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No Bake Mermaid Cheesecake #SummerDessertWeek

Get in on the Mermaid-craze with a sweet treat guests of all ages will swoon for. This no bake mermaid cheesecake is easily customiz-able to your unique occasion, and it’s the best way to savor a sweet cheesecake during the Summer heat.

This post and recipe were created for #SummerDessertWeek! I was sent samples by some of the sponsor companies but as always the opinions are 100% my own.

dyed blue, this no bake cheesecake is topped with a spinkle of green and blue hued sprinkles and largers sprinkles shaped like mermaids tails

Summertime is all about fun, well moderated fun around here. It’s definitely a time when we let our proverbial hair down, and let some things slide. That includes me (within reason) trying to loosen the reigns.

It’s a time to foster healthy independence and to embrace imagination. I cut the screen time, and kick the kids outside if I have to. Go on, git- otherwise, there’s bookcases laden with books, doodle books full of picture drawing prompts, or plenty of chores to help with. 

That usually gives them the kick in the pants they need.

a blue hued, sprinkle topped cheesecake sitting on a dark brown cutting board with a white sail-like cloth in the back ground

Maybe it’s because I have all sons, but I feel like I’m often late to the latest trend party. 

For example, I thought everything was still in the rainbows & unicorns camp. I mean just a couple months ago the youngest son begged me for the unicorn box of Kraft mac & cheese.

It was in the same shopping cart that he also managed to weasel some unicorn themed Snack Pack puddings into my grocery cart.

I was informed today that that particular ship has sailed, and the it’s all about Mermaids now. Hmm, mermaids. I mean, my favorite Disney princess growing up was always Ariel and the youngest son’s watched the movie since he was 3. Other than that, I had nothing.

blue no bake mermaid cheesecake is topped with shinny sprinkles in dusky blue, teal, and sea foam green including ones shaped like mermaid's tails

If it was just me & my guys, I probably would’ve ignored it honestly. But we’re in the middle of Summer- the season of pool parties and sleep overs. Desserts are not only a hot commodity, but a must.

Typically, my Summer Sand Pudding is my go to. It’s always a hit at every party. Or I bring the punch and serve up a copy cat Sonic’s Ocean Water. But I’m a sucker for when my kids’ sweetly make requests, and the youngest son wanted to serve something Mermaid themed.

Not too ‘girly’ mind you, but mermaid-ish. How could I possibly say no?! The result was this surprisingly simple no bake mermaid cheesecake, and it was delish!

WHAT IS A MERMAID CHEESECAKE?

Lest ye be worried, it doesn’t involve any actual mermaids. I promise, no mermaids were hurt in the making of this delicious dessert.

Here mermaid only really correlates to the storm blue hue of the cheesecake filling, and how we’ve chosen to decorate it. Sweets & Treats Boutique had the perfect, and I mean perfect, sprinkle decorations for this dish. They’re little mermaid tails, and they come in either purple, teal, or silver. How cute is that?!

Any of those would be cute on top of this no bake cheesecake dessert. Just pick your preferred color scheme and go from there.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE THIS NO BAKE MERMAID CHEESECAKE:

  • short bread cookies
  • butter
  • cream cheese
  • powdered sugar
  • vanilla extract
  • salt
  • sour cream
  • cream
  • food coloring
  • sprinkles

Just the normal things you’d need to make a creamy New York style cheese cake, with a few notable exceptions.

We skipped the graham crackers, and opted for a short bread cookie crust instead. This was intentional and meant to more closely resemble the sandy sea floor.

Also, we skipped the fruity toppings and went straight for sugary sprinkles instead. I mean, fruit filling on top is great. It’s classic, but sprinkles are just fun. Fun for kids of all ages, which is really what this cheesecake dessert is designed for.

no bake mermaid cheesecake sitting on a wooden cutting board with brightly colored sprinkles in the background

We also skipped convention by going for a no bake cheesecake. It’s just as creamy, just as sweet as it’s baked counter part- but now it’s got the convenience factor of it’s Summer cousin the ‘ice box cake’ working in it’s favor.

HOW TO MAKE THIS NO BAKE MERMAID CHEESECAKE:

  1. Pulse the cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs remain. Stir in the melted butter until evenly combined.
  2. Spread the mixture out evenly into the bottom of a 9″ Analon springform pan. Cover & refrigerate until the crust’s firm.
  3. Whip together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, & salt until smooth.
  4. Mix in the sour cream & heavy cream until the mixture’s smooth again.
  5. Use food coloring to color the cheesecake filling, to your desire effect.
  6. Transfer the filling to the prepared crust, spreading to evenly cover.
  7. Decorate the cheesecake with sprinkles.

At this point, your cheesecake is technically done. It’s anything but firm though. Cover it tightly with cling wrap, and place it in the refrigerator. You’re going to want to chill it for several hours so that it sets. Keep that in mind when planning your menu.

I recommend chilling it for several hours and then freezing it for up to an hour before slicing and serving. Freezing first gives you nice, clean slices when serving.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR MAKING THIS NO BAKE CHEESECAKE DESSERT:

  • I know there’s some stigma when it comes to using full fat, heavy cream in recipes. My advice is to get over it, and just indulge less if it’s an issue. This recipe needs the full fat version. It simply will not turn out with any substitution. 
  • Follow the instructions as written, chilling & even freezing are key to getting this no bake cheesecake to set up & cut into slices properly for serving.
  • Don’t want to deal with all of the steps in this recipe? You can easily turn this into a no bake cheesecake dip. Prepare the cheesecake filling as instructed, chill, and serve with short bread cookies, graham crackers, and fruit for dipping.
  • While we opted for a stormy blue color, you dye this dip whatever color you want. Likewise, if you prefer to steer clear of dyes, do so. This cheesecake dip will be just as delicious in black & white as it is in technicolor.
  • This recipe makes a thin cheese cake, including the crust it’s less than 2″ tall. If you want a thicker cheesecake, use two smaller springform pans, spreading the crust and the filling out evenly between the two.

This cheesecake dessert recipe is really easy to whip up with just a little but of pre-planning. You can’t go wrong. My favorite part of it is how it’s always such a crowd pleaser. The young crowd is simply wow-ed by it’s Mermaid-likeness, and the older crowd is wowed by it’s incredible taste.

Stay tuned & keep scrolling past the recipe card to check out this year’s awesome #SummerDessertWeek giveaway. Don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY for your chance to win, and also to discover all the other yummy desserts on today’s Summer-themed menu.

Other Fun Summer Treats To Try:

If you’ve tried this NO BAKE MERMAID CHEESECAKE, or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTERESTFACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!

NO BAKE MERMAID CHEESECAKE ON A WOODEN CUTTING BOARD

No Bake Mermaid Cheesecake

A fun , festive cheesecake this no bake dessert is perfect for an easy Summer dessert the kids can help make & enjoy!
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Chill Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 649kcal

Ingredients

  • 9 oz short bread cookies
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 16 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1 1/2 cup Dixie Crystal's powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp Adams Extract vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • scant 3/4 cup cold heavy whipping cream
  • neon food coloring
  • Sweets & Treats mermaid tail sprinkles garnish
  • assorted Sweets & Treats multicolor sprinkles garnish

Instructions

To Make The Crust:

  • Add the cookies to the bowl of your food processor, fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse the cookies until they've become fine crumbs with a uniform consistency.
  • Transfer the cookie crumbs to a waiting mixing bowl. Add the melted butter & stir together until completely combined.
  • Scoop the mixture into the middle of a 9" spring-form pan. Use your hands to press it evenly out over the bottom of the pan. Make sure the crust covered the bottom lip of the spring-form pan. Cover the pan with cling wrap, and refrigerate until the crust is firm.

To Make The Filling

  • Add the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix them on medium low speed, just until smooth- about 2-3 minutes.
  • Add the sour cream & cream, continuing to mix until the filling's smooth- about 5 minutes. Scraping the sides down and mixing again if needed to completely combine. Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer.
  • Add 6 drops of neon blue food coloring, 3 drops neon purple, and 1 drop neon green food coloring to the mixture. Whisk until a uniform color is reached. The color we achieved as 'stormy blue' adjust colors as needed if a darker or brighter color's desired.
  • Transfer the filling to the prepared crust in the springform pan. Use an inverted spatula to spread it out evenly. Sprinkle the sprinkles evenly out over the top of the cheesecake.
  • Cover the pan tightly with cling wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours, or overnight. Keep the cheesecake covered and freeze for 20-30 minutes before slicing and serving.
  • Serve & enjoy!

Notes

recipe adapted from Life Currents

Nutrition

Calories: 649kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 544mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 1560IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Did you make this recipe?Share it on Instagram @4sonsrus or tag #4sonsrus!

 

Check out the amazing #SummerDessertWeek recipes from our bloggers today!

Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts:

Summertime Pies:

Sweet Summertime Cakes and Cupcakes:

No Bake Treats:

Baked Desserts:

Summer Trifles:

  • Triple Berry Biscuit Trifle with Honey Whipped Cream from Nik Snacks
  • Summer Berry Trifle from Nancie’s Table

    Welcome to the 3rd Annual #SummerDessertWeek event hosted by Angie from Big Bear’s Wife. This week-long summer time event is filled with some down right amazing sweet recipes from fantastic bloggers and we’ve got some great giveaways from our generous sponsors for y’all too!! We can’t wait to share all of these summer-themed desserts with you and celebrate sweet, sweet summertime all week long!

     

    There are 45 incredible bloggers participating in this year’s #SummerDessertWeek event! Thanks to those bloggers, we have over 168 summer time sweet treat recipes being shared this week! Grab a few recipes to try out and don’t forget to enter the giveaway below!

    Scroll down to take a look!

     

    PRIZE #1

    Dixie Crystals is giving away one (1)Keurig® K-Select® Coffee Maker

     

     

    PRIZE #2

     

    Prize #2 — Adam’s Extract is giving away – 1 Gift Pack – including Adams Poundcake Kit, Adams Best, Adams Lemon Extract, Adams Natural Food Color, and Adams Cinnamon Sugar

     

    PRIZE #3

    Prize #3 —Wilton is giving away a Wilton Gift Pack – including – Bake and Bring Geometric Print Non-Stick 13 x 9 -inch Oblong Pan, Bake and Bring Geometric Print Non-Stick 8-inch Square Cake Pan, Bake and Bring Geometric Print Non-Stick 8-inch Round Cake Pan, Peach Cobbler Candy Melts Candy, Blueberry Lemonade Candy Melts Candy, Orange Crème Candy Melts Candy, Key Lime Pie Decorating Icing Pouch with Tips, Orange Crème Decorating Icing Pouch with Tips, Pop Art Triangle and Solid Cupcake Liners, Geometric Print and Solid Green Cupcake Liners, Balloon Dog Icing Decorations, Assorted Brights and Pastels Sprinkles, Blue Sprinkles Tackle Box, Coral Sprinkles Tackle Box, DIY-Lish Mermaid Kit, DIY-Lish Candy Lollipop Kit and Disposable Decorating Bags with 1M Tips

     

    PRIZE #4

    Prize #4 — Sweets & Treats Boutique is giving away 1 (one) baking supply box including an assortment of sprinkles and cupcake liners as well as one of Love From The Oven’s recent cookbooks!

    PRIZE #5

    Prize #5 — Anolon is giving one (1) winner an Anolon Advanced Graphite 9″ Round Springform Pan & an Anolon Advanced Graphite 9″ Square Springform Pan

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsors to winners, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from July 7th – July 14th at 12AMEST. Winners will be selected soon afterward and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 5 (five) prizes and therefore we will have a total of 5 (five) winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

     

    Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week-long event, #SummerDessertWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like to Thank our amazing sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Adam’s Extract, Wilton, Sweets and Treats Shop and Anolon ! These wonderful sponsors provided the prize packs for our giveaways and also sent samples and products to the #SummerDessertWeek bloggers to use in their recipes.

5 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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7 Comments

  1. What a cute cake! I must admit I had no idea that mermaids are in 🙂 No bake makes it even better! Thank you for bringing it to Fiesta Friday!

  2. 5 stars
    What an adorable cheesecake recipe, and I love that it is nobake for these hot summer days. Thank you for recommending my baby shark cupcakes recipe too!