These. Are. Life-Changing.
Some days I want to make the most time-consuming, skilled recipes (ahem chocolate babka) that will feed 10 people for a week; and other days I want to just have a liitttle something sweet after dinner and not have a whole pie tempting me…
In come these Individual No Bake Strawberry Cheesecakes (say that 3x fast). These little cups I always forget that I have, are perfect for individual desserts. They’re about 3” and can go in the oven, which make them perfect for any type of sweet. I bought these cute little cups from Pottery Barn, but you can buy them from Amazon, Sur la Table, or Bed, Bath and Beyond. They’re amazing because they are oven-safe, you can make pudding in them, you can use them for sauces, to mis en place your ingredients. If you can’t tell, I LOVE them! If you can’t find 3″ cups, use whatever size you want! You may have to adjust the Graham Crackers by adding a few if they are larger cups.
The Filling
“No Bake Cheesecakes” are great because they don’t contain any egg, which allows them to just go straight to the fridge without opening the oven (and you can lick the bowl 🙂 ). Although I did bake my crust first because I like a little crunch…if it’s dead of summer and just the thought of opening that hot box makes you sweat, you certainly don’t have to. You can actually firm up the crust by putting it in the freezer for a little while.
Using powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar helps creates this luscious filling when it’s whipped with the softened cream cheese. Since it’s not going in the oven, granulated sugar will make the filling grainy, so powdered sugar is best, or you can use sweetened condensed milk.
Another thing I love about this recipe is the strawberry sauce. The basis of this sauce is great because you can switch up the fruit – you can use this method to make other sauces: blueberry, blackberry, raspberry. By using a little water, it helps to thicken the fruit. When you use the food processor, it creates a thick sauce that you can use for other desserts, or just spread on toast with some butter!
These babies need to set up in the fridge for about 6 hours (if you can wait that long!). Top with some extra Graham Cracker crumbs to serve.
Individual No Bake Strawberry Cheesecakes
Equipment
- 4 x 3″ Ceramic Baking Cups ** See Note
Ingredients
Strawberry Sauce
- 4-5 Strawberries
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
Cheesecakes
- 3 Graham Crackers
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- 1 Package softened cream cheese
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon sour cream
- 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Preparation:
- Make the strawberry sauce. Roughly chop up the strawberries and add to a small pot with the water and sugar and stirring to combine. Bring to medium heat. Let the mixture cook without stirring until it gets bubbly. Stir, and cook an additional 5 minutes until it gets thick. Set aside to cool. Once it’s cooled, pulse in the food processor until it breaks up and turns into a thick sauce.
- Place your Graham Crackers in a plastic bag, and using anything (I used a jar of honey), carefully break up until you get fine crumbs. If there are some bigger pieces, that’s okay! It will give your cheesecakes some texture. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the melted butter until it looks like wet sand. If using 3” cups, take 1 tablespoon of the mixture and firmly press it in the bottom. If they are larger, just make sure there is enough Graham Cracker crumbs to ensure a nice crust. If you are baking them, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake for about 25 minutes or until they get nice and toasty, and start to make your kitchen smell like a bakery. Cool completely before you add in your filling. If you don’t want to use the oven, freeze them for about half hour, until they’re set. *You can save any extra crumbs for decorating your cheesecakes once they’re done!*
- In the meantime, make your filling. Using a KitchenAid Stand Mixer with paddle attachment, or a hand mixer, combine the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and sour cream until combined, scraping down the bowl half way. Slowly add in the heavy cream and whip until the filling is fluffy, but pliable. Once your cups have their crust ready, fill them to the top (they won’t be rising!). Using a teaspoon or demitasse spoon, make little dollops of the sauce throughout the top of the filling. Using a toothpick, swirl the sauce around to make it look pretty! Add as little or as much of the sauce as you want.
- Firm up in the fridge for at least 6 hours. Top with extra graham cracker crumbs and enjoy!
