Seriously!! I find it hard to believe we have reached September 1st already. Not that I don’t love the fall colors coming up but …..
What’s not to love about the traditional baked cheesecakes but the no-bake variety does have its own merits. Not only do you skip the long baking time, but you also get a smooth, creamy texture. Just a few ingredients and a little mixer time and you’re done. Chill and serve!
Cheesecake is always a crowd-pleaser, its even been called the perfect dessert by some. This recipe adds a nice bit of spice which stems from its gingersnap cookie crust and the creaminess definitely comes from the pudding/cream cheese filling combo.
Brion & I thought these ‘bites’ tasted the best when the cheesecakes came directly from the freezer then top them with the fresh bananas, caramel & whipped cream. Of course, that means they are available at any given time!!
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- 1 1/2 cups (about 20 cookies) gingersnaps, crushed
- 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- 250 gm cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- 90 gm instant banana pudding mix OR vanilla as a substitute
- 1 cup milk
- 3-4 bananas, sliced
- whipped topping for garnish
- 24 red maraschino cherries for garnish (optional)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 Tbsp butter,
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp rum extract
Ingredients
Gingersnap Crust
Banana Cheesecake Filling
Caramel Sauce
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- Preheat oven to 375 F. In a bowl, combine gingersnap crumbs & pecans. Drizzle in melted butter & mix well. Press crumb mixture into 24 cheesecake mini cup pans. Bake for 7 minutes or until light brown, cool completely. You can skip the baking step if you wish.
- In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy & no lumps remain. Add sugar & beat until combined. Add heavy cream & vanilla & beat until medium-stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together pudding mix & milk. Let pudding stand for 3 minutes in the fridge until thickened. Fold into cheesecake mixture until combined.
- Fill each of the 24 cups & smooth the tops. At this point you can either refrigerate until very firm (at least 6 hours) or freeze. Once they are firm, remove from pans to serving plates & add banana slices, caramel drizzle, whipped topping & a cherry. Or freeze, remove from pans & store in an airtight container in the freezer until ready to garnish & serve.
- In a small saucepan, bring brown sugar, butter & milk to a gentle boil & cook until thickened, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat; add rum extract.
- The newspaper ad at the bottom of the blog was from the fifties when this idea for a pudding cheesecake was created.