No-Bake Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

 
This dreamy strawberry cheesecake is the perfect way to celebrate Canada Day! It has now become a tradition in our house.

Canada Day on July 1st is when fresh Ontario strawberries are at their peak. What better time to take advantage of those local berries? You can pick your own strawberries at a local farm or visit a farmer’s market to enjoy them while they’re ripe and ready.

 
The cheesecake filling is subtly sweet, rich and smooth with a lime-infused homemade strawberry jam swirled throughout it. Follow the simple directions to make the sweet ruby-red strawberry jam. Just be sure to allow time for it to cool. The cheesecake is built on a perfect easy-to-make buttery graham cracker base. You can purchase graham cracker crumbs for this recipe or process about 11 to 12 sheets of graham crackers in a food processor which will yield 1 ¾ cup crumbs.

This cake is so simple to assemble with no baking required making it the perfect summer dessert to make on a steamy hot day.

I can’t tell you how much I love this gorgeous red and white cheesecake loaded with strawberry flavour. It always impresses everyone both in looks and taste. When served chilled, it’s delicious and refreshing. And for even more strawberry flavour, the cheesecake is piled with fresh strawberries on top.

 
Allow at least 6 hours or ideally, overnight to freeze the cheesecake (without the strawberry garnish on top). This makes it a convenient make-ahead dessert! To serve, thaw the frozen cake for about 1 – 1 ½ hours on the counter before transferring it to a serving platter with fresh strawberries arranged on top. In order to keep its firmness, this cheesecake is best served in a semi-frozen state. It can be completely thawed in the refrigerator before serving but in this case, the cake will soften. But no worries, it will still be the same tasty cheesecake!

Get ready to impress your guests with this amazing cheesecake! No one will believe you made it!

5 from 1 vote

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No Bake Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

A delicious and refreshing no-bake cheesecake served semi-frozen. Full of lime-infused strawberry preserve swirled throughout a white cheesecake filling over a buttery graham cracker crust.

Servings 8

Ingredients

Strawberry Jam

• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 heaping cups finely chopped fresh strawberries

Base, Cheesecake & Garnish

• 1 ¾ cups graham crumbs
• 6 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 cup 250ml 35% whipping cream, whipped
• 2 x 250g packages cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 1 ½ cups icing sugar
• Sliced strawberries for garnish

Instructions

1. In a medium-sized saucepan whisk the lime zest, lime juice, sugar and cornstarch. Add the strawberries and cook over medium-high heat while mashing the strawberries with a potato masher. Bring the mixture to a full heat and boil while stirring constantly. Cook just until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and with an immersion blender process the mixture until smooth. Transfer the jam to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour or longer.
2. Prepare a 9” spring form pan by greasing the bottom lightly with butter or cooking spray.
3. In a medium bowl mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press the crumbs firmly (with a flat-bottomed glass) into the bottom of a 9” spring form pan. Refrigerate until needed to allow the butter to set firmly.
4. In a large mixing bowl with a mixer at high speed, blend the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a medium bowl and refrigerate until needed. No need to wipe out the mixing bowl as it will be used for blending the cream cheese.
5. In the same mixing bowl add the softened cream cheese and icing sugar. Blend on high speed until the cheese is smooth and creamy.
6. With a spatula fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture just until combined and smooth.
7. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the graham crust. Gently spread the cooled strawberry jam over top. With the edge of a knife or spatula, gently swirl the jam around to create a swirl pattern without disturbing the crust.
8. Leave cheesecake in the spring form pan and place it in the freezer for 6 hours (or overnight) to set.
9. Remove cheesecake from the freezer to the counter about 1 - 1 ½ hours before needed, leaving it in the pan. Once it’s thawed slightly, release it from the sides of the spring form (leaving the cheesecake on the base) and transfer the semi-frozen cheesecake to a serving platter. Arrange sliced strawberries on top as desired. The cake is best served in a semi-frozen state in order to keep its firmness. The cake can also be completely thawed in the refrigerator, but in this case the cake will soften and loose its firm shape.