Friday, June 28, 2013

No-Bake Cheesecake Flag Cake – Let Your Fruit Flag Fly!

I’ve been avoiding doing a no-bake cheesecake recipe, despite the many food wishes for it, simply because I love the dense, rich texture of the traditional baked version so much that it seems almost a crime to do something like this instead.

That’s a silly attitude, as these are two entirely different desserts, and since I needed a white canvas on which to demo the fruity, 4th of July flag design seen herein, I decided to go for it. The fact that we just had our first real heat wave of the summer didn’t hurt either.

That you can make this lovely, sweet treat without turning on the oven is probably enough of a reason to give this serious consideration. Besides the taste and texture, I think your guests will enjoy the iconic stars and stripes design provided by the fresh blueberries and strawberries.

Everyone knows that if you eat enough fresh fruit with a dessert, it cancels out the negative effects from the sugar and the fat, or at least that’s what I’ve always assumed. Anyway, there is no greater tribute an American cook can pay to this great democracy of ours, than to make a shortcut dessert that looks like our flag. USA! USA! USA! I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 12 portions:
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
For the filling:
2 cups (1 pound) cream cheese (I used half regular and half mascarpone)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups cold heavy whipping cream (36% fat)
1/3 cup white sugar

View the complete recipe

32 comments:

PreludeInZ said...

Chef John, is this blog post's title a cheeky little nod to the overturning of DOMA? Or is it just a coincidence?

Chef John said...

The title is an homage. ;)

Unknown said...

Would the cheesecake still be firm if i used light whipping cream?

ice pandora said...

I rather have a baked cheesecake
really :P anyway thanks for this
awesome looking cake! Xx

Sandra from Montreal said...

I'm going to use this recipe for a Canada Day cake! Thanks1

Claire said...

Chef John,

As one of the people who requested no-bake cheesecake as their foodwish, thank you!!

A while ago I tried making the no-bake cheesecake filling with just cream cheese and lemon juice, and the end result came out a bit too dense and gummy for my taste. Now I know the secret to the mousse-like quality is the whipped cream! I will definitely give this a try soon.

Anonymous said...

That was just "ICY":P

philogaia said...

Lovely homage! Though I might just go further and do a multi-colored fruit flag thing...

This recipe is just the kind of thing I've been looking for lately. Very high in fat and low in sugar. I'll probably also replace part of the sugar with stevia. I'm thinking of using some homemade creme fraiche as part of the cream cheese layer. I love the taste of fermented dairy. And I'll bet I can find an almond/coconut flour crust and add some cocoa to it. Yup, this one is going to get a go. Thanks!

Chef John said...

Ting, if it whips up thick then I guess you could, but I've never used it, so I don't know.

Chef John said...

creme fraiche would work great as the whipped cream part, as it whips up the same, but not as a sub for the cream cheese, since it will not firm up when cold like the CC.

PreludeInZ said...

Hooray, an homage! Chef John, I appreciate you :)

bobrogue said...

"A total slap in the face to Betsy Ross" HA!

Rob Maeder said...

The old tapa tapa tapa tapa (repeat indefinitely).

http://imgur.com/vMDS8vv

Unknown said...

Did it for Canada day party last night. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151478788596892&l=d5163edc54


hope the link works. my mom LOVED IT! she said "thats what no bake cheese cake is all aboot"

H.vd.Ploeg said...

Hi chef john,

What is the size of the casserole dish?

H.vd.Ploeg said...

Chef John.

Whats the size of the casserole dish?

Chef John said...

It's abiut 8X12, but 9X13 would work. Just would be a little thinner.

Chef John said...

Looks great Harry!

Kris said...

I have work to do, but now I'd really rather be making cheesecake for Canada day! I wouldn't even have to buy multiple types of fruit!

That said, I'm with you - I definitely prefer the baked cheesecake. Why put it in the fridge when you could put it in the oven? :D

The Meantime said...

We are the humblest people we know.

Unknown said...

My country's flag has 5 huge stars on it; it would be so cool to do this with starfruit!

Unknown said...

Made this recipe for our 4th party. Was great!!! I didn't have any lemon, but put orange juice instead. Turned out great. I used raspberries and blueberries. Thanks!! Well definitely make again.

Rcsprinter said...

Hey, the ingredients don't mention egg but the video I saw you put one in - use egg?

Chef John said...

When did I add an egg?

Unknown said...

delicious! and simple... definitely a foodwish of mine that was granted. not sure why the idiot was arguing with you about this being a "simple" recipe but people like me appreciate a recipe that i can duplicate in front of company to look fancy without having to go back and look at the video a thousand times...that guy can go fork himself! i appreciate this blog, your hardwork and sincerely every single recipe of yours i try is a big hit! thanks chef :)

Unknown said...

I just tried it, it came out delicious. Thank you for the recipe.

Unknown said...

I've just tried this recipe. It came out awesome, I could hardly stop eating it. Thank you, your biggest fan from Romania.

PS I've tried a few other recipes from blog, they were all a hit.

Unknown said...

Hi Chef.

I made an approximation of this recipe and am very pleased with how it turned out.

I followed your ingredient amounts on almost everything. I deviated from the recipe by using 2 cups of heavy cream so I could add in a generous (1/2-3/4 C) of homemade Crème Fraiche, also from your blog.

My crust was made using finely ground almonds, cinnamon, brown sugar, salt and butter...my sister doesn't eat wheat gluten, so this was made to accommodate her diet. I must say, it turned very close in texture and taste to a graham cracker crust.

After being in the fridge for 24+ hours, I was amazed at how close the taste was to a traditional cheesecake. And with some cherry pie filling on top...fuhgettaboutit.

Thanks for the recipe.

Joe

Wren said...

This came out well. Not having to turn the oven on in the summer is always a treat. Thanks Chef John.

Anonymous said...

if we followed this recipe and wanted to bake it afterwards, how long and at what temperature to bake it at? do we still need to let it rest in the fridge for 3 hrs first?

Chef John said...

You can bake this kind! You'd have to use a traditional recipe for that.

konshau said...
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