When the weather is warm, I turn to my favorite icebox no-bake cheesecake recipe for dessert. This is particularly good in warm weather when you don't feel like heating up the oven. It starts with a store-bought Graham cracker crust, but of course you could make your own, but that would include heating the oven. This recipe is easy to make and comes out perfect every time. The ingredient list is small. You can even do a low fat version if you are so inclined (I'm not, but you might be. See my notes at the bottom for substitutions.)
I'm always looking for ways to use berries when they are in season and so today I took my standard no-bake cheesecake recipe and added blueberries. I simply pureed them in a blender with the juice of a lemon. You could use other berries if you prefer. While I would never give up my traditional baked cheesecake recipe, this is a fine substitute when you don't have the time and/or do not want to heat the oven. I use it all summer long!
Fresh Blueberry Topping: I topped the pie with some blueberry topping I had made earlier in the week to serve over ice cream. While I made the topping the old fashioned way by cooking down some blueberries with sugar, if you are in a hurry just do this. Purchase a small can of blueberry pie filling and two six ounce packages of blueberries. Rinse the berries and remove any stems. Pour the pie filling into bowl and add water, a tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition until it reaches the appropriate sauce consistency. Gently stir in the cleaned berries and voila, fresh blueberry topping.
Ingredients
1 prepared Graham cracker pie crust, 9 inch.
12 ounces fresh blueberries, washed and stems removed
1 lemon
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (about 1/2 packet of Knor brand)
16 ounces cream cheese (soft)
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Mint leaves for garnish
Blueberry topping optional (above)
Directions
Set aside about 1/2 cup of blueberries. Squeeze the juice from one lemon. Puree remaining blueberries with the lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Place the puree into a microwave safe glass bowl. Heat the puree for 1-2 minutes on high until hot. Sprinkle gelatin on top and stir until dissolved into the hot puree, about 2-3 minutes. Beat the cream cheese until smooth and soft, about 3 minutes with an electric mixer on medium-high. Scrape down the bowl, turn the mixer to low speed and slowly pour in the condensed milk. Then slowly pour in the blueberry puree. Pour mixture into the prepared pie crust. Dot the top with the 1/2 cup blueberries and chill until set, about 2 hours.
Low Fat Option
If you'd like to make this into a diet-friendly recipe, make the following substitutions.
*fat-free sweetened condensed milk instead of regular version
*8 ounces of reduced-fat cream cheese and 8 ounces fat-free cream cheese in place of the regular version
*eliminate the optional blueberry topping
Fresh Blueberry Topping: I topped the pie with some blueberry topping I had made earlier in the week to serve over ice cream. While I made the topping the old fashioned way by cooking down some blueberries with sugar, if you are in a hurry just do this. Purchase a small can of blueberry pie filling and two six ounce packages of blueberries. Rinse the berries and remove any stems. Pour the pie filling into bowl and add water, a tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition until it reaches the appropriate sauce consistency. Gently stir in the cleaned berries and voila, fresh blueberry topping.
Ingredients
1 prepared Graham cracker pie crust, 9 inch.
12 ounces fresh blueberries, washed and stems removed
1 lemon
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin (about 1/2 packet of Knor brand)
16 ounces cream cheese (soft)
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Mint leaves for garnish
Blueberry topping optional (above)
Directions
Set aside about 1/2 cup of blueberries. Squeeze the juice from one lemon. Puree remaining blueberries with the lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Place the puree into a microwave safe glass bowl. Heat the puree for 1-2 minutes on high until hot. Sprinkle gelatin on top and stir until dissolved into the hot puree, about 2-3 minutes. Beat the cream cheese until smooth and soft, about 3 minutes with an electric mixer on medium-high. Scrape down the bowl, turn the mixer to low speed and slowly pour in the condensed milk. Then slowly pour in the blueberry puree. Pour mixture into the prepared pie crust. Dot the top with the 1/2 cup blueberries and chill until set, about 2 hours.
Low Fat Option
If you'd like to make this into a diet-friendly recipe, make the following substitutions.
*fat-free sweetened condensed milk instead of regular version
*8 ounces of reduced-fat cream cheese and 8 ounces fat-free cream cheese in place of the regular version
*eliminate the optional blueberry topping
Go for the fat for this one. What a splendid idea. I've never made a berry cheesecake before. NUM
ReplyDeleteI agree Deana. If you read the ingredients on the no-fat foods you really have to question whether the fat isn't better for you than the chemical substitutions.
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