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. :)

    

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". :D

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.

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,



Linking up to Trick or Treat Tuesday.