No Bake Black Bottom Strawberry Cheesecake Squares

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

My No Bake Black Bottom Strawberry Cheesecake Squares is a make-ahead friendly recipe made with fresh strawberries and a dark chocolate cookie crust

Ingredients

• black bottom crust
• 6 ounces Nabisco Famous Wafers (2/3 of the box)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
• filling
• 1½ cups chopped strawberries
• 16 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup heavy cream (whipped to stiff peaks)
• whipped mascarpone
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese (at room temperature)
• 3 tbsp confectioner's sugar
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Lightly spray and line a 9x9 square baking pan with parchment paper with long ends. This is so you can lift the cheesecake out of the pan later for easier slicing.
2. Process or crush the chocolate wafers until they are finely ground. Blend in the melted butter and mix well, until all the crumbs have been moistened. NO PROCESSOR? Put the cookies in a baggie and whack the heck out of them with a rolling pin.
3. Pat the crust into the bottom of your prepared pan, pressing down firmly. Refrigerate.
4. To make the filling, make sure that your cream cheese is at room temperature. If it's cold there will be lumps in your cheesecake, fair warning. I like to use my Vitamix, but you can also use a food processor for this recipe. Add the strawberries to the blender first, processing until they're pureed. Add the cream cheese and sugar and blend until smooth and silky, with no lumps. Scrape down the sides of the machine as necessary. Fold in the whipped cream until completely incorporated and there are no white streaks.
5. Pour the cheesecake mixture onto the chilled crust, and smooth out evenly. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight. You can also put the dessert in the freezer to chill it faster.
6. To make the whipped mascarpone put the ingredients in a food processor and process briefly until everything is smooth and creamy. You can also do this with a hand mixer. Spoon or pipe onto individual cheesecake squares before serving.
7. Note: If you are storing this in the freezer you'll need to let it sit out at room temperature for a bit so it can be sliced easier.

View the recipe instructions at The View From the Great Island