Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤️

We have many “Galley Pirates Exclusive” recipes, but I’ll be the first to confess when I’ve taken a recipe off the internet. And I’ll confess even further when I sadly DID NOT do it justice. I was excited to present this no-bake cheesecake to my Valentine, but making it on a sailboat without a food processor, not using the correct powdered chocolate, not getting the batter quite right, not having icebox space…well it just didn’t turn out as intended. This was a creation that was supposed to have tiny near-black stripes reminiscent of a zebra. Taking a step back to visualize I saw more the colors of a luna moth.

The first person I have to thank for this awesome no-bake cheesecake is my son-in-law who presented this to our daughter when they were dating, achieving…again…the “he’s a keeper” status. He masterfully duplicated the intricate No-Bake Mint Chocolate Zebra Cheesecake by Morgan of Host the Toast. This Galley Pirate’s creation was ever so tasty, just not nearly as beautiful as Morgan’s Zebra Cake. Here is the recipe, tips and lessons learned.

Mint Oreo Cookie Crust

25 mint oreos
4 tablespoons butter, melted

If you have a food processor on board (yeah, right!) process the 25 mint chocolate oreos then add the melted butter. If you don’t have a food processor, place the Oreos in a plastic bag and smash them into crumbles with whatever works best…a rolling pin, a bottle of wine, a can…I used the flat side of a meat tenderizer.

Press them into a 9″ springform pan with your fingers or a small roller.

I placed a piece of non-stick foil over the crust and really pressed down with a small, boat sized rolling pin a got from Pampered Chef.

Set in the icebox to chill while you prepare the filling. Or February in Annapolis, the cockpit.

Mint Chocolate Cheesecake Filling

2 packets (2 ½ teaspoons each) unflavored gelatin powder
6 tablespoons cold water
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup milk
¼ cup cocoa powder
1-2 teaspoons mint extract
5-10 Green food coloring, as needed
Whipped cream, andes mints, and fresh mint leaves, to garnish, optional

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin powder over 6 tablespoons of cold water. Allow to sit until dissolved and re-solidified. Microwave for 30 seconds to re-liquify. If no microwave, just beat well before adding to the batter.

Next cream the sugar with the cream cheese. It is very important that the cream cheese is room temperature and not chilled. You really need an electric beater to do this well. A hand egg beater will work but takes time and energy. The original recipe does not call for this step but I found it makes for a much smoother batter if you beat the cream cheese before adding the milk and cream. This is the same principal as creaming sugar and butter for cookies and cakes.

Next add the cream, milk and gelatin water.

Now here is the trick. The batter needs to be fairly thin to create the narrow stripes for assembly. If it is not “pour-able” from a spoon you need to microwave it a bit to make it thinner. If this doesn’t work, add a little milk.

Next divide the batter into two equal parts.

To one bowl of batter place the dark cocoa powder and mix well. To the other bowl add the mint extract and green food coloring. Mix this very well. Lessons learned: I used regular Hershey’s Cocoa powder that I already had onboard from Brazilian Brigadeiro Chocolate. Don’t use that. Use Hershey’s DARK chocolate powder.

Now you can begin the assembly.

Add one scoop of chocolate batter to the middle of the prepared crust. Directly on top of that, add one scoop of the mint batter; then another scoop of the chocolate and another scoop of the mint. Continue on with this until all batter is gone. What is happening is that each scoop pushes the scoop below it to the edge. The batter has to be just the right consistency for this to happen. My batter was a little too thick and created much “broader” stripes. But it was tasty none-the-less.

Draw lines across the batter with a toothpick to create a nice design. Refrigerate (Or set in the cockpit if cold enough) until set, 3+ hours. This can be made a day or two ahead.

Gently release from the springform pan. Garnish with whipped cream (Did you know Ready Whip can go flat? I found that out.) or flowers for the special occasion.

No matter how you celebrate or even IF you celebrate, enjoy this mint chocolate no-bake cheesecake any day of the year!