Monday, January 21, 2013

Our Family Favourite No-Bake Raspberry Cheesecake

Those who know me well know I love deserts- in fact I choose a restaurant by its desert menu :s  (a little ashamed to admit it!)


One of my favourite desert recipe's has got to be this cheesecake.  In fact after having Sarah (15 months ago now) I was so excited to finally be 'alowed' to have some again.  You know how it is- you are not allowed to have certain foods while pregnant - and of course those are the foods that you normally wouldn't want much anyway and then when you are able to you are so excited because you can finally have it and then when it comes to it you really don't want them now because you are allowed to OR everything else takes priority you forget to buy the ingredients to make it!  Well that is how it has been for me anyway.

Anyway I love this recipe for a few reasons- it is SUPER easy to make - there is no baking required and uses one of my favourite fruits- Raspberries (I am a berry girl), it always tastes delicious and best of all you can make it the same day (it takes approx. 3 hours to set).

Enough form me here is the recipe.

No-Bake Raspberry Cheesecake

Base:

1 1/4 cup shortbread/ plain sweet biscuits, crushed
1/2 cup crushed almonds (you could just use more biscuits if there someone has a nut allergy)
100g melted butter

Method:

Mix crumbs and crushed almonds together.  Add butter and combine.
Pat into a 20cm cheesecake tin or make individual sized cheesecakes in mini cheesecake tins or silicone muffin trays (divide the base mix evenly - each should have approx 1/2- 1cm base when compacted).
Tips: I often use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the base down and get a smooth finish on top.
if using silicone trays place cling wrap (plastic wrap) into the pan first - this will help you to remove the cheesecake from the tray.

Filling:

1/4cup boiling water
1 heaped tablespoon gelatine
500g cream cheese
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cups cream
2 cups of frozen raspberries plus extra/fresh raspberries to serve.

Method:

Beat Cream cheese until smooth.
Gradually add lemon juice and sugar.  Beat for 3 minutes.
In a mug or small bowl sprinkle gelatine over boiling water, stir with a fork to dissolve, allow to cool slightly.
In a separate mixing bowl beat cream until soft peaks form.
Beat a little of the cooled gelatine mixture into the cream cheese mixture, gradually add the remaining amount.
Add (fold in) cream to the cream cheese mixture.
Gently fold in some frozen raspberries (you could use fresh raspberries but they will smash and turn the mixture pink, frozen hold there shape and gives you a burst of raspberry throughout the mix).  If using fresh raspberries I recommend pouring some of your cheesecake mix into the tins and sprinkling the berries over, then adding some more cheesecake mixture and more raspberries until the mixture has been used - this will stop the raspberries from getting smashed and turning the mixture pink.
 Place in fridge to set for 3 (or more) hours until set.
Tip: If you wish to serve the cheesecake as soon as it is set I recommend topping with the frozen raspberries 1 hour before it is to be served and sprinkling a small amount of caster sugar over the top to help soak up some of the juice.

To Serve:
Top with fresh raspberries and be creative!  I also used fresh mint  to give it a bit more colour but you could use white chocolate or what ever you think really.


Now go and enjoy!  I hope you like the no-bake raspberry cheesecake as much as we do!




2 comments:

Cullis Family said...

Yum! I think I could even try cooking this one!

make it perfect said...

that looks divine clare! just to make you annoyed...you ARE allowed to eat cream cheese while pregnant! so it said in my latest brochures from my hospital visits :)

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