A Month of Pie: Fruit and Cream Frozen Cheesecake

I saved this pie for last because it is pretty much the easiest pie in world to make. If you want just one more pie in your Thanksgiving spread, but you don’t have the time or energy to make one, try this pie. You do need at least enough time to freeze the pie, so I would at least make it the night before the event. This pie is made to be eaten frozen and it isn’t exactly  a true cheesecake, but I really didn’t know what to call it. Its basically a graham cracker crust filled with a mixture of fruit juice and cream cheese whipped together, topped with whipped cream and then frozen. You can use any kind of fruit juice concentrate you want. I chose grape because I have a strange obsession with grape juice and cream…together. I know, weird, right? But have you ever had those cream slushes at Sonic? Grape is the best kind! I also have a weird habit when I go to hotels. At the breakfast bar, if they have juice machines, I get a cup of grape juice and empty those little creamer thimbles in my grape juice. It’s so good. My husband thinks I am crazy, but I seriously love grape and cream. You could use orange juice and make this an orange dream-sicle pie. Or you could do pink lemonade, limeade, something tropical, cranberry…the possibilities are endless.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 C. sugar
• 4 TBSP. butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8 oz.) packet of cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 C. fruit juice concentrate (any flavor)
• 2 TBSP. lemon juice

Topping:

• 1 C. whipping cream
• 3 TBSP. powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a bowl. Add the melted butter and stir until the crumbs are evenly saturated in butter. Press crumbs into a spring-form pan so they evenly coat the bottom and the sides of the pan. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Transfer to freezer until you are ready to fill the crust.

2. Make the fruit cream filling: Using the whip attachment, whip the cream cheese in an electric mixer or with a hand held mixer. Once it is smooth, very slowly drizzle in the condensed milk while continuing to mix. Scrape the bowl as you go.

3. Slowly add the fruit juice concentrate and the lemon juice to the cream cheese mixture. Remember, the concentrate is undiluted. Don’t add water to the concentrate. If you would like a more vibrant color, add a few drops of food coloring at this point. I didn’t use any food coloring for the grape variety and I loved the pretty purple it ended up.

4. Pour the fruit cream cheese mixture into the spring form pan, on top of the crust. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap or tin foil and freeze until the filling is slightly stiff on top, or frozen solid. Whip the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the fruit juice filling. Freeze until entire pie is firm. I made mine a week ago and it still tasted great today. Just make sure you wrap it tightly so it doesn’t get freezer burned.

5. When ready to serve, release the sides of the spring form pan. Use a warm, wet knife to make smooth cuts in the frozen pie.

All pies from A Month of Pie:

• Blackberry Mango Pie
• Candy Apple Pie
• Pumpkin Pie using Homemade Pumpkin Puree
• Lime –Coconut Pie with Macadamia Coconut Crust
• Peaches and Dream Pie
• Sweet Potato Pie with Toasted Marshmallows
• Freeform Apple Pie
• Flaky Butter Pie Crust Tutorial

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving full of pie!

Recipe adapted from Prepared Pantry