Happy Valentine's Day!
I'm Zainab and I blog over at Blahnik Baker. I am so excited to be a contributor here on Ginger Snap Crafts. I’ve been a reader of Ginger’s wonderful blog for about a year now and I love her crafts and easy tutorial projects. I am not very crafty and always love that she makes her projects so do-able for people like me!! Like this polka dot banner tutorial that helped me last summer as I was decorating for a bridal shower.
That’s why today I wanted to share with you a simple yet elegant dessert. I am not a fan of complicated things. But I am a fan of decadent, beautiful and yet easy to make desserts because after all we all want indulgent sweets without spending half the day in the kitchen (who has time for that?). This cheesecake with ginger lime candied strawberries is exactly that!!
But before we talk about the deliciousness in front of us (tempting I know), let me tell you a little bit about myself first. I am originally from Freetown, a small tropical coastal city in West Africa but I moved to the US about a decade ago for school and the prosperous American dream. Well more for the prosperous education since I am currently a professional student by day and a bake-a-holic by night. I'm a graduate student in Neuroscience, studying to be a neuroscientist in the near future but in my free time, I am a newly wed, who is obsessed with baking, shoes and shopping (in no particular order!). I didn't grow up baking like most people and after getting married I wanted to learn to bake so I started teaching myself the basics and my blog, Blahnik Baker happened, to share my recipes with friends and chronicle my self-taught adventures. I love making easy, simple to approach but beautiful everyday desserts.
Being Valentine's Day, I wanted to give you guys a classy last minute dessert you can whip up in no time. This cheesecake with ginger lime candied strawberries starts with a NO BAKE cheesecake and can be prepped in less than 30 minutes. All you need to do is chill for 3 hours and serve with the accompanying sauce when your Valentines are ready for dessert! Because there are no eggs in the recipe, this is a super light cheesecake with hints of refreshing citrus flavors thanks to the orange and lime juices!!
The bars are topped with a candied ginger lime strawberry sauce that is slightly spicy and with fresh mint, brings together several flavors. It's just a lot of magic in one bite! My husband proclaimed it's the lightest cheesecake he has ever had and proceeded to have two more bars. I urge you to go NOW and get started on this easy cheesecake because it will definitely be loved by all. It will be ready for your Valentine's Day dinner tonight.
Thank you Ginger for letting me hang out here today. Your readers are wonderful. Thank you all very much for having me! I hope you will all stop by Blahnik Baker to say Hello and find more yummy recipes like this. I'm also on Facebook and Pinterest!
Cheesecake with Ginger-Lime Candied Strawberries
For the Crust
6 ounces shortbread cookies
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Cheesecake
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
Pinch of salt
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup heavy cream
For Ginger-Lime Candied Strawberries
1 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
1 teaspoon lime juice
Directions:
For crust
Lightly grease an 8x8x2" pan (or a springform pan) with nonstick cooking spray. Line with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang. In the bowl of a food processor, finely process the shortbread cookies. Drizzle in butter and sprinkle in salt. Process until mixture resembles moist sand. Transfer to pan and press evenly onto the bottom of pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill while you prepare filling.
For Cheesecake
In a small saucepan, add 2 tablespoon cold water. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until gelatin is soft, about 5-10 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the sugar, butter and salt until light and fluffy on medium speed, about 5 minutes. Add in cream cheese and beat until well combined. Beat in the sour cream, orange juice and lime juice. Over the lowest heat, gently heat gelatin stirring constantly until just dissolved. Scrape gelatin into cream cheese mixture and beat until well combined. In another bowl, beat heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold in whipped cream to cream cheese mixture. Pour the entire mixture over chilled crust. Smooth with an offset spatula. Chill until set, about 3 hours. The cheesecake can be made up to 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
For the ginger-lime strawberries
In a small saucepan, cook the strawberries, sugar, ginger, mint and lime juice with 1 tablespoon water over low heat until the strawberries release their juices and are soft. About 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and chill for an hour or up to a day.
To serve
Remove cheesecake from pan by lifting the plastic wrap overhang. Cut into squares. Serve each bar with candied strawberries and sauce. Drizzle more sauce.
Adapted from Bon Appetit
{click here for a printer friendly version}
Thank you so much, Zainab! Oh my goodness! That looks so yummy!
Make sure you stop by Blahnik Baker for more amazing recipes (& pictures!).
Thank you so much stopping by my blog!
If this is your first time visiting I’d love to keep in touch. 
Don’t miss a post! Subscribe by email or bloglovin’.
This project & post were created for Ginger Snap Crafts by Blahnik Baker.
