Working at Stokes is already great on any given day, but when Anca, our Director of Human Resources, brings in her fabulous baked goods, you know the workday is about to get a whole lot better (and sweeter)!
Anca’s passion for baking is celebrated by everyone at the head office—we are more than happy to be her taste testers. To celebrate Easter and all things spring, we had the privilege of trying this delicious no-bake mini egg cheesecake she made, and it was SO GOOD… We just had to put it on the blog!
Here’s what you’ll need to prepare it:
Ingredients:
· 200g Graham crackers
· 100g unsalted butter, melted
· 360g mini eggs, plus 270g to decorate
· 550ml whipping cream, plus 50ml to decorate
· 140g icing sugar, sifted
· 600g full fat cream cheese, room temperature
· Juice of half a lemon (or more, see notes)
· 1 pouch gelatin (optional, but strongly recommended)
Preparation:
1. Line the inside edge of a springform cake pan with parchment or wax paper to make it easier to remove the cake from the pan.
2. Crush the Graham crackers in a food processor until fine.
3. Add the melted butter to your crushed Graham crackers, mix, and press the mixture onto the bottom of the springform pan. Place in the fridge to set while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
4. Prepare the gelatin according to the package instructions. Let it come to room temperature while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
5. Chop 360g of the mini eggs in half (see tip below).
6. Whip the whipping cream on high speed using a stand mixer until stiff peaks form. We recommend using our Promix Plus equipped with the whisk attachment.
7. Mix the cream cheese with the icing sugar until creamy, with your stand mixer or hand mixer.
8. With a spatula, gently fold in the whipped cream, the lemon juice, the prepared gelatin, and the chopped mini eggs until fully combined.
9. Place the cheese filling on top of the Graham cracker crust and even out the top with a silicone spatula. Place plastic wrap on top, pressing it tightly on the cheesecake to get a smooth top. Chill for 3 hours or overnight.
11. When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap from the top, along with the side of the springform pan. Place the cake on your platter, and remove the parchment/wax paper.
12. Plop the remaining whipped cream on top of the cheesecake and pile on the remaining mini eggs, with some chopped in half. Then, serve and enjoy!
Tips
· We highly recommended using gelatin so the cake holds better. Should you choose to forgo the gelatin, ensure the cream cheese is full fat as the light version contains more water. The consistency should be sliceable, but not solid—similar to room temperature butter.
· Make sure to sift the icing sugar— the cheesecake will have a much smoother texture.
· Since mini eggs are hard to cut and crush, we recommend using a cut-resistant glove and a very sharp knife.
· You can add more lemon juice if you’d prefer a slightly sharper tang.
This no-bake cheesecake is easily customizable—forgo the mini eggs in the batter and put anything you’d like on top to switch things up, the possibilities are endless! Always a crowd-pleaser, it’s the perfect make-ahead dessert for any occasion. If you make this recipe and want to share it with us, tag us on Instagram @stokesstores and use the hashtag #StokesMoments.