Saturday, February 11, 2012

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie

I've been doing a little experimenting with different kitchen ideas the past few weeks, one of which required a little bit of cheesecake filling.  However, I needed it to be no-bake, and I only needed half a cup of it.
I whipped up this creamy no bake cheesecake filling with so much left over it would have been a shame to waste.  So I decided to spread it into a graham cracker crust pressed into a pie plate, throw some sliced strawberries on top, drizzle it with white chocolate, and voila... cream cheese pie. 
This filling is so light and airy it would be a lie to call this no bake cheesecake.  The filling came out more like a whipped cream, with cream cheese folded in, so I feel like it wouldn't be honest to portray it as a cheesecake.  It is, however, one of the lightest and most delicious desserts I've ever made, and so easy it should be illegal.
I know it's a little summery for February, but what the heck... it sounded good.



Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 Tbsp melted butter

Mix well until crumbly and press into the bottom of a pie plate.

Filling:

1 8 oz package room temp cream cheese
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 strawberries, sliced 
1 oz melted white chocolate

In the bowl of a stand mixer or using an electric mixer, mix the cream cheese til smooth.  Add in the sugar and beat 2-3 minutes, until fluffy, then stir in the vanilla. In a clean glass bowl, beat the whipping cream on high speed until stiff peaks form.  Gently fold or mix the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until well combined then press into the graham cracker crust.  Layer the strawberries across the top of the pie and drizzle with melted white chocolate.  Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight before serving.

This seriously took no time to toss together, especially because I really liked the look when I left the edges of the crust somewhat unfinished looking, and I loved that during the summer I can make this without heating up the kitchen. It's an easy dessert sure to impress any guests, and a great make-ahead for a party. Also try pressing the crust and layering the filling and toppings into lined muffin tins for personal pies, or changing up the toppings, like maybe grated chocolate or fresh raspberries and white chocolate.

No comments:

Post a Comment