Patriotic Cheesecakes Topped with Raspberry Gelée and Fresh Berries

Celebrate your upcoming patriotic holiday by making these Patriotic Cheesecakes Topped with Raspberry Gelée and Fresh Berries! This beautiful dessert is so tasty and is sure not to disappoint your party guests!

 

If you are a regular reader here, I’m sure you’ve noticed the large arsenal of kitchen gadgets and supplies I use to create my themed cuisine. I hate to admit it, but you’ve only seen a fraction of my collection.

Today I decided to share a recipe that you can easily make using a single large springform pan, but I just love serving beautiful individual sized desserts, so I chose to make these no-bake cheesecakes using my set of 3″ round cake rings. You can find round, square, triangular, oval, and hexagonal shaped metal cake rings in a large variety of sizes.  Someday I hope to add more to my collection.Cake rings can go into the oven, but this recipe requires no baking, so I lined each ring with a clear acetate cake band which makes removing the desserts super easy.

You can see in the picture above how pretty each dessert looks on the plate. I think it is a much nicer presentation than a slice of cake, don’t you?

With the Fourth of July coming up, I couldn’t resist coloring these sweet little cakes red, white, and blue. Of course, I don’t know of any blue cookies out there, so I had to get creative and color some myself. It was simple; I just ground up vanilla wafer cookies and added some blue food coloring. Instead of just adding white granulated sugar to make the crust, I grabbed some blue sanding sugar which helped to really intensify the color.These desserts don’t have to be red, white, and blue. You could leave the crust plain or turn it green and serve it at Christmas or for an Italian themed event. Don’t want red on top, swap out another fruit in place of the raspberries. Each cake is a rainbow of possibilities.

This fancy looking dessert is simpler than you might think; it’s a no-bake cheesecake topped with raspberry gelée (a homemade gelatin using frozen raspberries.)

Patriotic Cheesecakes Topped with Raspberry Gelée (serves 8)

Ingredients:

crust-
30 vanilla wafer cookies
3 tablespoons blue sanding sugar or white granulated sugar
blue food coloring
3 tablespoons melted butter

no-bake cheesecake filling–
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup heavy whipping cream (or use 2 cups Cool Whip)

raspberry gelée–
1 tablespoon clear gelatin powder
1/3 cup water

2 1/2 cups frozen raspberries (12 oz. bag)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

optional garnish-
whipped cream
fresh raspberries

Supplies:

8 – 3″ x 2″ metal cake rings or an 8″ springform pan
if using metal cake rings, you’ll need:
clear acetate cake bands or cut strips of acetate to fit rings
baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper
food processor or large zip top bag and rolling pin or pan
mixing bowls
electric mixer and/or a whisk
saucepan
fine mesh sieve

optional: disposable pastry bag (16″ will work best, but 12″ will work too)
tart shaper/tamper

Instructions:

If using metal cake rings, cut your cake bands or clear acetate sheets to fit inside making sure you have about an inch overlapping. Line rings with acetate. Set rings on a baking sheet that is lined with parchment paper. Otherwise, turn the bottom of your springform pan upside down and clamp it in (this makes for easier cutting of the cake.)

Blue crust-

Pulse vanilla wafers in food processor until you have fine crumbs. Add blue sanding sugar or granulated sugar and some drops of blue food coloring,. Pulse to combine. Add more blue coloring, if desired.  Add the butter and pulse to combine. If you don’t have a food processor, put cookies in a large zip top bag and use a rolling pin or the bottom of a pan to smash your cookies. Add sugar and color and shake bag. Stir in butter.Divide crumbs evenly and press into the bottom of your cake rings or springform pan. I used a handy little tart shaper/tamper to make nice even crusts. Refrigerate crusts until needed.

 

Filling-

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat to combine. In another mixing bowl beat or whisk heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks. Combine the whipped cream and cream cheese mixture and beat to combine. Pour on top of blue crusts, evenly dividing among cake rings. I found it easiest to fill a pastry bag with the filling and pipe it on top of the crusts. Spread filling out in an even layer, smoothing out surface. Clean any filling that stuck to the sides of your cake rings. Refrigerate until your gelée is ready.

Raspberry gelée-
Sprinkle gelatin over 1/3 cup water and allow to bloom for 5 minutes. Place frozen raspberries and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Remove from heat and pour into a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl. Press down on the raspberries allowing the juice to drain into the bowl. Discard seeds. Add the bloomed gelatin to the bowl, stirring to dissolve. Stir in lemon juice. Allow to cool until it is slightly thickened but still pourable.  To speed up this process, fill sink or large bowl with ice water. Set bowl of raspberry gelatin into water, not allowing any water to get into the bowl of gelatin. Stir frequently until thickened.

Pour raspberry gelée on top of your cheesecakes. Refrigerate until set, at least 2 hours. To serve, lift the metal ring off each of the cakes and peel away the acetate strip.

Serve cakes as is or top with fresh whipped cream and a raspberry. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several days.

Products used to make this recipe that are available on Amazon.com.

If you’re looking for other 4th of July Recipes, click the link and explore all my other Independence Day inspired food.