Fluffy No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake

The Cheesecake

I was chatting with my sister about the imminent end of my testing adventure, and she said, "Aren't you going to do the cheesecake?" I knew exactly which cheesecake she was talking about because, growing up, we only ever had one. But the recipe for it wasn't in Grandma's box, and I told my sister so. "That's because it's in a frame at my house," she said, and she sent me a picture. 

You are no doubt wondering why recipes are in frames in our houses, something I also mentioned in this post. Before I explain, you must know that recipes in Grandma's beautiful handwriting were a sought-after commodity when I was young. As the cousins grew up and left home, they would ask Grandma for handwritten copies of her recipes. One year for Christmas, she gave all but the youngest grandchildren a recipe box with some of her favorites, possibly to get it all over with at once. I treasured that box and those recipes, and I know my cousins did too. Much later, also for Christmas, my sister gave me and my siblings framed copies of one of Grandma's recipes as a souvenir to display in our kitchens.  

Back to the cheesecake, I have to admit that this wasn't my favorite of all the desserts we ate. However, I realized it was actually the raspberry Danish Dessert (junket) topping that I didn't like. Once I started asking for a piece without the overly sweet raspberry slime, I liked it much better. I was curious to revisit this recipe and see what my taste buds thought now.

How to Make Fluffy No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake

Yes, I changed the name. I'll get to the why of it later. As to the making of it, the graham cracker crust came first. The recipe called for 30 single graham crackers, but I wasn't sure what Grandma meant by that. I started breaking up crackers so that I could crush them, and it became clear that thirty whole crackers would have been way too much. Thirty of the smallest sections were too few, but thirty of half of the graham cracker sheets was just right. I broke them into a zip-top bag and crushed them with a rolling pin. 

I added the powdered sugar and melted butter to the crumbs, then stired that mixture until it was evenly combined. It looked like damp sand. 

The crumbs went into a 9 x 13-inch glass dish. I packed them into an even layer and put the dish into the fridge to chill.  

For the filling, I started with the lemon Jello. I poured the powder into a bowl, added boiling water, and stirred until it was dissolved. 

I then stuck the bowl into the freezer to quickly cool while I beat together the softened cream cheese and sugar. 

Once the Jello was cold and starting to thicken, I added it to the cream cheese mixture, a little at a time, until the mixture was smooth and evenly combined. This step was painless because my cream cheese was vey soft when I started. 

The next step was to whip evaporated milk. Have you done that? I never had, but I'd heard it was possible. I'd also heard it was best to start with thoroughly chilled evaporated milk, so I'd placed the can in the fridge the day before. 

I was amazed at how quickly it doubled in volume. I almost thought I would need a bigger bowl, but it turned out to be just big enough. I kept whipping until soft peaks formed. 

I folded the whipped milk into the Jello mixture, again adding a little at a time, until the mixture was homogenous. 

I then poured the mixture over the graham cracker crust and put it back in the fridge to set. The next day, I served it with fruit on top instead of the once traditional Danish Dessert. The pieces cut nicely and looked appealing on the plate.   

The Verdict on Fluffy No-Bake Cheesecake

You can tell from the picture how light and airy this cheesecake was. It was lemony sweet with a slight tang from the cream cheese, and the fruit added some tartness that Danish Dessert never brought. The cheesecake was even more delicious than I remembered. 

The name, however, needed something more. This was the opposite of the dense, cream-cheese-laden dish that usually carries the name cheesecake. In fact, it barely had enough of that ingredient to qualify as a cheesecake. Therefore, I chose the name Fluffy No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake because it sums up how cool and refreshingly light this dish is. It would make a nice spring or summer dessert, but honestly, I would devour it any time of the year. And that was exactly what we did.