bar of chocolate to make curls, let them fall straight onto top of cheesecake, they will melt in your hand.
