I don't think I've ever made a no-bake cheesecake before. In fact, I rarely make cheesecakes of any sort; because they're so rich and dense, I think they're best enjoyed sparingly. (Although the one and only time I've had a formal job in the food industry -- working at a sandwich shop when I was in high school -- my job responsibilities including baking cheesecakes, so I made them regularly back then.) But while I was unable to use my oven in May, Erin Clarkson's No Bake Mixed Berry Cheesecake Bars looked mighty appealing.
The first step in the recipe is to make a mixed berry coulis. I used frozen fruit, which made it super easy. I cooked frozen raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries with sugar, water, and a little salt until the fruit was soft; used an immersion blender to puree it; put the mixture through a sieve; and then returned the mixture to the heat and cooked it for a few minutes, until thickened. I let it cool completely before using it.
The crust is just a mixture of graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter. I pressed it into the bottom of a parchment-lined pan and put in the freezer while I made the filling. The filling has only six ingredients, but it requires at least two bowls and a saucepan. You whip softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth; add vanilla paste and salt; incorporate a cooled mixture of powdered gelatin that has been dissolved in cream; and fold in heavy cream that has been whipped to soft peaks.
The crust held together fairly well when I cut it, and the gelatin-stabilized cream cheese layer was nicely set and cut cleanly. I loved the dramatic color contrast between the pale filling and vibrant wine-colored coulis. Even better, the bars were freakin' delicious. The filling was airy and silky smooth, like a mousse. It conveyed all of the rich flavor of cream cheese without any of the heaviness. I would rather eat this filling over a dense, baked cheesecake filling, any day. And the berry coulis was so bright and flavorful, and it perfectly balanced out the sweetness level of the bars. I will say that I prefer the sturdiness and firmer texture of a baked graham cracker crust. But of course you could just replace the crust layer on these bars and still use the same filling and coulis.
If you like the decadent texture of a New York cheesecake, you might find these bars wanting. But I think that no-bake cheese might just be the best cheesecake. And not just because it's a heck of a lot easier to make!
Recipe: "No Bake Mixed Berry Cheesecake Bars" by Erin Clarkson of Cloudy Kitchen.
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