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Strawberry No Bake Cheesecake
Strawberries are a popular ingredient in summer dessert recipes and fresh strawberries are especially great. Although you can use thawed or canned ones if you are pureeing the berries, you should go for fresh ones if you are using them as a garnish or if they are going to be clearly visible in the dessert. Choose plump, fragrant, bright red strawberries for the best results. Make sure there are no soft parts or bruising. The green caps should also still be attached.
If you see strawberry juice in the container, this can mean the berries are overripe. Choose perfectly ripe ones because strawberries do not store well. They are a very delicate fruit. If you do need to store them for a day or two, keep them on a paper towel-lined tray in one layer in the refrigerator. Do not remove the green caps or wash the berries.
The following strawberry cheesecake can be made in minutes and the flavor is a wonderful blend of cream, strawberries and vanilla, as well as a crunchy chocolate-flavored crust. If you want to increase the gourmet factor, you can replace the vanilla extract with the seeds from a fresh vanilla pod, or even the seeds from two pods for a more intense vanilla taste. You can also make a homemade strawberry sauce rather than using ice cream syrup. Since this no bake strawberry cheesecake only takes about ten minutes to make though, it is probably easier just to use the ice cream syrup.
Strawberry and Vanilla Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients -
12 crushed chocolate cookies
2 oz melted butter
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 package fresh strawberries
7 oz whipped heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
Strawberry flavor ice cream syrup (optional)
Preparation:
Combine the crushed cookies with the melted butter in a bowl.
Combine the mascarpone, cream, vanilla extract, and sugar in a second bowl.
Press the cookie mixture into the bases of 2 x 5 inch chefs' rings.
Cut some of the strawberries in half so you can line both the chefs' rings.
Roughly chop the remaining strawberries and stir them into the mascarpone mixture.
Add the mascarpone to the chefs' rings and level them off.
Ease the cheesecakes out of the rings.
If you only have one chef's ring you can make one at a time.
Pour some strawberry flavor ice cream syrup over the top of each one, if you like.
Garnish each miniature cheesecake with a fresh strawberry.
(Serves 2)
Wine Suggestion:
Wine Suggestion for Strawberry No Bake Cheesecake
Although a blush wine is often chosen to complement strawberries, it is not so great with cheese, which is why a white California wine such as a Riesling or Muscat would be better with this no bake strawberry cheesecake recipe. Muscat has a musky apple, pear, rose, and melon flavor, and Riesling offers apple, gooseberry, rose, honey, and peach aromas, which are equally beautiful with this no bake cheesecake recipe.
Photo Description:
Sometimes it is nice to serve individual desserts, rather than one large one cut into squares or wedges. If you are serving individual cheesecakes, you can also use halved strawberries around the outside of each portion. As you can see in the picture, this gives the cheesecakes a gourmet look. The chocolate crust adds a nice contrast with the strawberries although you could use vanilla cookies rather than chocolate ones for a lighter flavor. This is a great dessert because you can make it in less than fifteen minutes and there is no baking involved. This is a very easy cheesecake recipe which always gives amazing results.
A Look at Muscat Wines
A sweet, fruity Muscat wine is a great option if you are looking for something that goes well with a strawberry no bake cheesecake or similar recipe. Muscat grapes are a minor variety of grape grown in California and Italy, and a major grape in Chile where it is mainly used for table wine.
Muscat grapes are used to make dessert wines, some of which are fortified and others which are made from noble rot and late harvest grapes which have a natural heavy sweetness. In the United States, Muscat and Muscat hybrids are grown in various regions, with California being a major producer of both bulk wines and fine wines.
Muscat grapes contain various compounds which give the wine its distinctive flavor. These grapes contain a lot of antioxidant flavonoids. In fact they contain as many as red grapes, which means Muscat wine is believed to be as heart-healthy as red wine.
Muscat Wines Around the World
This grape is grown all over the world, and used to make light, dry wines with a low alcohol content, or sweet, late-harvest wines. Because this grape is so widely grown around the world, and especially throughout the Mediterranean area, it is believed that Muscat was one of the first grapes to be domesticated. Pots excavated from the burial mound of King Midas prove that Muscat was part of the alcoholic drink served at his funeral feast.
Muscat wines from Alsace are especially good and these are dry rather than sweet. A dry Muscat is aromatic and also one of the few wines that can stand up to artichokes and asparagus. You can find hints of apricot, peach, herbs and flowers in an Alsace Muscat. Some types of Asti Spumante, the famous sparkling Italian wine, are made with Muscat grapes.
Moscato d'Asti is bottled soon after the grape harvest and has a very low alcohol level, sometimes less than 5%. This wine is bubbly, sweet, and light, with apricot, peach, and pear flavors. It is good as an aperitif or you can serve it after the meal with a strawberry no bake cheesecake or a fresh fruit dessert. Wines from La Spinetta and Saracco are really nice.
In some parts of the world you can find traditionally styled, non-sparkling sweet wines. In the Victoria province of Australia, old stocks of Muscat are blended with non-vintage fortified wine. Expect toffee, exotic spice, and caramel flavors from these. Such a wine would be great with a strawberry no bake cheesecake, if you wanted to try an international Muscat rather than a California Orange Muscat.
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