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Chocolate-Speckled No-Bake Cheesecake

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April+590a Chocolate Speckled No Bake Cheesecake

Cheesecake and I are best buds.

We go far in the history.

He helped me to steal my Husband’s heart. 🙂

April+610a Chocolate Speckled No Bake Cheesecake

You see, cheesecake was the first dessert I made by myself. All the way from mixing to cutting and serving.

I was so impressed with myself, that I made it a first dessert for my then-future-Hubby.

We had many of them since then. I have my secret recipe that always comes out perfect! This is just the first one I am sharing on CCS. It’s a no-bake style, easy to put together and very adaptable to your flavor likings.

It’s not too rich or overly sweet as many cheesecakes can be. It’s creamy texture leaves you satisfied.

I added the chocolate shavings just for the fun of it. Because you can never go wrong with a little bit of chocolate. 🙂 I love the speckled look they gave this dessert.

Ok, now I will reveal one of my secrets to you. It’s life-changing so you have to focus.

 I made the crust from cereal.

Yep! You read it right! Instead of using the standard graham crackers, I used Cheerios! It was one of these days when I wanted to make cheesecake but I didn’t have graham crackers. Or any cookies for that matter. That’s when I saw the box of my kid’s favorite cereal, waving at me!

I had my Gru moment: “light bulb”. 😀

So next time you want to make a crust, use cereal! They make for a very crispy crunchy crust. Yum!

Besides, don’t they make them gluten free now? See where I am going with this? 🙂

So now you know why this dessert is so amazing! Creamy cheesecake filling sitting gracefully on top of crunchy cereal crust. They compliment each other so well!

Yes, cheesecake and I are best buds.

April+617a Chocolate Speckled No Bake Cheesecake

Chocolate-Speckled No-Bake Cheesecake with Cereal Crust

for the crust:
2 c Cheerios
4 – 5 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Crush the Cheerios in a food processor. ( You can also put them in a zip lock bag and smash with a rolling pin. ) Place the crushed cereal into a 8″ round cake pan. Pour the melted butter on top and sprinkle the sugar. Mix all with a fork or by hand. Make sure the cereal are moistened with butter really well. Spread it all over the bottom of the pan and pat well. Try to get some up the sides too. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely before adding the filling.

for the filling:
1 8oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c granulated sugar
1/4 c sour cream
1 c heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp sugar
grated chocolate

In a standing mixer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. It takes only 2 – 3 minutes so keep an eye on it. You don’t want to over whip it! ( You can whip additional 1/2 c of the cream if you would like to use it for decorating the finished cake. )
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese for 3 minutes. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and sour cream and beat again. Gently fold in the whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
Pour the filling over the cooled crust.
Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours. ( If you are pressed for time or simply can’t wait to dig in, place the cheesecake in the freezer and check every 30 minutes if it’s set. ).
Store in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Do you have a dish that you are sentimental about?

xoxo,

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Comments

  1. Julia @The Roasted Root says

    April 24, 2012 at 8:20 pm

    Cherios for the crust, no way! This sounds so good, I love cherios…gives the crust a nice crunch, but different from the typical graham cracker. I love the grated chocolate in the cheesecake filling – sounds so good!

  2. Jocelyn says

    April 23, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    Cheesecake and I are best buds too:-) I love that you used cereal for the crust when you didn't have the right ingredients!! This is awesome…I need to go see what cereal I have on hand to use:-)

    • Crunchy Creamy Sweet says

      April 24, 2012 at 5:45 pm

      Yes, it will set without the gelatine. Check every half an hour or so. If you don't want to use sour cream, you can easily substitute yogurt for it. I added it for the extra creaminess. Thank you!

  4. SerenaB says

    April 22, 2012 at 8:16 pm

    Fantastic! I love the thought of cheerio's for the crust! This looks delish, my mouth is watering just thinking of cheesecake! Have a fantastic week my friend! xoxo

  6. Soni says

    April 19, 2012 at 2:39 pm

    This looks delicious!!I love the fact that you used cheerios instead of graham crackers!!Will definitely be trying this sometime 🙂

  9. Jane and Lorraine says

    April 18, 2012 at 6:36 pm

    I like the idea of using cherrios, I know that was a nice change; and I love a no bake recipe. Even though I love baking its always good to have these recipes on hand as well. Thanks for the crust idea! 🙂

  13. Slow Cooking Kitchen says

    April 18, 2012 at 3:53 am

    great idea w/ the cheerios =)) Hi Anna, this is so pretty and sounds delicious. What did you use to decorate the cheesecake with? (it looks yummy too) Hope you have a great evening!!!

  19. Choc Chip Uru says

    April 17, 2012 at 9:54 pm

    Excuse me but cheesecake told me WE were best friends – geez 😉
    Ok fine I will share it with you – or rather the other way around 😛
    Your cheesecake is exquisite! The specckling affect looks beautiful!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  20. Lauralovescakes says

    April 17, 2012 at 8:53 pm

    Obviously cheesecake is the way to a man's heart!! 🙂 Great idea to use cheerios for the base…I wonder what it would taste like with honey nut cheerios?

  22. Rachel @ My Naturally Frugal Family says

    April 17, 2012 at 8:02 pm

    Cheerios for a crust? Never thought of that, but an absolute brilliant idea and fantastic shortcut.

    I too love cheesecake, as for a food I am sentimental about I think it would have to be apple pie. It was the first “complicated” dessert I made for one of my college boyfriends (we aren't together anymore though). It was wonderful to go from start to finish with it and I think it tasted that much better because I had to do all of the work.

  23. Jen at The Three Little Piglets says

    April 17, 2012 at 7:36 pm

    My favorite cheesecake crust came out of one of my cooking classes where we didn't have enough graham crackers – I threw together some Ritz crackers, walnuts, cinnamon, sugar and the little bit of graham crackers. It was amazing, and now I use it every time!

  24. Cucina49 says

    April 17, 2012 at 6:50 pm

    I never would have thought to put Cheerios in the crust–that's inspired! This cheesecake looks wonderful, creamy and (thankfully) not too sweet.

  25. Tina says

    April 17, 2012 at 6:46 pm

    Now that is how to make use of ingredients on hand. I would have never thought about a cereal crust, but it does so well with milk, why not cheesecake! Also, I love that it has the chocolate speckles, not overpowering but just the right amount. This is an example of why you are listed with Very Good Recipes-delicious creation!

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