balsamic strawberry no bake cheesecake

 

happy canada 150!!!! i can only imagine the celebrations happening across the country tonight both big & small. there will be fireworks in my town & even more fireworks over the falls. i wanted to leave you with a perfect summer recipe incase you need a last minute dessert for a bbq tonight or for a fourth of july gathering! no bake cheesecakes are PERFECT for the hottest of summer days because they involve no heat element. it is for those days where it gets so hot you can't even think about turning on a stove top or oven. i love balsamic strawberries as a snack or topping on ice cream so i thought it would work well as a topping on this cheesecake too... it did! the balsaimc is very sublte, a little goes a long way. plus the sugar really offsets the bitterness of the vinegar. i think it would work well with peaches too. anyways i am starting my long weekend celebrations the second i hit post:)

happy canada day!

happy fourth of july!

happy long weekend!

xo

ingredients

for the graham cracker crust

  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

for the balsamic strawberries

  • 2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered
  • 2-3 tablespoons white sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)
  • 1 teaspon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tablespoon quality balsamic vinegar

for the cheesecake

  • 16 oz full fat cream cheese ( two 8oz bars)
  • 1/3 cup + 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

directions

for the graham cracker crust

  • in a large mixing bowl toss together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and sea salt.
  • add the butter & vanilla, stir well.
  • pour mixture into a pie dish or skillet & shape crumbs into a crust with a one inch high edge.
  • place crust in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling & strawberries.

for the balsamic strawberries

  • in a mixing bowl toss together the strawberries, sugar, vanilla and balsamic. let flavours mend while you prepare the filling. cover & refrigerate.

for the cheesecake

  • in the bowl of a standmixer (or hand mixer) beat together the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar & vanilla until fluffy.
  • in a separate bowl whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks are formed. add in the remaining sugar.
  • fold whipped cream into the cheesecake ensuring not to deflate the whipped cream.
  • pour filling over crust & let rest in the fridge to set for 2-4 hours covered.
  • when ready to serve, top with the marinated balsamic strawberries.

p.s. skillet is by lodge cast iron & black mixing bowls are by falcon enamelware! xo

strawberry cheesecake pancakes in bed

 

happy friday!!! who is celebrating valentine's day this weekend? i have been hit with a nasty cold so it is looking like i will be spending the next few days watching netflix in bed. lucky for me, i have the comfiest bedding from rough linen to cozy up in! i never want to leave this bed on a good day. now i don't want to give away too much of our master bedroom design that is just about complete as i will be sharing a more detailed post on it in the near future, but let's talk a little bit about that bedding! while i usually gravitate toward different tones of grey, i couldn't pass up the "dusk" soft pink colour rough linen carriers. i opted for the queen bed makeover in dusk & white which comes with everything you need to set the bed! a duvet cover, top sheet, decorative shams & a summer cover. i filled it with a heavy duty down insert because our old house is quite cold, but i can only imagine how hot it will be in the summer so having the light summer cover will be a life saver. oh the joys of an old house! i am also so happy how well it goes with the farrow + ball wallpaper & paint i chose. the cloudy wallpaper is called aranami in grey, it is seriously the dreamiest. between the grey wallpaper, walls, doors & trim the dusk pink was a perfect subtle contrast to everything. but enough about the bed, let's get to what inspired it all.. strawberry cheesecake pancakes!

i love the idea of surprisingly your valentine with breakfast in bed & this one is fit for a king (or queen). i incorporated cream cheese & greek yogurt into the pancakes themselves, then topped them off with fresh strawberries & whipped cream. i opted to keep the pancakes simple, but if you wanted to stir a few fresh strawberries into the batter itself that works too! i remember making strawberry cheesecake pancakes for my mom on mother's day years & years ago. i used nigella's recipe which used cottage cheese as the base, but i like the tang of the actual cream cheese brings to these ones. plus, with all the chocolate & wine calories don't count on valentine's day! you can even top it with a strawberry pie filling if you have trouble finding fresh strawberries this time of year. so, you have all weekend to get the perfect breakfast in bed pancakes ready for your valentine, bonus points if you surprise them with this dream bedding too;)

xo

strawberry cheesecake pancakes

ingredients

  • 4 ounces full fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons plain full fat greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup raw sugar
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 1 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 pinch of sea salt
  • 1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 1 cup whippred cream, for serving
  • pure maple syrup, for serving

directions

  • using an immersion blender, puree cream cheese, egg, yogurt & vanilla until smooth.
  • stir in raw sugar, melted butter & milk.
  • sift in flour, baking powder & salt until a lumpy batter is formed.
  • heat an oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. pour the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. * cook until both sides brown.
  • top with fresh strawberries, whipped cream & maple syrup!