No Bake Mini Strawberry Cheese Cake

Today's recipe is a no-bake cheese cake that I made using my homemade cream cheese.  

Yesterday I shared my cream cheese recipe with the detailed description of my love for cheese cakes :)  I made that cream cheese especially for this cheese cake.

As my cream cheese was ready, I was all set to make this cake but then I realised that I had no loose bottom pan for making it.  It was so depressing :( I thought about all possible options but all in vain.  Then my toddler, who loves to explore my kitchen, came out with my plastic cookie cutters.. Then the idea came to my mind.. My very own cookie cutters. They were perfect for making these cheese cakes. Though their size was so small (palm size) but deep enough to accommodate all three layers of my cheese cake.. It was so pleasing to imagine my mini cheese cakes.  

Finally, everything was in my hands. I made these no bake mini cheese cakes without wasting any more time.  They came out very nice and cute looking.  I was not feeling to cut these little cuties but I had to :)  The taste was so good and I was fully satisfied with the results.  

For the third layer I used strawberry jam but you can use any kind of jam, jelly, fruit crush, chocolate ganache, mashed fresh fruits and so on.  The list it endless.  

I didn't follow any recipe. Added things as per my choice and measured them keeping in mind the size of my cookie cutters.  It was my first meeting with Gelatin :)  Fortunately, I got the perfect texture even without knowing the exact measurements.  Now I feel confident while doing experiments :D

These cheese cakes are just perfect to end a meal.  As they are bite sized (almost) you can serve them in kids party too. 

So here is the recipe for you to try.  Enjoy. Happy Cooking :)

                   

Makes - 3 mini cheese cakes (palm sized)

Ingredients:

For the base:

Marie biscuits / Digestive biscuits   -   7

Butter                                                -   1 tbsp

For the second layer (Cream Cheese) :

Homemade Cream Cheese      -    3 tbsp

Condensed milk                       -    2.5 tbsp

Vanilla essence                        -    few drops

Gelatin                                     -    1/4 tsp

Hot water                                 -    1.5 tsp

For the top layer:

Strawberry jam     -    5 tbsp

Gelatin                  -    1/4 tsp

Hot water              -    2 tsp

To decorate :

Glaced cherries (halved)    -    2

                              

Method:

(Here I would call the cookie cutters as Moulds).

Base:

• Take the cookies in a ziplock bag and powder them with the help of a pastry roller.  Shift to a clean and dry bowl.  Add in butter and mix well with your fingers for about 2 minutes.  Set aside.
• Take a tray or any serving plate.  Cut out three squares (big enough to accommodate the moulds) from a wax paper.  Set the wax paper squares on the serving plate.  Put one mould in the center of the wax paper square and hold it firmly.  Throw in some cookie-butter mixture and press it firmly to make an even layer.  The more firm this cookie layer would be, the more neat base your cheese cake would get.  Repeat the same process with other moulds too and put the tray as it is in the fridge to chill the base for about 30 minutes.

Second layer:

• Meanwhile, take 1.5 tbsp hot water in a small bowl and add in gelatin.  Let it melt. Once melted, give it a stir and set aside.  
• In a bowl, take cream cheese and whisk it well for about 2 minutes.  Add in condensed milk and vanilla and whisk again for 2-3 minutes.  Add in gelatin mix and stir well.
• Take the moulds out of the fridge.  Now, its time to put in the second layer i.e. of cheese cream.  Take two tablespoon of cream cheese mix and spread it evenly over the cookie base.   Repeat it for other two moulds too. Again keep it in the fridge to chill overnight or atleast for 3 hours.

Third layer:

• For the third layer i.e. of Jam.  Take the strawberry jam in a bowl and mix it well till smooth.  Take hot water and add in gelatin. Let it melt and stir well.  Add it to the jam and mix well. Take sufficient jam in a spoon to top second layer (cream cheese) and spread it evenly over it.  Again put it in the fridge to chill for about 1 hour.
• For removing the cake, from the mould, you need to be a little patient and careful.  Take one mould carefully in your hand and slowly push it upwards from the bottom with your finger.  Do not push from the center in the beginning.  Start with the sides and then center.  It would neatly come out.  Put it back on the wax paper.
• Decorate with glaced cherries and serve.

Strawberry Oats Bars

I love oats and experimenting with it to make different foods. Today's recipe is also made with oats and is a healthy one.  I got this recipe here and bookmarked it instantly as I found it very easy and ingredients used were also very simple and I must confess that I wanted to finish my strawberry jam too :D  

This recipe was in my TO TRY list and last weekend I finally made it and OMG it came out so yummy.  Trust me guys its seriously addictive.  You can't stop having just one. We finished up the whole batch on the same day and I myself had 70% of it :D  I loved these bars so much that I made a fresh batch again. This is the simplest recipe I ever came across.  Just mix up all the ingredients in one bowl, layer it in the baking pan and bake.  Super duper simple.

I made a few changes in the original recipe like I used thinly granulated brown sugar and castor sugar, reduced the quantity of butter, used vanilla essence in the base mixture and before baking topped the dish with chopped walnuts and I am glad I made those changes :)  Addition of walnuts and vanilla gave it a nice crunch and flavour. I also substituted strawberry preserve with strawberry jam. The final product was surprisingly divine.  (That is the beauty of experiments).

While layering the dish in the baking tray I didn't put a thick layer of strawberry jam as I wanted to have both outer crust and jam flavour equally.  You are free to use as much jam as you like.  After cutting and cooling the bars I shifted them to an airtight container and kept in the fridge.  I loved these bars even more on the following day as they became more firm and crunchy due to cooling.  I strongly recommend to store these bars in the fridge.

Its a delicious and healthy anytime snack for kids as well as adults.  Even you can have it as breakfast too with a glass of milk.  I can bet you would love to make it again and again because of its simplicity and taste.  The biggest proof of its deliciousness is that I have bought a fresh bottle of strawberry jam again ... just to make these bars :D

I am so happy with this recipe and so here sharing the recipe.  Do try and enjoy.  Happy Cooking :)

Recipe adapted from thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients:

All purpose flour	¾ cup
Quick cooking oats/Rolled oats	¾ cup
Salted Butter (cold)	6 tbsp
Brown sugar	¼ cup
Castor sugar	¼ cup
Baking powder	½ tsp
Vanilla essence (optional)	¼ tsp
Chopped walnuts	2 tbsp
Strawberry jam	As required (I used 4 tbsp)

Method:

• Preheat the oven at 175 degree.  Grease a square pan with butter and keep aside.  
• In a mixing bowl, take all purpose flour, oats, baking powder, brown sugar, castor sugar and mix everything well.  Add butter and mix with your hand until the mixture becomes crumbly.  Add vanilla essence and mix again.
• Take half of the mixture and spread in the greased pan.  Cover the bottom of the pan with the mixture equally and press to make it firm.
• Layer the strawberry jam evenly on the prepared base of oats mix.  Cover it with remaining oats mix and lightly press the layer.  Sprinkle chopped walnuts and press them lightly.
• Bake it for 35 minutes or till it gets golden brown on the top.
• Remove from oven and let it cool down.
• Cut into squares and serve.
• Store the remaining bars in an airtight container and keep in the fridge.

Notes:

1. You can top it with any nuts of your choice.
2. Instead of walnuts you can use chopped cashews or almonds.
3. White sugar can be used in place of brown sugar and castor sugar.  If using big granulated sugar, grind it slightly.
4. Layer as much jam as you want.
5. Do not over bake.