Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Coconut (no bake) cheesecake

This summer has come with many self discoveries


1. Like in a fight of Me vs. Centipede, the centipede will always win. (Sometimes resulting in the centipede gaining new territorial control and me washing my vegetables in the washroom sink)

2. I will walk all the way to Chinatown for a dollar bread bun, but find it difficult to walk across my room to charge my phone battery

3. The Weather Network people probably do know better than me, because disregarding the “rain warning” in Montreal could mean being caught in a torrential rain storm in flip flops and shorts, holding a soggy slice of pizza

4. Making Jersey Shore references do not impress people 

5. Suggested serving sizes must be suggested by really small people. (Similarly telling myself not to eat an entire container of Mediterranean Coconut Yogurt in one sitting is a losing battle.)

6. Owning a gym membership does not equate to using a gym membership

Which brings me back to this past rainy Sunday, number 5 and 6, and this cheesecake.
This cheesecake that opts out of the rich ingredients and baking that traditional cheesecake requires and yet is still creamy and flavorful. The secret is the coconut milk which along with the use of gelatine replaces a lot of the fat in cream cheese to make for a light dessert. The fat content of coconut mostly comes from lauric acid which is much easier for the body to breakdown and metabolize. Lauric acid is also antimicrobial and anti fungal, protecting the body from infections. Also, coconut is classified as a "functional food" because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content. (Referenced from the Coconut Research Center website. Really that's what its called!)

No-bake coconut cheesecake
4-5 serving cups

1 1/2 cup coconut milk (one can)
1 tablespoon of gelatin (one packet)
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar
4 soft cookies
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

1. Heat up half a cup of coconut milk on the stove and whisk in the gelatin making sure that the mixture does not boil.
2. In a mixing bowl, add sugar and vanilla to the cream cheese until incorporated and slowly add the rest of the coconut milk to the mixture.
3. Pour the gelatin mixture into the cream cheese mixture.
4. Crush a cookie at the bottom of each serving cup. (I like to use soft cookies so it easily takes the shape of the cup, but you can also mix crushed up cookies with a little butter to form a crust)
5. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the cookie crust and refrigerate for ~2 hours or overnight.

Another discovery: guess what DESSERTS spells backwards!

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