Tag Archives: cheesecake

Strawberry Cloud Cheesecake

A fluffy cloud like Strawberry mousse sits atop this luscious creamy Vanilla Cheesecake.

The BEST part is, it’s a 2 Ingredient Mousse. It also happens to be ridiculously easy. Normally I’m not someone to use an instant pack of anything but I happened to get a few packs of Jello thru a promotion, and I have to say the flavour was surprisingly delicious and my goodness, how easy. And sometimes it’s ok the take a shortcut…

The Cheesecake is a basic Vanilla Cheesecake to which I have added some Greek Yogurt, this adds a nice tanginess to balance out the sweetness.

So…back to the Strawberry Mousse, if you mix instant Jello with heavy cream, you won’t believe the awesomeness it creates! It’s like a fluffy cloud of soft mousse made in 1 minute!

I made this Cheesecake recipe with Valentine’s Day in mind, but you could make it anytime you’re in the mood for a decadent Strawberry dessert.

Prep time : 20 min.

Cooking time : 60 min.

Serves : 6

Ingredients mousse:

2 tbsp. Strawberry Jello
1 cup whipping cream

Ingredients vanilla cheesecake:

250 grs / 9 oz. cookies for crust
100 gr. / 1/2 cup melted butter
700 gr. / 3 cups+1 tbsp. cream cheese at room temperature
100 gr. / 3.5 oz. full fat Greek Yoghurt
3/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. cornstarch
3 large eggs
Meringue kisses to decorate (optional)

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 160C/315F. Butter and line a 20cm/8″ loose-bottomed tin with baking parchment. Put the cookies in a plastic food bag. Flatten bag to remove excess air, then seal bag. Crush to crumbs using a rolling pin or alternatively blitz in a food processor. Transfer to a bowl, then pour over the melted butter. Mix thoroughly until the crumbs are completely coated. Tip them into the prepared tin and press firmly down into the base to create an even layer. Chill in the freezer while you make the filling.
2. In a large bowl or stand mixer beat cream cheese, yoghurt and sugar until combined and smooth, add the corn starch and vanilla and blend until well combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Pour into crust. Place on a baking sheet.
3. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Turn off the oven and open the door just a tiny bit (I put a large wooden spoon in the opening or a folded tea towel), leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 30-60 minutes. This will prevent the cheesecake from cracking. Remove from oven and cool at room temperature until no longer warm to the touch. Then refrigerate for at least four hours but preferably overnight.

When you re ready to serve the Cheesecake make the Strawberry Cloud Topping by tipping one cup of whipping cream into a bowl. Start beating until it begins to thicken and add the two tablespoons of Strawberry Jello powder. Continue beating until cream is stiff and fluffy. Spread over the Vanilla Cheesecake and decorate if desired with meringue kisses.

Enjoy!

More Strawberry related goodies…

Caramel Chestnut Cream Cheese Crumble Bars.

15 Replies

Caramel Chestnut cream cheese crumble bars.

For the ultimate sweet treat, try these Chestnut cream cheese crumble bars; a sweet nutty cookie base is topped with an unctuous chestnut cream cheese mixture, some puddles of white chocolate and more lumpy crunchy crumble on top. And in case that wasn’t enough, a caramel drizzle on top.
The nuttiness is elevated by adding toasted Pecans in the crumble. I love these as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea or as a dessert. Chestnuts are so delicious and pair very well with savoury and sweet.
They’re a breeze to make; first you toast your pecans, then to a food processor add all the dry ingredients and pulse, including the pecans, add the wet ingredients and pulse again. You spread out 2/3 of the crumble onto a cookie sheet and pre bake the base. You make the filling and spread on top, covered by the remaining crumble and bake. That easy. The caramel drizzle is added once the bars have cooled and are cut into squares. So simple, right?
Lusciously decadent but oh so good.

The ingredients are very straight forward, oats (any kind will do), flour, pecans, cream cheese, cooked chestnuts, sugar, butter and some white chocolate chips….

Prep time : 10 min

Cooking time : 30

Serves : 16

INGREDIENTS:

Crumble:

2 cups / 200 gr. oats (any kind)
1 cup / 120 gr. all purpose flour
1/4 cup / 30 gr. toasted pecan halves
2/3 cups / 140 gr. butter
1/4 cup / 50 gr coconut sugar
1/4 cup / 60 gr maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Filling:

1 cup / 200 gr cooked chestnut drained* (see note)
1 cup / 200 gr cream cheese at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup / 60 gr maple syrup
1/4 cup / 50 gr white chocolate chips (more or less)

TOP:

Pecans
1/4 – 1/3 cup / 60-70 gr ready made caramel from jar or similar

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre heat your oven to 350 F / 180 C. Line a 8″x 8″/ 20cmx20cm baking tin.

Toast your in pecans in a dry pan until lightly golden. Transfer to a food processor, add the flour and oats and pulse until very fine crumb. Next add the butter, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Run the processor until it comes together and when you take a bit of crumb between your thumb and index finger , it should stick together. Add a little bit of water if it’s still to crumbly.

Press 2/3 of the crumb mixture into the prepared pan and pierce with a fork a few times. Bake for 10 minutes at 350F/180 C.

Meanwhile make the filling. Wipe the food processor clean with a paper towel, and add the chestnuts. Run the processor until the chestnuts are very fine. Next add the cream cheese, vanilla and maple syrup. Process until creamy. Add the white chocolate chips and pulse just once or twice to combine. Spread the filling over the base, and top with the remainder of the crumb mixture. Scatter with some pecans. Place back into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely. Cut into 16 squares and drizzle with the caramel.

Enjoy!

NOTE: the chestnuts usually come in a tin or in packs, either one is fine as long as they are cooked and drained. Even fresh ones cooked at home is fine too.

If you make this recipe please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you. And please don’t forget to tag me on Instagram so I can see your creations!

Oreo Cheesecake

8 Replies

This cheesecake is such a show stopper! Creamy like you’ve never tasted before. Filled with Oreo cookies on an Oreo cookie base and the wonderful thing about this recipe is that it’s quite straight forward, for the crust you just crush the Oreo cookies with filling and all, add a little melted butter and done.
The filling is really simple too, so creamy and hands down my favourite cheesecake recipe. Unless you don’t want to bake in which case you’d probably be better off with something like this no-bake white chocolate cheesecake with Raspberry swirl , or if you just need a small cheesecake fix you can make these Berry Cheesecake crumble bars instead.
Either way, this cheesecake is thick, rich and dangerously decadent and a must try!

Prep time : 20 min

Baking time : 45-50 min

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 grs / 9 oz / about 22 cookies for crust
• 8 cookies for filling, quartered or roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp. melted butter
• 850 gr. / 3 ¾ cups cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 3 large eggs plus 1 yolk at room temperature

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350 F / 180 C. Place the cookies for the crust in a resealable plastic bag. Flatten bag to remove excess air, then seal bag. Finely crush cookies by rolling a rolling pin across the bag. Alternatively crush cookies in a food processor by pulsing until completely crumbled. Place in a bowl and add the melted butter, mix well. Press firmly onto bottom of 8 inch/ 20 cm. non-stick spring form pan. Place in the freezer while you make your filling.
2. Beat cream cheese, flour, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Quarter the remaining 8 cookies. Gently stir into cream cheese batter. Pour over prepared crust.
3. Place on a rack in the middle of the oven and bake at 350 F/180 C for the first 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 320 F / 160 C. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Turn off the oven and open the door just a tiny bit (I put a large wooden spoon in the opening or a folded tea towel), leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour. This will prevent the cheesecake from cracking*. Cool at room temperature until no longer warm to the touch. Then refrigerate for at least four hours but preferably overnight.
4. When ready to serve, decorate with whipped cream and tiny Oreo cookies if desired. I like to remove the cheesecake one hour before consuming so the cheesecake isn’t too cold.

*the trick to a perfect cheesecake is to NOT remove it from the oven straight after baking, and don’t open the oven door during baking either. This will make it crack. If that does happen any way, it’s not the end of the world, just sprinkle with crushed cookies, or decorate with fruit, Gananche or whipped cream.

Enjoy!
Myra XO

Berry Cheesecake Crumble Bars

18 Replies

These Berry cheesecake crumble bars are an amazing treat. They combine all the things I love in one. Cheesecake being number 1, crumble…because who doesn’t love crumble and obviously the cookie like bottom. And then the layer of juicy fruit. Which of course you can adapt to your favourite fruit.

They are super easy to make and a real crowd pleaser too.

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INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cashew nuts
3 cups oats
pinch of salt
1/2 cup natural oil or butter
1/2 cup plain sugar or coconut blossom sugar

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened and at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose or spelt flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg at room temperature

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2 cups frozen berries of choice
2 tbsp. corn starch dissolved in two tbsp. water
2 tbsp. sugar (or more to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F . Line an 8-inch baking tray with parchment paper.
In a food processor, combine the nuts, oats, and salt and process until you have a coarse flour. Leave it in the processor.
In a small pot, melt the oil or butter with the sugar over low heat, until the sugar has dissolved.
Pour the wet mixture on top of the oat mixture in the food processor and process until the mixture comes together.
Set aside 1 cup of the crumble mixture for the topping.
Place the remaining oat mixture over the base of the baking tray and push down with your (slightly wet) fingers. Press the dough down tightly.
Pre bake the crust for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile make the fruit layer by placing the berries in a saucepan and bring to a slow boil over medium heat. Add the corn starch slurry and sugar and cook until thickened. Don’t stir to vigorously , try to leave some berries whole.
Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
Spread all the cream cheese mixture over the oat base
Spread the slightly cooled fruit in an even layer over the cream cheese.
Crumble the reserved cup of oat mixture evenly over the fruit.
Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes more, until the topping is lightly golden and firm. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least an hour, then transfer the pan to the fridge until completely cool and firm (preferably over night). If you can’t wait, put the slightly cooled tray into the freezer for about 30 to 40 minutes. Lift out and slice into squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. They freeze well too.

Enjoy!

Myra XO