No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

I made this cake last week specially for my beloved wife.  Yes, it was her birthday!  16 October!  Her 40th birthday!  Well, at this point of life, we no longer look forward to celebrating birthdays anymore.  Instead, how we wish that the day would never come so that we will stay as young as ever.  We deliberately choose to be denial, not wanting to acknowledge the digits that come tagging our age.  So, on this note and coupled with other family matters, I tried to keep everything as simple and as modest as possible.  No celebration!  No present!  No flowers!  No surprises! But....a birthday cake!

I was insistent that a birthday cake was still a must-have thing on this special day, at least to satisfy my 4-year old girl.  You know, at this age, she is just too obsessed with cakes.  The thing that excites her the most is the blowing and the cutting, definitely not the eating.  Just looking at her running around innocently with candles and a lighter in her hands, all excited and glowing, is indeed the greatest gift that we could ever ask for. 

Come back to my cake, this is truly my first time baking a birthday cake for someone, and that someone special happens to be my wife.  God willing, I hope to bake her a birthday cake every year for as long as we are still together and I am still functional.  I chose cheesecake simply for the reason that to me a cheesecake is always a class above the rest, having a character and style of its own - simple and plain yet elegant and posh!   Perfect for a birthday gift!

Personally, I like this bake a lot.  The only drawback is I am not quite pleased with the crust.  I thought that it was a little overspiced.  For those who do not like cinnamon and nutmeg, the taste could be quite irritating.  Secondly, I used coarse sugar instead of caster sugar thus making the crust a little sandy.  Biting the sugar crystals can be quite a bit disturbing when you are eating the cake.  Other than that, the cake was near perfect.  The cream filling was light and velvety and certainly has that melt-in-the mouth effect.  Also, the taste was just nice - not too sweet and not too cheesy.  The blueberry filling complemented perfectly with the cream cheese filling.

All in all, this recipe is worth trying.  Indeed, it is another keeper recipe.  I adapted this recipe from Michelle of My Mom-Fri here.  This is another pass-down recipe and has been around for not less than 20 years.  I am glad and somehow blessed to have found this recipe.  A perfect gift for my beloved wife.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR!!

The Recipe:

The Crust: 
1 1/2 cups graham cracker*(I used digestive biscuits, 15 pcs)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder *(I regretted using this as not many of us like cinnamon)
1/4 tsp nutmeg*(I shall omit this next time, too overpowering)
1 tbs sugar
1/2 cup (approx. 100g) softened butter
1 tsp lemon juice and grated rind (optional)*(I overlooked this)
I added a pinch of fine salt

The Cheesecake Filling:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (approx. 100g) softened butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice and grated rind (optional)

Cheesecake filling:

1 cup (1 brick) cream cheese (use your brand of choice)

1 cup (1 brick) all purpose cream

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons liquid milk

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (1 sachet of Knox)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Topping:
1 can Comstock Blueberry pie filling

- See more at: http://www.mymomfriday.com/2010/12/mom-cook-no-bake-blueberry-cheesecake.html#sthash.wAFyWpDi.dpuf

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (approx. 100g) softened butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice and grated rind (optional) - See more at: http://www.mymomfriday.com/2010/12/mom-cook-no-bake-blueberry-cheesecake.html#sthash.wAFyWpDi.dpuf

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (approx. 100g) softened butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice and grated rind (optional)

Cheesecake filling:

1 cup (1 brick) cream cheese (use your brand of choice)

1 cup (1 brick) all purpose cream

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons liquid milk

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (1 sachet of Knox)
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Topping:
1 can Comstock Blueberry pie filling

- See more at: http://www.mymomfriday.com/2010/12/mom-cook-no-bake-blueberry-cheesecake.html#sthash.wAFyWpDi.dpuf

1 cup cream cheese (use your brand of choice)*(I used 300g of cream cheese)
1 cup all purpose cream*(I used whipping cream, 250ml)
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp liquid milk*(I used plain water) 
1 tbsp unflavored gelatin
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)*(I overlooked this) 

The Topping:
1 can Blueberry pie filling 

The Method: 

To prepare crust:
Crush graham crackers.  You can use a food processor or hand mixer to make crumbs fast and easy.
Mix all dry ingredients and add butter to bind.  Mash well.  

*Crust mixture should be close to texture of moist sand; add a bit more butter if too dry.  

Transfer and press evenly on bottom of ungreased springform pan (or any pie dish you prefer).

*I used an 8" round baking pan and pressed down the crust with a glass bottom.

Place in the freezer to harden the crust while you make the filling. 

To prepare the filling:

Using a mixer, whip the chilled cream (NOT cream cheese, yah!) with 2 tablespoon of sugar until stiff. 

In a separate bowl, gradually mix the remaining sugar into the softened cream cheese.

Beat until fluffy and set aside. 

In a small sauce pan, combine milk and gelatin powder.  Heat until completely dissolved (don't boil, use a wire whisk to remove lumps).  Remove from heat and pour into cream cheese mixture.

Fold in cheese mixture to the whipped all-purpose cream and beat on medium to high.

Add lemon juice if you want some zest in your cream filling. 

To assemble:

Bring out pan from freezer and pour in the cheesecake filling.  

Spread evenly with spatula and tap pan lightly to set and release air bubbles. 

Cover pan and chill for a few hours.

Top with blueberry pie filling or fruit compote before serving.   


Hope you like this post.  Have a great week ahead! 

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup (approx. 100g) softened butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice and grated rind (optional) - See more at: http://www.mymomfriday.com/2010/12/mom-cook-no-bake-blueberry-cheesecake.html#sthash.wAFyWpDi.dpuf