I was going to share a salad recipe for August, but it just didn’t seem like the right time to encourage anybody to eat lettuce. Instead, I went with chocolate. Chocolate and no-bake seemed like the better choice for the end of summer. This cheesecake is easier to make than the length of the recipe suggests. Be sure to give yourself enough time for it to chill before you want to eat it. The filling needs time to firm up before slicing. The light chocolate pairs perfectly with the Oreo crust. The next time I make this, I’m going to skip making the crust and just fill Oreo ice cream cones with the filling!
Crust:
- 24 Oreo cookies
- 5 Tablespoons butter, melted
Crust:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup chocolate syrup
- 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
- 16 ounces heavy whipping cream
- Additional 4-5 Oreos, if desired, for garnish
- Chill a large metal mixing bowl and metal whisk (if using a stand mixer) in the freezer while preparing the crust and the filling. This will make whipping the cream go faster. (No room in the freezer, no worries. It will not prevent the cream from whipping.)
- Break cookies and place in a food processor.* Process until coarsely ground, about 15 pulses.
- Continue to pulse until finely ground, about 10-20 seconds longer. You should get about 2 cups of crumbs. Drizzle in the melted butter and process until combined.
- Place the crumbs in the bottom of the 10-inch springform pan. Firmly press the crumbs into an even, tightly-packed crust, along the bottom of the pan and slightly up the side (about an inch or so).
- Chill the crust in the freezer or fridge while preparing the filling.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in the chocolate syrup and the condensed milk.
- For the whipped cream, pour the cream into the chilled bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form, about 5-8 minutes. If not using a stand mixer, pour cream into chilled bowl and either beat using a hand mixer, or whisk by hand. These methods may take a few extra minutes to reach stiff peaks.
- Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the whipped cream until no streaks remain.
- Pour filling into the prepared crust, smoothing top. Sprinkle with reserved crumbled Oreos. Cover with plastic wrap and foil; freeze for 8 hours or overnight. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Store any leftovers in the freezer. Serves 16.
*If not using a food processor, place broken cookies in a large zipper-top baggie and crush cookies with a rolling pin or mallet to get a fine crumb.