No-Bake Cheesecake with Raspberry Glaze -- #recipe by @LeslieBudewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  It’s still plenty warm in some parts of the country and an elegant, no-bake dessert is always in good taste. I spotted this no-bake cheesecake with a raspberry glaze on the King Arthur website and wanted to try it. We loved it – and no surprise, it goes beautifully with coffee for a weekend breakfast! The filling is definitely softer than a baked cheesecake – creamy and a little tart, in a good way. We ate the first pieces after it had chilled about two hours rather than the recommended eight; good, but better when fully chilled. 

If you use frozen berries, thaw and drain them first so you’re not trying to cook down extra liquid. You could easily substitute strawberries or blueberries. I used an immersion blender to crush the berries and it worked like a dream. The King Arthur photo showed a perfectly smooth red top; I overcooked my berries a bit and didn’t get quite enough glaze. It mounded a bit in places where I hadn’t completely flattened the filling, but we thought it lovely just as it was. 

I’ll say this up front, since some of you are bound to ask if you can make the filling and sauce and buy a crust. Yes, but why? Ready-made crusts have very little flavor.  A graham cracker crust is super easy. No rolling required – it’s just crumbs mixed with sugar and melted butter and  pressed into a pan. This beautiful filling deserves a fresh crust! 

Enjoy this late taste of summer!

No-Bake Cheesecake with Raspberry Glaze 

Adapted from King Arthur 

For the raspberry glaze: 

6 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) raspberries, fresh preferred 

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 whole graham crackers, crushed)

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

18 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

zest of 1/2 lemon

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup powdered sugar; divided

6 tablespoons sour cream

2/3 cup heavy cream, cold

For optional garnish:

more fresh berries 

fresh mint leaves

For the glaze: In a blender or food processor, or using an immersion blender, blend the raspberries and water until smooth. Strain through a mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Discard the raspberry seeds. 

Add the sugar and lemon juice to the saucepan, stirring to combine. Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture boils, then reduce to a simmer. Continue to cook, stirring, until the mixture has thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Remember that it will continue to thicken as it cools. You should have about 1/2 cup of glaze. Remove heat and allow to cool while you make the crust and filling. 

For the crust: Use a 9" pie plate. Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter and mix thoroughly. Press into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Chill the crust in the refrigerator while you make the filling. 

For the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Mix on medium until smooth, pressing out any lumps. 

Add 3/4 cup of the powdered sugar and the sour cream; mix until smooth. Transfer to another large bowl. 

In the mixer bowl (no need to clean it first), combine the cream with the remaining 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Whip until stiff peaks form, about 3-5 minutes. 

Fold the whipped cream, about 1/3 at a time, into the cream cheese mixture until no streaks remain.

Remove the crust from the refrigerator and fill, spreading the filling over the crust as evenly as you can. Pour the glaze over the filling, spreading it from edge to edge, as evenly as you can.

Cover and chill 4-8 hours, or overnight. (To avoid sticking, use a cake carrier or a tented piece of foil to cover.) 

Slice and serve chilled, as is or with additional raspberries and mint leaves. 

(The original recipe says leftovers can be frozen; thaw in the fridge overnight before slicing and serving the next day. As usual, I did not test the theory, as there were no leftovers!)

o celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in fictional Jewel Bay, Montana, my publisher and I are bringing out stand-alone editions of readers’ favorites from Carried to the Grave and Other Stories. Our first selection is the novella “An Unholy Death,” a historical prequel to the Agatha Award-winning series opener, Death al Dente.

It's out today in paperback and ebook. Isn't that cover gorgeous? Find it in the usual places -- links here.   

AN UNHOLY DEATH 
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in fictional Jewel Bay, Montana, my publisher and I are bringing out stand-alone editions of readers’ favorites from Carried to the Grave and Other Stories. Our first selection is the novella “An Unholy Death,” a historical prequel to the Agatha Award-winning series opener, Death al Dente.  

It’s 1910 and newly married Kate Murphy arrives in Jewel Bay, Montana, with her husband Paddy, proprietor of Murphy’s Mercantile, intent on building their life together in this unfamiliar place. The conditions are rough—as are some of their clientele—and get even rougher when Kate discovers the dead body of the widowed local preacher. She’s determined to keep his young daughter safe, but the task takes all the courage Kate can summon as she faces the first of many mysteries unfolding in her new home . . .

And readers are raving about the latest Spice Shop novel!

BETWEEN A WOK AND A DEAD PLACE: A Spice Shop Mystery (Seventh St. Books, in trade paper, ebook, and audio)

From the cover: 

It's the Lunar New Year, and fortunes are about to change. 

 

Pepper Reece, owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle's Pike Place Market, loves a good festival, especially one serving up tasty treats. So what could be more fun than a food walk in the city's Chinatown–International District, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit?

 

But when her friend Roxanne stumbles across a man's body in the Gold Rush, a long-closed residential hotel, questions leap out. Who was he? What was he doing in the dust-encrusted herbal pharmacy in the hotel's basement? Why was the pharmacy closed up—and why are the owners so reluctant to talk? 

 

With each new discovery, Pepper find herself asking new questions and facing more brick walls. 

 

Then questions arise about Roxanne and her relationship to Pepper's boyfriend Nate, away fishing in Alaska. Between her worries and her struggle to hire staff at the Spice Shop, Pepper has her hands and her heart full. Still, she can't resist the lure of the Gold Rush and its tangled history of secrets and lies stretching back nearly a century. 

 

But the killer is on her tail, driven by hidden demons and desires. As Pepper begins to expose the long-concealed truth, a bigger question emerges: Can she uncover the secrets of the Gold Rush Hotel without being pushed from the wok into the fire?

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest book is Between a Wok and a Dead Place, the 7th Spice Shop mystery.  

A past president of Sisters in Crime and national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.