Cheesecake, the tropical way

It's no secret that cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts. In fact, I love cheesecake so much that I dedicated one corner of my fridge as the permanent spot for blocks of cream cheese. I just have to have cream cheese at home at all time! It gives me "sense of security" and "empowerment", knowing that I can whip up a cheesecake whenever I feel like eating one.

Summer however, gives the cheesecake monster in me a hard time. Mostly because I am avoiding having any dealing with the oven. There's the option of buying store-bought cheesecake, but that would make me feel like betraying the dozen blocks of cream cheese I already have. My dilemma came to end, when I saw an impressive no-bake version from Ellena's blog.

Her version of no-bake cheesecake even included my favorite tropical fruit- Lychee! Blessed is the one who think of adding lychee in the cheesecake filling. The person should be given some sort of baking creativity award. I went on to ask the lovely Ellena for the recipe, and was given a detailed instructions couple of days later. Don't you just love generous food blogger?

Because my cheesecake came up a little too short, I took the liberty to add in another layer of Pierre Herme's Lemon Cream + whipped cream on top of the cream cheese filling. To further heighten the cake, I decorated the cake with some strawberries that I got from the farmer's market, together with the remaining lychee. For the lack of better decorating skill, I shaved some dark and white chocolate on top of the cake, and plucked some mint leaves to cover the spare space. The mint, which we later discovered, went well with the lychee cheesecake!

An icy cold lychee cheesecake is indeed a fitting dessert on a hot summer night. The smoothness of the cream cheese with the hint of lemon in the background balanced the sweetness from the lychee. I also like that there was lychee flesh in every bites of the cheesecake. I could taste the succelent juice from the lychee when they bursted in the cavity.

The canned Lychee I used in this recipe was from the Asian grocery. However, a similar version can now be bought from Trader's Joe too. I saw it just the other day and needless to say, I grabbed a can without hesitation, and couldn't wait to recreate another no-bake cheesecake in my kitchen some time real soon. Maybe I will incorporate mango in the cheesecake next time....

Because good thing is meant to be shared, I am submitting this Lychee Cheesecake for the SHF:Tropical Paradise hosted by a very talented baker-Mary. Lychee in the form of cold dessert is my ideal of Tropical Paradise.