You know how much I love cheesecake… It is my go-to comfort food more often than I would like to admit. Happy days and stressed days equally call out for cheesecake around here! I’m very finicky about my cheesecakes. Till now my most favorite has been a blueberry cheesecake from a particular cafe. It is heavenly and just how I like my cheesecake to be. And I would never dare to make one in my house as long as that cafe exists!
After trying and making so many different varieties of cheesecakes, I decided to whip up this no-bake, gelatin-free, creamy, cheesy, frozen dessert. Let me simplify this for you. This dessert is nothing but a cheesecake ice-cream which is layered over a salty, buttery, chocolaty crust.
My refrigerator was bursting with sweet and juicy pomegranates. It was a flavor I had never tried before in a cheesecake. I thought it would make a delicate and lovely pairing with cream cheese. To make things tangy, I used up zest and juice from a sweet lime. The result was such a gorgeous baby pink color cheesecake! I just fell in love with it 🙂
I went sweet and salty route this time. The crust for this cheesecake is made with chocolate Oreos, butter and just a pinch of salt. This salty kick enhances the cheesecake flavor to another level. If you’re not a fan of sweet-n-salt, feel free to skip the salt as it will still taste divine! But I highly recommend salt as it is not too over-powering. So promise me you’ll add it to know what I’m REALLY talking about… You’ll thank me! 😉
I made a big batch as I was having company but you can easily halve the recipe and make it in 4-inch spring-form pan. The frozen cheesecake tastes best when eaten within 12-15 hours of being made. It becomes harder and icier the more it stays in the freezer. In case of leftovers, let it thaw for 15 minutes before serving.
Frozen Sweet Lime~Pomegranate Cheesecake with Salted Oreo Crust
Makes: 10-12 slices | Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 0 minute | Chilling time: 4-5 hours
Ingredients:
Crust:
- 15 chocolate Oreos or any chocolate sandwiched biscuits
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
Cheesecake Filling:
- 3 pomegranates
- Zest and juice from 1 sweet lime
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp icing sugar
- 2 8 oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups medium-fat fresh cream (40% fat), chilled
Direction:
- Line 9-inch round spring-form pan with parchment paper. Grind Oreos in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Add melted butter and salt. Spoon the crust and press down firmly over the base using flat base of a glass. Chill in refrigerator while you make the filling.
- Remove morsels from pomegranates, save morsels from half pomegranate and juice rest of the morsels with lime juice. Strain the juice into a bowl, add icing sugar and whisk to dissolve.
- In a large bowl, take cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Use electric hand mixer/stand mixer for this. Add juice and sweet lime zest to cream cheese and whip till combined.
- In a separate bowl, whip the fresh cream till soft peaks form. Gently fold it with cream cheese mixture to achieve a lump-free consistency.
- Remove spring-form pan from the refrigerator and spoon the cheesecake filling over the crust. Let it chill in freezer covered in cling film. After 1 hour, sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and return to chill in freezer for another 3-4 hours. Once set, release from spring-form pan, slice and serve. Run the knife under hot water before slicing.
Note: Can be consumed as a sweet lime~pomegranate cheesecake ice-cream if frozen without the Oreo crust.
