Light, quick, easy and refreshing. I don’t know what are your preferences, but this is the description of my ideal spring or summer dessert and unbaked cheesecake meets all these conditions. Some of you might remember that my unbaked cheesecakes are made with fresh cheese (also called “quark”) and not the most popular cream cheese (see the Unbaked Vanilla Cheesecake here). They are low in fat, have a slight, refreshing tanginess I like and have a light consistency, comparable to a dense mousse. Since I don’t like the crust in cheesecakes, I always omit it, which makes such a dessert even lighter and quicker to prepare.
Unbaked cheesecakes are in my opinion an excellent basis to experiment with different fruits without losing their precious vitamins, nutrients and delicate aroma. If you decide to try fresh cheese, its slight tartness goes particularly well with red fruits such as strawberries. I realised it a couple of days ago when I decided to make my first strawberry dessert this year. Not only was it, quick, easy and practical (it requires only four ingredients), but most of all it enhanced and preserved all of the the strawberry flavours and its enticing aroma.
TIPS: If you are a cream cheese fan, this dessert can of course be prepared with cream cheese too, but the consistency will probably be less mousse-like and the taste different (I admit I haven’t made or tasted such a version).
Preparation: 15 minutes + 2 hours in the fridge
Ingredients (serves 4-5):
400 g (about 14 oz) fresh cheese/quark or cream cheese
2 tablespoons gelatin (or 8 sheets)
400 g (about 14 oz) strawberries
4 flat tablespoons confectioner’s sugar or sweetener of your choice
Put aside 4-5 strawberries for the decoration.
Dissolve the gelatin in 4 tablespoons warm water. (If using leaves, proceed as indicated on the package).
Mix the cheese, the sugar and half of the strawberries (200g) in a food processor.
Add the dissolved gelatin and mix once more.
Cut up the remaining strawberries in quarters (do not use those for the decoration!) and place them in individual glasses.
Pour the cheese mixture over the strawberries and put into the fridge for at least two hours.
Decorate just before serving.
What a refreshing and beautiful dessert! I have not worked with gelatin sheets before… I need to find them.
Thank you, Tessa. I find powdered gelatin easier to handle.
This is gorgeous – refreshing and light but with a perfect sweet tooth satisfaction
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you so much, CHoc Chip Uru.
Hi Sissi! The cheese cake in a glass looks like something I would order in a fancy restaurant! Is it strawberry season at your are? Ours have passed already, since Texas tend to turn warm way before other areas in the world. We normally would go pick strawberries in a farm not too far from the neighborhood, kids would be all excited, but after 15 minutes they are ready to call it quits due to the sun…
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! It’s been mild in the evening, I am looking forward to sitting outside, a glass of wine and a light dinner while people watch!
Hi, Jeno. Thank you very much for such a huge compliment! I’m sure they would turn their nose at fresh cheese/quark in every fancy restaurant
In most European countries May is the beginning of the strawberry season, but unfortunately they come still from greenhouses and only the early varieties are available now (very aromatic but rather sour and not much taste). I’m always waiting for June and July when good strawberries are available.
Have a lovely weekend.
I envy you so much the sun and the warm weather! This year we have had the worst spring I remember here… It’s cold, rainy, windy and today it was awful too. Not a good weather for sweet fruits either… You have just made me crave for a glass of wine! This is welcome whatever the weather
Sorry to hear about the weather, I think Texans do get spoiled with the amount of sun we receive, though when Summer comes around, it’s almost impossible to be outside for more than 10 minutes without melting into a puddle… Go have that glass of wine, it’s quite romantic in the rain!
This is a lovely dessert, Sissi, and I agree, perfect for this time of year. I will give this a try when my gluten free girlfriend comes to brunch in a few weeks. Raspberries would also be nice (strained so the seeds don’t mess it up).
Thank you so much, Eva. I make cold cheesecakes sometimes with raspberries, but adding whole fruits because as you say the seeds are not very pleasant (and I’m probably too lazy to strain…).