It’s birthday season, and this year, I attempted an easy no-bake jelly hearts for hubs’ birthday with this recipe. I know it looks and sounds super simple – which is precisely why I picked it – but it was delicious and quickly devoured! Clear winner! Haha! Happy Birthday, hubby and Happy Wedding Anniversary to us!
Jelly hearts or jello cheesecakes are pretty expensive in Singapore. Then, I realised it’s not difficult to make but it does involve some waiting time in between. Those waiting times are also the reason why I ended up serving him a belated birthday cake this year. Bet you noticed the unsightly clingwrap with my final cake? I was too worried about getting the cake out of it, and risk destroying it. So it was left as is. HA! *embarrassing* More on that later along with my cake fail moments and some very important learning tips you have to read BEFORE trying out this dessert recipe!
Delicious No-bake Strawberry Jelly Hearts Recipe
*Recipe was adapted from here, with adjustments made. Check out my notes and tips as follow!
Ingredients for Jelly Hearts:
1) CRUST LAYER
- 150 grams Digestive Biscuits – processed or pounded into fine crumbs
- 100 grams Butter – melted and leave to cool; have increased the amount of butter as 75 grams didn’t work well for me.
- 20 x 20 cm or 23cm diameter springform pan with removable bottom and adjustable sides – grease the bottom and sides with some melted butter
2) CHEESECAKE LAYER
- 1 level tbsp Gelatin Powder – bought this from FairPrice
- 175ml Hot Boiling Water
- 1 block (250 grams) Cream Cheese – allow cheese to soften at room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract – I used Vanilla Essence instead as we ran out of Vanilla Extract
- 45 grams Icing Sugar
- 10 Strawberries – cut each strawberry into half lengthwise then trim the top into a “V” to create a heart shape
3) JELLY LAYER
- 1 box (90 grams) Strawberry Jelly Powder
- 175ml Hot Boiling Water
- 175ml Cold Water
Method:
1) CRUST LAYER
- In a large bowl, add biscuit crumbs and melted butter and mix well. Next, pour biscuit mixture into the tray, levelling the crust with a flat spatula. Allow to chill in fridge overnight, or until the crust is hardened. (Note: The original recipe says to chill for an hour but when I tried, the crust didn’t harden until 2 days, so I would suggest to chill the crust for longer, so do plan ahead when using this strawberry jelly hearts recipe.)
2) CHEESECAKE LAYER
- In a separate bowl, dissolve gelatin powder with hot water. Allow this mixture to cool for a few minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, add softened cream cheese, vanilla extract/essence and icing sugar. Using an electric mixer, whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Next, add cooled gelatin mixture, a little at a time and whisk until the batter is smooth.
- Take the tray of chilled crust layer out from the fridge and use a fork/toothpick to prick holes all over the biscuit base. Using a ladle, pour the cream cheese mixture on to the biscuit base. Use a toothpick to burst bubbles in the cream mixture.
- Arrange and press strawberry halves into the cream cheese mixture, letting each strawberry sink in gently. Allow to chill in fridge for at least four hours or overnight. (Note: I left it overnight.)
3) JELLY LAYER
- In a bowl, add jelly powder and boiling water. Whisk to dissolve the jelly crystals completely, then add cold water. (Tip: Avoid whisking until there are a lot of bubbles.)
- Gently pour the cooled jelly mixture over the cream cheese layer. Return the tray to the fridge and chill for a few hours until the jelly is set.
- Best enjoyed chilled!
To serve, divide and cut the chilled cheesecake to equal pieces. With each slice, wipe your knife clean with a kitchen towel and dip the blade in water. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.
Tips for those trying out this easy no-bake jelly hearts recipe:
- After using the original recipe, I’ve made some changes as noted in brackets or notes/tips in the steps above.
- Recommend using more butter as my jelly hearts cheesecake had a very crumbly base, which looked like sand when we cut it up. After storing it in the fridge for 2 days, the biscuit base layer DID become more compact! Hence, I’d advise to work backwards on your timeline if you are making this for a birthday or celebration.
- When whisking the jelly crystals with hot and cold water, try not to mix too hard so that there aren’t too much bubbles formed. Use a metal spoon to remove as much bubbles as possible, before pouring the jelly mixture over the cream cheese layer.
- The type of tray to use to make this no-baked easy jelly heart recipe was mindboggling for me. Before making it, I couldn’t figure out how it should be removed haha! So I used a springform tray and put a layer of clingwrap before layering the biscuit base. Using a springform tray means you won’t need to use a knife to cut through the sides in order to separate the cheesecake from the tray. YAY!
Hubs said it was THE BEST CAKE I’ve made for him! *rolls eyes* Oh well, that just goes to show how basic I am as a domesticated wife. HAHA! Try this simple jelly hearts recipe and let me know if you enjoyed this refreshing dessert too!
Looking for more simple cake recipes and quick dessert ideas to make at home? Try these: Homemade Matcha Adzuki Yogurt Butter Cake Recipe, Fluffy Japanese Cheesecake Recipe, Easy Oven-baked Birthday Cheesecake Recipe.
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