No bake pineapple cheesecake

       This weekend I celebrated my birthday. Good God, do I feel so so old! It seems like I have no idea how times passes by me.
Anyway, like every year, I had some friends coming over and celebrate. Every year, I try to surprise them with a new delicious birthday cake recipe. This year, they were surprised by my quick and easy no bake pineapple cheesecake.
   Everyone was delighted about this delicious pineapple cheesecake, especially because everyone adores pineapple. And also, this is not your average sweet cheesecake. It has a very interesting sourish taste, which combines with the sweetness of the pineapple.



Let me tell you what ingredients you need:
For the cheesecake crust:
- 250 digestive biscuits
- 120 gr melted butter

   For the cream:
- 300 gr soft cheese
- 5 gelatin sheets (or 8gr)
- 200 ml heavy cream (double cream)
- 3 spoons lemon juice
- 100 gr sugar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 can pineapple chunks

   For the jelly you need:
- 1 can pineapple slices
- 4 gelatin sheets (or 20gr)

   First of all, let me tell you what pineapple I use. I am a big fan of Dole products. In this recipe, I used their pineapple, and you can see the can, and also purchase it with a simple click right below:




   What else do you need for this delicious no-bake pineapple cheesecake? You also need a round tray, with detachable walls. I used one of 26cm, but you can easily use a smaller one. You only need the "wall" side of the tray, because you can put the cheesecake on a regular tray.
   About the gelatin sheets: before you use it, you have to put them in 100ml cold water. The gelatin sheets have to stay in the cold water for 5 minutes before you use them. My favorites are from Dr. Oetker. But, if you don't like to use gelatin sheets, you can use the regular one. You have the quantities written in brackets. I will make another post explaining why we need the gelatin and more info on how to use it.

   Let's begin. Blend the digestive biscuits, and put them in a bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave, and pour it onto the biscuits. Mingle them very well, and then put them on the bottom of the tray. Make sure your crust is even. You can use a glass to help out, or you can even use your hands. My crust kept sticking to the bottom of the glass, so I just used my (clean) hands.
   Now that the crust is done, put it in the fridge until we are making the cheese cream.


   Drain out the pineapple from the can. Put the pineapple juice in a pot, add the sugar, the cornstarch, and the lemon juice. Put in on the stove, and let it boil for about 5 minutes. It's done when it's starting to thicken a little. Take the pot down from the stove, and let it cool for about 2-3 minutes. Add the gelatin sheets (previously soaked in cold water). Make sure you mingle it very well and let it cool at room temperature.

   After it cooled, add the soft cheese, and mingle it well, until the composition is creamy. Then add the whipped heavy cream and mingle everything really well. Add the chopped pineapples, and mingle again. I choose to chop up a little more the pineapples because I thought that the pieces are too big. But this is your decision.
   And the cream is done. Put in on the biscuits crust, and make sure to level it. At this point, you have to leave the cheesecake in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours.

   Again, make sure that the cream is spread evenly. Don't hurry up like I did. The cheesecake won't be even and so beautiful.


   After the cheesecake cooled enough, it's time to make the jelly. Drain out the sliced pineapples in a pot. With these pineapples, decorate the top of your cheesecake. Put the juice on the stove, until it boils. When it starts boiling, take it off. Add the gelatin (previously soaked in cold water) and mingle it well. Leave it to cool a little at room temperature, and then pour it onto the cheesecake.

    And now put it again in the fridge for about 2-3 hours. It's simply delicious! But let me tell you what I have learned so you won't make the same mistake. I didn't use a beautiful tray, I used the tray that has the detachable walls. And I used it without any parchment paper or non-stick spray. And this resulted in the fact that my crust sticks to the tray. 

As you can see in my pictures, my crust wasn't present in the whole slice. So, don't make my mistake! Before making the crust, make sure you use something in order for your crust not to stick. I really recommend some parchment paper or a little non-stick spray. We all learn from our mistakes, and I really hope my mistake will help you in the future.

In the end, everyone was happy, because the pineapple cheesecake was simply delicious. Would you give it a try? Let me know in the comments, and don't forget to share!