Jello Cheesecake – No Bake Low Fat Recipe
My sister, who lives in Krakow, shared several Eastern European recipes with me, which I will prepare and post for your enjoyment.
Today, I will share a no-bake recipe for a low-fat Jell-O Cheesecake, which is very simple to prepare, presents itself nicely, and is refreshingly delicious.
Jello Cheesecake is much lighter than a traditional cheesecake, and to make it even lighter, you may use 1/3 less fat cream cheese, which I tested on one of the layers, and it held up as well as the regular cheese.
I used regular jello since I wouldn’t say I like the taste of sugar-free jello, but you might want to try the sugar-free if you wish. My selection of jello leaned towards a citrusy flavor, but you may choose a more fruity one.
I decorated my cheesecake with blueberries and grapes, but any fruits may be used, or left out altogether.
Ingredients
- 3 - 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese (regular or light) room temperature
- 4 cups of water, separated
- 1 - 3 oz package of Orange Jello
- 1 -3 oz package of Lime Jello
- 1 - 3 oz package of Lemon Jello
- 1 - 3 0z package of Strawberry Jello (see note below)
- 1/8 tsp. Orange Extract (to add to Orange Jello)
- 1/8 tsp. Lemon Extract (to add to Lemon Jello)
- Fruit of choice for garnish (I also used few fresh mint leaves)
Instructions
- Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring-form cake pan, and set aside.
- Pour 1 cup of water into three different saucepans, and bring to boil
- Pour the Orange Jello into one of the pots, the Lime into another, and the Lemon into the last one.
- Turn off heat, stir until the sugar is dissolved, add extract, and set aside to cool to yogurt consistency.
- In a medium bowl, mix 8 oz package of cream cheese, until creamy.
- Add the cooled orange jello and beat in a mixer until a smooth mixture forms.
- Pour this jello/cheese mixture into the spring-form pan, and smooth it evenly with a spatula, or a spoon.
- Place it in the fridge to set.
- Meanwhile work with the second package of cream cheese and the green jello as above. Set aside to pour over the orange layer once it is firm, and place it back in the fridge to cool and set.
- Now mix the third package of cream cheese with the yellow jello, and repeat the above process.
- Cook the strawberry jello (if you like a thicker layer of this jello you may use 2 cups of water and 2 packages of the jello). Set aside to cool to a syrupy consistency.
- While the strawberry jello is cooling, remove the cake from the fridge and decorate it with any fresh fruits of your choice.
- Using a serving spoon or a gravy ladle gently pour the cooled Strawberry Jello over the fruits, and return it to the fridge for couple of hours to fully set before serving.
- Before serving, remove it from the fridge, run a knife around the edges of the cake close to the side of the pan, to loosen it up.
- Remove the sides of the spring-form cake pan, but leave the cake on the pan bottom, and place it on a serving platter.
- For easier and cleaner cuts, dip your knife in a warm water, before slicing the cake.
Notes
As I mentioned in the instructions, you can use 2 packages of the strawberry jello cooked in 2 cups of water, to make a thicker top layer and fully submerge the fruit decorations. Also, if you like, you can line the cake pan bottom with a cardboard cake disc and line the inside sides of the pan with greased parchment paper to make it easier to remove the cake from the baking pan before placing it on a serving platter. The cake will remain on the cardboard cake disc but you will peel off the parchment paper from its sides.
2 thoughts on “Jello Cheesecake – No Bake Low Fat Recipe”