No Bake Coffee Cheesecake

Another cheese dessert?? After so many years of writing Shavous columns, I wasn’t sure I could come up with a new way to use cream cheese. But since this is a pantry-raiding column, I figured that’s exactly where I’d look for my inspiration.

Well, I can’t be the only one who still has some Pesach snacks left over! Somehow the same treats that are just sooo delicious over Pesach completely lose their charm as soon as Havdalah is made. The boxes of ladyfingers led me straight to tiramisu, and since ovens are completely booked up leading into Yom Tov, I figured a quick no-bake dessert would be perfect. I have to say, this one is delicious!!

Yields 10-12 mousse cups

Directions

1. Using a mixer, beat pareve whipping cream until stiff peaks start to form. Add cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and espresso powder. Beat until all ingredients are incorporated and no lumps remain.

2. Finely grate half the bar of chocolate and add to the mixture.

3. In a small bowl, combine the dissolved coffee and coffee liqueur.

4. Dip ladyfingers one at a time in the coffee mixture and lay on the bottom of your mousse cups. You can break them up to fit. I used approximately one and a half ladyfingers per cup.

5. Top ladyfingers with a layer of mousse, filling the cup about halfway.

6. Place another layer of dipped ladyfingers and add another layer of mousse. Peel remaining half bar of chocolate with a vegetable peeler to make curls and garnish each mousse cup.

7. Alternatively, this can be made in an eight-inch (20-centimeter) square baking dish. Lay the ladyfingers all across the base and top with half the mousse. Add another layer of ladyfingers and top with remaining mousse and grated chocolate.

8. This can be made a day or two in advance and kept in the fridge.

Tips: To pipe mousse more easily and neatly into cups, fill a piping bag or a large ziplock bag and snip off the corner.

This recipe works just as well with pareve substitutes for the dairy ingredients. Just omit the chocolate and you can top with a dusting of cocoa powder.

Espresso powder is a great choice because it’s super fine and dissolves into the mousse so nicely, but if you don’t have it, regular instant coffee will work too.