Fiesta Friday #12

Tags

dessert, Fiesta Friday, Fiesta Friday #12, no-bake cheesecake, nutella, nutella graham crust, recipe, strawberry cheesecake

We are co-hosted, this week, by the dynamic duo of N ‘n’ N, Nancy@Feasting With Friends and Ngan@ngan made it. You’ll be in good hands with them being in charge. They are always calm and collected, kind, helpful, and generally responsible. The key word being generally. Hahaha…

Oh, calm down! There’s no need to panic, I have absolute trust in Ngan and Nancy. Why, you can tell from their blogs that everything they do is always done skillfully and with style. They put out extraordinary work each time. And they happen to be cool people to pal around with. I have no doubt they’ll go down as great and wonderful as other duos in history. Cagney ‘n’ Lacey, Laverne ‘n’ Shirley, Itchy ‘n’ Scratchy, Fish ‘n’ Chips…

I will be monitoring from far again. My family and I are taking a mini Spring break. But I’m always connected to this blog, you know, everywhere, all the time (Hehe… That’s like our school’s motto, repeated daily, so it keeps playing in my head. Not about the blogging part, just the everywhere, all the time part). And as always, I never leave without preparing something for all of you. This time I made something pretty, look!

{No-bake} StrawberryCheesecake w/ Nutella Graham Crust

Difficulty: multiple steps, but all of them are easy
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Makes: one 8 or 9-inch cheesecake
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Refrigerator Time: 2 ½ hours

Recipe is from Cooking Channel

The crust
7 whole graham crackers
4 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp Nutella
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
Pinch of salt

1. In a food processor, grind graham crackers until they are broken into a fine powder.
2. Add melted butter, nutella, brown sugar, salt and cocoa powder and process until all ingredients are well-combined. Mixture will still appear crumbly, but should stick together when pressed. bowl a few times.
3. Press crust evenly onto the bottom of a spring-form pan. It should come up the sides slightly.

The topping
1 lb fresh or frozen strawberries, washed and stemmed
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1. In a sauce pot add the strawberries, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of water. Cook over medium heat until the strawberries are quite soft. Use an immersion blender to purée the fruit. (You can also do this by pouring the strawberries into a regular blender, then return to the pot to finish cooking.)
2. Sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Allow it to sit for about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Transfer the gelatin to the strawberries and gently cook over low heat.
4. Whisking just until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Remove from heat. Reserve ¾ cup of the strawberry mixture for the top layer of the cake.

I was pressed for time, so I didn’t make the topping. Instead I added 3 tbsp of strawberry jam + 2 tsp of grated lemon zest, in the cheesecake mix, and called it a day. 🙂

The cheesecake
I simplified the original recipe by adding strawberry jam and grated lemon zest. The final result was still amazing.

1 lb cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups strawberry topping (see above)
1/2 cup heavy cream
Fresh strawberries for garnish

1. In a stand mixer beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-low speed, using the paddle attachment, until smooth. Add the vanilla extract. Add the strawberry topping, except the ¾ cup you have reserved for the top layer.
2. In a separate bowl whip the heavy cream until medium peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the strawberry cheesecake batter. Gently folding just until it is all combined.
3. Pour the cheesecake into the prepared pan. Tap the pan gently on the counter to bring any air bubbles to the surface. Let it sit, uncovered, in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or until it is set to the touch.
4. Once the cheesecake is set, pour the remaining ¾ cup strawberry topping over it. If the topping has set up in the pot, gently heat it for a minute, just until it is pourable.
5. Place the cheesecake back into the refrigerator and allow to set, uncovered, for another 30 minutes, or until the topping is set. At this point it is ready to serve or you can cover the cheesecake with plastic and it can sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Before unlocking the spring form pan, run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it. Top with the fresh strawberries.

The pretty cheesecakes, one more time.

***

Now, onto features. I had the painful task of having to select features all by myself again this week, due to lack of planning and organization on my part. I constantly fail at multi-tasking and time-management, and I’m paying for it. Selecting features is always the hardest part of Fiesta Friday hosting duties, because there are just so many excellent entries. Anybody else would like to volunteer for next time?

Johnny@Flours n Dainty Buns didn’t try once or twice to bring us his incredibly beautiful Hot Cross Buns. He made them three times to make sure they turned out the best they could be. Well, Johnny, thank you for that! Looks like third time’s a charm. The buns look spectacular. I haven’t seen any prettier. Bravo!

Three is the number of the day. Naina@Spice in the City showed up with a #3 Birthday Cake. Isn’t it the most adorable birthday cake you’ve ever seen? I wish my little ones were turning 3 again after I saw that cake. Well, it’s true that I don’t ever want them to grow up, but I wanted them to specifically turn 3 again, so I’d have the excuse to make the cake.

Juju@Cookingwithauntjuju shared a wonderfully informative post, where she showed us her love of gardening and how rewarding it is to become a Master Gardener Volunteer. Her post is the complete package, with breathtaking scenery taken just right outside her home and adorable pictures of children and animals. Just lovely, Juju!

Weebirdie@Weebirdie’s Cafe has truly outdone herself with her Rhubarb and White Chocolate Gateau. I can’t even begin to think how in the world she made that chocolate flower. It looks out of this world! Surely, all kinds of special tools are needed to churn out such delicately beautiful work of edible art? Hello, Weebirdie, you will have to show us! Recipes and instructions, please…