Every now and then, I do crave for rich & creamy desserts like cheesecakes. When I do come across recipes I like, I try to make the recipes lighter & healthier. The baked cheesecake requires patience (which I don’t have when it comes to baking) and lots of spare time. This is a quick and simple no-bake dessert that is slightly healthier, that you would happily indulge. And doesn’t these No Bake Ricotta Cheescake Bites with Pecan Base and colourful toppings make a pretty dessert?

The filling is just a combination of ricotta (yes, the earlier homemade ricotta recipe is for this) and cream cheese, flavored with lemon and honey; it’s deliciously creamy when first produced, but sets up well once chilled. Adding ricotta with the cream cheese makes it lower in calorie (ricotta is half the calorie of cream cheese) and by making them into bite sizes, I get to control my portion intake. Instead of the traditional digestive biscuit-butter crust, I use pecan date crust for low carb & gluten-free alternative. Bits of ground pecan adds a nice flavour to the cheesecake.

This No Bake Ricotta Cheesecake doesn’t have the firmness of a baked cheesecake, which usually contains eggs or cornstarch. Instead, it’s quite a delicate thing. But it is firm enough to cut (carefully), and sit up straight on a plate. And good thing it doesn’t require a springform pan.

As always, I reduced the level of sweetness in my recipes, please add more sugar/honey if you don’t find it sweet enough. My cheesecake bites are topped with what I have in my kitchen – Blueberry with passionfruit sauce, Strawberry sauce, Chocolate ganache and sprinkle of Green Tea powder. You could also top with any soft fresh fruits like berries, peaches or nectarines or Or you can make a kind of berry sauce (just cook berries with a little water and sugar), and spoon it over the cheesecake.

Just as creamy and heavenly..

