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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,

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julia says

    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

    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

      Yay! I am so happy you like the idea 🙂 Let me know how it turns out! Thank you, Jocelyn!

  3. Devenayagi Muroogas says

    Cheerio crust something different…
    u didn't use any gelatine. can it set without gelatine? If i dnt want to use the sour cream, what can i replace it with?

    • Crunchy Creamy Sweet says

      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

    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

  5. Soni says

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

  7. Kristen says

    The cheerio crust is brilliant. I love hearing about substitutions that work out well. Your cheesecake sounds lovely.

  9. Jane and Lorraine says

    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! 🙂

  10. Jennie says

    This no-bake cheesecake looks amazing. I love the combo of flavors you used. Even better, it's no bake. Gotta love that.

  11. Angie's Recipes says

    Cereal crust, chocolate, and cheese…what a fabulous combination! And it looks very pretty too.

  13. Slow Cooking Kitchen says

    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!!!

  14. Anita at Hungry Couple says

    Yummy. I also have a no-bake cheesecake that's a man-getter. And…that's how I got Mr. Hungry Couple. 🙂

  18. Choc Chip Uru says

    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

    • Crunchy Creamy Sweet says

      Ok, Uru. Let's take it outside! To my patio table 🙂 I am serving my cheesecake. Throwdown? lol

  19. Lauralovescakes says

    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?

    • Crunchy Creamy Sweet says

      Right? So many cereal kinds, so many crust possibilities! Thank you, Laura!

  20. Susie says

    This looks gorgeous Anna, love your piping – it's fantastic! I wouldn't have thought of using cereal, but it's a great idea 🙂

  21. Rachel says

    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.

    • Crunchy Creamy Sweet says

      I agree. It feels great to create something delicious from scratch. Although my pie crusts do need some improvement. Thank you, Rachel!

  22. Jen says

    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!

    • Crunchy Creamy Sweet says

      Oh, that sounds amazing, Jen! I will have to remember this. Thank you so much!

  23. Cucina says

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

  24. Tina says

    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!

  25. Carrie Burrill says

    What a fantastic idea!

    Cheesecake and I go way back as well. I rarely make it but it is my favorite thing on this planet (with the exception of bacon)

    • Crunchy Creamy Sweet says

      Oh my! lol Should I be including warnings with my recipes from now? 🙂 Thank you, Richard!

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