Description
A delightful no-bake Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake featuring a crunchy vanilla cream cookie crust, a smooth strawberry gelatin-infused cream cheese filling, and a colorful, textured topping of crushed cookies and strawberry wafers. Perfect for a refreshing dessert that combines creamy and crunchy textures with a vibrant strawberry flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Crust Ingredients:
- 1 lb vanilla cream cookies (about 34 cookies), divided
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling Ingredients:
- 1 small box (3.3 oz) strawberry gelatin
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 bricks (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 10 strawberry wafer cookies (about 4 oz)
Topping:
- About half a small tub of whipped topping, thawed and placed into a pastry bag with a star tip
Instructions
- Prepare the crust: Place 26 vanilla cream cookies into a food processor and pulse until they become fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and continue processing until the mixture has a crumbly, wet sand-like texture. Press this crust mixture evenly into the bottom of a greased 10-inch springform pan. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes to set.
- Dissolve the gelatin: In a bowl, combine 1 cup boiling water with the strawberry gelatin powder. Stir thoroughly for about 2 minutes until the gelatin is fully dissolved. Set aside to cool at room temperature—do not refrigerate it yet.
- Make the cream cheese mixture: In a separate bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and granulated sugar together until smooth and creamy. Set this mixture aside.
- Whip the cream: In another bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream with the powdered sugar until stiff peaks form, stopping to scrape down the bowl once for even mixing.
- Combine mixtures: Divide the whipped cream mixture into two halves. Fold one half gently into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Whisk the other half of the whipped cream into the cooled but not yet set gelatin until smooth.
- Layer the cheesecake: Pour half of the strawberry gelatin mixture over the frozen crust and return to the freezer for 15 minutes to begin setting. Remove from freezer and layer the cream cheese mixture on top, then add the remaining strawberry gelatin mixture on top of that.
- Add the crunch topping: Coarsely crush the remaining 8 vanilla cream cookies and the 10 strawberry wafer cookies either using a tart shaper or by sealing them in a sandwich bag and crushing with a rolling pin. If desired, add a few drops of red food coloring to the crushed cookies to intensify the strawberry color. Mix well and sprinkle evenly over the top of the assembled cheesecake.
- Chill the cheesecake: Refrigerate the entire cheesecake for at least 4 hours to fully set and develop flavors.
- Serve: Before serving, pipe the thawed whipped topping from the pastry bag with a star tip decoratively over the cheesecake as desired for an elegant finish.
Notes
- Serves 12.
- Use a 10-inch springform pan for best results.
- Do not refrigerate the gelatin immediately after mixing to prevent premature setting.
- Freezing crust and gelatin layers helps maintain cheesecake structure.
- Adjust sweetness by modifying granulated and powdered sugar amounts as desired.
- For extra decoration, add fresh strawberries on top along with the whipped topping.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/12th of cheesecake)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 28 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated Fat: 14 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
