Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake

We have a little baker in the family. Our youngest child loves to bake. He also has a super sweet tooth! The two go hand in hand I suppose. For opening weekend at the campground he wanted to bring dessert for our other favorite baker, Tammy, to try. He missed a step in the recipe but it didn’t make or break this. He just made it all strawberry rather than half vanilla bean and half strawberry. It was still delicious!! 

Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake

This No Bake Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake is layers of strawberry and vanilla bean cheesecake in a graham cracker crust, topped with strawberry crunch topping! Completely no bake and delicious, you'll want this beauty on repeat in your kitchen!

Ingredients

Strawberry Crunch

¼ cup freeze-dried strawberries, ground into powder(see note)

9 vanilla sandwich cookies (like golden oreos)

2 tablespoon salted butter, melted

Graham Cracker Crust

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 15 whole crackers)

2 tablespoon sugar

10 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

No-Bake Cheesecake

24 oz cream cheese, at room temperature (I used full fat)

½ cup sugar

¼ cup sour cream, at room temperature (I used full fat)

2 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (see note)

¾ cup freeze-dried strawberries (or whatever is left in the bag; see note)

1¼ cups heavy (whipping) cream, cold

¼ cup powdered sugar

Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

½ cup heavy (whipping) cream, cold

2 tablespoon powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (see note)

Instructions

For Strawberry Crunch

Combine freeze-dried strawberries (see note) and vanilla sandwich cookies in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarse crumbs.

Drizzle in melted butter and continue to pulse the mixture to the desired consistency. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until needed. The strawberry crunch topping can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

For Crust

Grease a 9" springform pan (see note) and set aside.

Combine graham crackers and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process until finely ground.

Add melted butter and pulse to incorporate, making sure the mixture is completely coated in butter. Press the mixture into the bottom and 1-2 inches up the sides of the prepared pan. Chill as you prepare the filling.

For Cheesecake

Combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed at first, then increase to medium until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla bean paste (see note). Mix to incorporate.

Pour half the filling into a separate bowl and set aside. This will be the vanilla bean layer of the cheesecake. 

Add the freeze-dried strawberry powder to the mixer bowl and mix to incorporate.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream with the powdered sugar until it thickens and holds peaks.

Scrape half of the whipped cream into the bowl of vanilla cheesecake filling, and the other half into the bowl of strawberry cheesecake filling. Gently fold the whipped cream into each mixture, taking care not to deflate the whipped cream.

Take the prepared crust out of the refrigerator. Scrape the strawberry filling into the crust, and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Repeat with the vanilla filling, spreading it on top of the strawberry filling.

Cover the cheesecake and place in the refrigerator to set for 6-8 hours (12+ hours is even better).

For Whipped Cream

Place cold heavy cream and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Start the mixer on low speed, and gradually increase the speed to high. Whip until the cream thickens and forms peaks. Add vanilla bean paste (see note), and mix to incorporate.

Remove the chilled cheesecake from the refrigerator and top with the strawberry crunch topping. Pipe or dollop the whipped cream on top, and garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired.

Once complete and garnished, the covered cheesecake will keep in the refrigerator for about five days (if it lasts that long).

For long-term storage, wrap the plain cheesecake (with no strawberry crunch/whipped cream/berries) well and store in the freezer for up to three months!

Enjoy!

Notes

Note on freeze-dried strawberries: You'll need one bag (typically 0.8-1.2 oz) of freeze-dried strawberries for this recipe. Make sure that you're using *freeze-dried* berries, as they're free of moisture and will process into a powder. Regular "dried" strawberries will not! You'll use ¼ cup of the strawberries in the strawberry crunch, then the rest of the bag (it was ¾ cup for me) in the strawberry cheesecake layer.

Note on springform pan: This recipe uses a standard 9" springform pan. In a pinch you could use a regular 9" round cake pan, the cheesecake will just be a bit harder to slice and serve. If you go that route, I suggest a cake pan that's 3" high, so you have enough room for your layers.

Note on vanilla bean paste: I love the kick of vanilla flavor and the beautiful vanilla bean flecks from vanilla bean paste! If you'd prefer, you can substitute with an equal measure of vanilla extract.