Cranberry Cheesecake Cup
Freeze-dried cheesecake filling over graham crumbs, with a cranberry layer you rehydrate in the pot.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 138
- protein
- 8 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 180 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Cheesecake pudding mix | 1 small box (3.4 oz) | instant, no-cook type |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered whole milk | 1/3 cup | |
| Graham cracker crumbs | 1/2 cup | crushed at home, sugar already in them |
| Dried cranberries | 1 cup | |
| Sugar | 1/4 cup | |
| Cornstarch | 1 tbsp | |
| Citric acid or powdered lemon | 1/2 tsp | stands in for the lemon juice |
| Vanilla powder | 1/4 tsp | |
| Butter powder | 2 tbsp | optional, for the crumb layer |
Method
- Simmer the cranberries in 120 ml of water with the sugar and citric acid for about four minutes, until they swell and the syrup goes red.
- Stir the cornstarch into a spoonful of cold water, pour it in, and boil for thirty seconds. It will thicken as it cools. Scrape it into a cup and set it aside.
- Wipe the pot. Whisk the pudding mix, milk powder, and vanilla powder with 60 ml of cold water until there are no dry pockets left. Give it five minutes to set up.
- Divide the graham crumbs between two cups or mugs and press them down. Butter powder mixed into the crumbs with a splash of water makes a crust that holds together.
- Spoon the cheesecake layer over the crumbs, then the cranberries on top. Eat straight away, or let it sit in cold air for twenty minutes to firm up.
The original is a fridge dessert built on cream cheese and whipped heavy cream, neither of which survives a day in a pack. Instant cheesecake pudding plus whole milk powder gets close: the pudding starch sets without cold, and the milk fat carries the flavor the cream used to. Mix it with cold water, not hot, or the starch seizes and you get lumps.
Fresh cranberries become dried ones, which means they need liquid back before they taste like anything. Simmering them with sugar and a little acid rehydrates and candies them at once, and the cornstarch turns the leftover syrup into something that sits on the pudding instead of running through it. Cook the compote first and the cheesecake second — the pudding needs the pot cool anyway.
Packing
Three bags: crumbs plus butter powder, pudding plus milk powder plus vanilla, cranberries plus sugar plus cornstarch plus citric acid. Label them, because two of the three look identical by headlamp.
Variations
- Skip the cranberry step entirely and stir the dried berries into the pudding for a one-bag version.
- Crushed gingersnaps in place of graham crumbs.
- Freeze-dried cheesecake bites crumbled on top if you want the real dairy texture.
https://domesticsuperhero.com/no-bake-cranberry-cheesecake-parfaits-2-2