Cream cheese mousse cake ~

It is not that big.  I promise.  :)

No bake cheesecakes?  The idea of cooler desserts have struck my fancy during the heat of summer.  I'm not one for desserts every night after dinner.  A little something sweet after supper was something I grew up with, though again, it wasn't every night.  I attribute it to a family that had a fondness for a little sweet now and then, but did not overly indulge when it came to sugar.  Fresh fruit showed up at our table any time of day more than prepared sugared desserts.

This is not a cheesecake, nor a cake, nor a mousse cake, nor technically a mousse.  I'll just blur the lines of definition, calling it what sounds good to me.  After my 11 year old daughter took her third bite, she said, "It's dream cake!"  That sounds good, too.  Eating it, enjoying and analyzing...I thought it was just perfect.  No needed extra flavors like chocolate or lemon or berries. 

I do believe that it was the chocolate mint cookies that made the this particular simple filling just right.  I came across these cookies by mistake.  They were in graham cracker section, they are the animal cracker/cookies in a chocolate mint flavor.

Cream cheese mousse cake ~
12 servings

16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 - 1 c. sugar

2 c. heavy whipping cream(I use 40%, 32-35% will be fine)

2 tsp. vanilla

1 c. crushed cookies, chocolate mint

2 T. sugar

3 T. butter, melted

• Crush cookies in a food processor until fine as bread crumbs.  Remove to a bowl.  
• Add the 2T. sugar and melted butter.  
• Save a 1/4 c. for topping, place the remaining crumbs in an 8" springform pan.

Filling ~  

•  Cream the cream cheese with a paddle attachment in your mixer. 
• Add the sugar.   Mix well.   I use an extra fine sugar, so I used a little less than a cup. 
• ***Regarding sweetness levels...you can taste the mixture (no eggs) before putting it in the pan - add more sugar if you like.***
• Add the vanilla.  Remove the bowl from the mixer.
• In a separate bowl with a whisk attachment, whip the whipping cream to medium peaks.  
• Add a blobby cup or so of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture bowl.  Fold this in.  This lightens the mixture to more easily take the remaining whipped cream.
• Add the remaining whipped cream, folding lightly and thoroughly.  Taste for you level of desired sweetness.
• Spoon the mixture into the pan, level.
• Add remaining cookie crumbs to the top.
• Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.