Making a No-Bake Strawberry Dome Cheesecake

It wasn’t too long ago when I saw this cake on social media. It was a no-bake strawberry dome cheesecake, a cheesecake filling surrounded by strawberries, and a graham cracker crust at the bottom. It was a fancy cheesecake, and I had to make it!

My brother’s birthday was also coming up at that time, so I used the excuse that this cake would be his present. I’m pretty sure I also made it in May of 2020, but I don’t have any pictures, so I’m not totally sure. But, early this May (2021), I made it again! Both times were delicious and worked out fantastic.

I can’t remember exactly what I thought when I first made this. But I remember the process, and so now, I will share this with you. This is when I really wish I had some sort of baking journal. To read back and see how I made things for the first time and my thoughts on them. But now I have a blog, and it’s almost like a journal (which is super fun because I love to journal, I do it every night!).

Enough chatting; I’m sure you want to read all about how I made this spectacular strawberry dome cake!

Research:

As said above, I saw this recipe on social media; just scrolln’ through. The recipe I used is from Tasty! It’s a super simple recipe to follow, and the videography is really good! I read their reviews and looked around a little. I saw what kitchen equipment I had to make this and what I didn’t have. 

The Crust:

The recipe called for a graham cracker crust, and so that’s what I did. Both times I made it, I used graham crackers. But when I first made the cake, I used regular; the second time, I used gluten-free ones. The first crust was exactly as it should be, not too soft and buttery. On the second crust, I added way too much butter. It was so greasy and just wrong. But that’s what I had to work with, and of course, it did taste delicious.

The Filling:

There wasn’t much to do for the filling. It was a simple and basic cheesecake filling with cream cheese, sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. I mixed it all together, and it tasted amazing; nom! The trick to getting it easy to mix together is to let the cream cheese soften. I always forget to take it out ahead of time and end up trying to warm it up between my hands. I don’t Like putting it in the microwave because it warms it up too much and becomes too soft.

The Assembly:

When I first made this, assembly was the most challenging part (usually for anything I make). I didn’t have the exact bowl size that was called for in the recipe, so things were slightly off. In a bowl, I put plastic wrap inside to help when taking the cake out. Then started layering the strawberries along the inside of the bowl. Most spots were good, but in the end, the goal was to have no filling showing; that didn’t happen. Sometimes you have to use what strawberries you get, including the ones with little holes in the middle.

When I was done layering the strawberries, I grabbed my filling and put about half in. Then I got some bigger strawberries, stuck them into the filling, and put the rest of the filling in on top of that. 

I got my chilled crust, took it out of the pan then put it on top of the bowl. This is where the difference between the first and second time of making comes into play. The first time, the crust was about 2-3 inches bigger than the bowl. So, I tried to cut those couple of inches off, but the crust was too thick, and I couldn’t do it.

When I made it the second time, since the crust was so wet and oily, it broke apart easily and was fragile. The crust was about maybe half an inch bigger than the bowl, but I gently cut it, and it worked. It also broke apart, but I just stuck it back on.

When I was done assembling everything, into the fridge it went for at least 24 hours! 

Finish Touches:

After the cheesecake settled into the fridge and firmed up, I took it out. Now the scariest part of making this kind of cake. I had to flip it upside down, making the crust on the plate and being able to see the strawberries. When I flipped it, both times, it came out as it should, the plastic wrap helped with that. Once on the plate, I took the wrap off, stood back, and looked at it. There was some juice that escaped and some extra cream around, so I wiped it off. 

When I flipped it the second time, there was a lot more juice. Before I filled the bowl with the filling, I put the bowl with the strawberries in the freezer for a bit. It was to help the strawberries to stay in place. I don’t think it helped much, but since the strawberries started to freeze, they need to defrost, hence the extra juice. It was all good, and everything stayed in place!

I think this may be becoming an annual thing because this cake is super fun and is so tasty! I can’t wait till next year to make it again. Here is the recipe, and if you do make it, let me know!

~Becky 🙂