Learn About Yourself No Bake Cinnamon Spice Peach Cheesecake

Alright... today, I learned something. I try to learn something new everyday, so that I each day I get a little bit harder, better, faster, stronger (Thanks Kanye). Sometimes they are life lessons, like only experts should juggle chef's knives, or make sure you have broccoli out of your teeth before talking to a girl... and other times they are things I learn on tv, like lemon juice stops things from browning. Either way, trying new things and learning from yourself is all part of the game. This cheesecake kind of went that way for me. I have never made a no-bake cheesecake before, and figured the summer was as good a time as any. So today ladies and gents, Adam the student/bodybuilder/novice baker learned...

Baked cheesecake totally and utterly annihilates no-bake cheesecake... when it comes to texture, flavor, and just being what a cheesecake should be. I have nothing against gelatin, I actually lived off sugar free Jello during a pre-contest cut diet, and I love cream cheese and yogurt... but this cake lacked that dense, rich heaviness. It was light, which is nice for summer, but I prefer that thick as a brick, but creamy smooth texture only a baked mother can provide.

This by no means is a bad recipe... it's super fast, it's easy, it's light and airy, and it has a nice peach flavor. There are plenty of no-bake enthusiasts out there that would love this. I'm glad I gave it a shot... because hey as Alanis Morissette told me in the car yesterday, you live you learn. My name is Adam... and I vote baked cheesecake for president.Cinnamon Spice Peach Cheesecake – No Bake
Recipe by Adam

Crust:
2 cups finely ground granola
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup butter

Cheesecake:
2 – 8oz. packages lower fat cream cheese (or regular if you like)
2 – 6 oz. containers peach yogurt
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp unflavored gelatin mixed in 1/3 cup hot water
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of cloves

Peach Topping:
2-3 peaches, peeled, sliced into ~1/8ths
½ cup sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
Pinch of cloves
1 Tbsp butter

Preheat your oven to 350*, grease up a springform pan, I don’t know what size, I only have one.

In a small bowl, combine granola, sugar and cinnamon. Mix so that the granola is evenly coated and there are no super large pieces. Add in melted butter so it coats the granola evenly. Pour into the springform pan, pat down so it covers the pan completely, and bake in the oven for ~15 minutes, or until crisp brown looking. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, add all of the cheesecake ingredients minus the gelatin. Blend until smooth and uniform in color. Use a spatula to get at the sides and bottom on the blender. Heat the 1/3 cup of water until boiling in a microwave, and stir in gelatin until completely dissolved. Now with the blender running, add in the gelatin-water mixture slowly. Once the cheesecake mixture is well blended, pour over the granola crust.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or even over night so the gelatin sets.

To prepare the peach topping, place peaches, sugar, cinnamon, cloves and butter in a small saucepan. Turn on medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until peaches soften up a bit. Cool slightly. Add peaches to the top of the cheesecake and enjoy. Serves 8-10.

Once again I just want to thank everyone for their support. I've only done this for a few weeks, but have met some really cool and funny people. Comments always put me in a good mood, and stop me from going all Incredible Hulk-ish. Happy Friday the 13th to all the superstitious cats out there.