Cheesecake in a Cup
Freeze-dried cheesecake filling whipped cold in a mug, poured over crushed graham crumbs.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 3.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 169
- protein
- 8 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 90 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- No cook
- Cold soak
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Graham cracker crumbs | 1/3 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Brown sugar | 1 tsp | for the crumb layer |
| Butter powder | 1 tbsp | replaces the melted butter in the crust |
| Cream cheese powder | 3 tbsp | |
| Heavy cream powder | 2 tbsp | whips up with cold water; regular milk powder will not |
| Confectioners sugar | 2 tbsp | |
| Granulated sugar | 1 tsp | |
| Sour cream powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Citric acid or crystallized lemon | 1/8 tsp | stands in for the lemon juice |
| Vanilla powder | 1/4 tsp | |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Tip the graham crumbs, brown sugar, and butter powder into a mug or wide cup. Add a teaspoon of cold water and press the mixture flat with the back of your spoon. That is the crust.
- In a leakproof bottle or a heavy freezer bag, combine the cream powder with 60 ml of very cold water. Shake hard for about two minutes, until it stops sloshing and holds together. Cold water matters here; warm water will not thicken.
- Add the cream cheese powder, sour cream powder, both sugars, citric acid, vanilla, and salt with another 30 ml of water. Work it smooth with the spoon, then fold it into the whipped cream a third at a time so you keep the air.
- Spoon the filling over the crust. Let it sit 20 minutes somewhere cold, or eat it soft.
The original is a chilled dessert that leans on a refrigerator for eight hours and on three separate dairy products for structure. Neither travels. What does travel is the powdered versions: heavy cream powder rebuilds into something that whips, and cream cheese and sour cream powders carry the tang and the fat without a cooler.
The whipping step is not optional. Loose cream is just liquid, and liquid never sets, so the filling stays a puddle over wet crumbs. Shake the cream in a bottle until it thickens, then fold the rest in gently. Without a fridge it will not slice, but it will hold on a spoon, which is all you need.
Packing
Two bags: crumbs plus brown sugar plus butter powder in one, everything else in the other. Keep the dairy powders dry or they clump into something you cannot smooth out.
Variations
- Crush a couple of chocolate sandwich cookies in place of the graham crumbs.
- A handful of freeze-dried strawberries stirred into the filling rehydrates on contact.
- In cold weather, set the mug outside for half an hour and it firms up properly.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/no-bake-cheesecake