About No Bake Pink Lemonade Cheesecake Parfaits
October is breast cancer awareness month, and as part of that effort, I joined in with a group of bloggers for a project called Cooking for a Cure.
Everyone involved developed a recipe with a “pink” theme as a show of support to all of those who have had their lives irrevocably changed by this disease.
While I was working on this recipe, there were two distinct people on my mind, the first of which was my father. He passed away from lung cancer more than three years ago, and while that’s obviously not the same as breast cancer, it’s also not very different; they’re both devastating diseases that desperately need a cure.
As for the second person on my mind – her name is Lori.
We’ve known each other since we were 12, and she was part of my high school graduating class. We’ve kept in loose contact with each other over Facebook, liking and commenting on the random posts we make about our lives. I’m sure you know how it is – Facebook makes it so we can see all the best highlights of each other’s lives.
Lori was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after the birth of her daughter, but she never mentioned a word of it on Facebook until she was already in remission, almost a whole year later.
I can’t even imagine how hard that must have been for her and her family, of keeping it quiet on services such as Facebook when it’s your struggle each day, or even begin to understand the depth of her relief when the treatments started to work.
I reached out to Lori to see if she had anything she would like to say, contribute, or share to this post, given the importance of the topic and her personal struggle with it. As luck would have it, she did: a video recording of her telling her story, taken this year at Relay for Life in Orange, Virginia. I highly recommend watching – it’s a very detailed look at how this disease can impact the plans of your life, especially when you also have two young children to consider.
So Lori, this post is in your honor. The next time I’m back in town, feel free to commission me as your personal chef for the day. I can make just about everything but breakfast.
And my specialty, clearly, is dessert.
My contribution this year to Cooking for a Cure were these ultra pretty no bake pink lemonade cheesecake parfaits. Because cheesecake is always best when you don’t have to share it, amiright? The lemonade taste is light and the graham cracker crust is extra buttery and sweet. It’s a cool, refreshing treat that can help you wrap up a long, hard day.
Please be sure to show your support for second base by checking out the links below! Lots of talented foodies are sharing creative ways to spread awareness for this important cause.
Strawberries & Cream Pastries by Domestic Superhero / Drink Pink Mocktail by Love Bakes Good Cakes / Strawberry Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars by Like Mother, Like Daughter / No Bake Raspberry Cheesecake by Sugar & Soul / Cranberry Raspberry Punch by Carlsbad Cravings / Pink Rock Candy Fudge by Kleinworth & Co. / Raspberry Sorbet by Food, Folks, Fun / Pretty Pink Chambord Frosting by Who Needs A Cape? / Lightened up Pink Vodka Sauce by A Dish of Daily Life / Strawberry Oreo Cake Mix Cookies by Just Us Four / Prickly Pear Soda Floats by Club Narwhal / Cherry Pie Scones by The Bitter Side of Sweet / Pink Fluff Dip by Mamal Diane / Pretty Pink Raspberry Vanilla Mini Cakes by Liv for Cake / Pink Pop Tarts by Life Currents / Strawberry Cheesecake Dip by The Love Nerds / Glazed Cherry Buttermilk Scones by Tastes of Lizzy T / Raspberry Vanilla Pink Ombre Bundt Cake by Cookie Dough and Oven Mitt / Berry Bliss by 365(ish) Days of Pinterest / Meringue Cookies by Mamma Loves Food / Cream Puffs with Strawberry Filling by Cooking on the Front Burner / Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies by Culinary Couture / Vanilla Berry Cocktail by Twin Stripe / Snowball Truffles by House of Yumm / Turkish Delight by With a Blast
Recipe Details
No Bake Pink Lemonade Cheesecake Parfaits
Ingredients
Instructions
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In a small mixing bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar. Using a fork, continue to stir while pouring in melted butter. Fluff with a fork until there are no large clumps and all the graham crackers are damp. Set bowl aside.
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Using a stand mixer (or a hand mixer + large bowl), beat cold whipping cream on high speed until it doubles in size and forms stiff peaks. Set bowl aside.
- Using a hand mixer (or your stand mixer again, if you're able), beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and pink lemonade mix until there are no longer any clumps of cream cheese visible.
- Pour cream cheese mixture in with fluffed heavy cream. Mix together on medium speed. If desired, add food coloring at this time. I used 2 drops of red gel food coloring.
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Decorate serving glasses as you see fit, whether it be to have one layer each of graham crackers and cheesecake (as pictured) or multiple layers of both. When adding graham cracker layers, do not worry about packing it down like you would for a standard cheesecake crust, because you are not baking this. Just lightly pour the graham cracker in and keep it loose.
- Chill cheesecakes at least 1 hour before serving. Add sprinkles if on top desired.
I love lemonade, so these are going on my “must try” list!
I feel like someone everywhere knows someone who has been affected by cancer. It’s such a sad thing. My Grandpa passed away from liver cancer and my dad had prostate cancer. My mom worked for American Cancer Society and I got to attend tons of Relay for Life events and it’s such a wonderful thing seeing everyone come together to support the cause. Anyway, I love lemonade so I’ll definitely have to try this. Thanks for sharing!
such a pretty little dessert for a wonderful cause, I don’t think you can fin anyone that has not been affected by cancer is some way or another
What a beautiful dessert for a great cause!
Beautiful dessert, looks amazing! Love how easy to make this is!
So perfectly pink! Such an easy dessert for a great cause. 🙂
This looks beautiful AND delicious – I can’t wait to try it! And I’m so excited to find a treat that doesn’t require using the oven – it’s still much too hot around these parts for that!
These look amazing!! I love the idea of pink lemonade cheesecake. Yum!
So pretty dessert!! Omg!! I never had pink lemonade cheesecake!! What a great idea!
What a perfect dessert for a girly party. I love this recipe!
That is so beautiful… I am saving this to make it soon 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
— DT | Here I Scribble
Prettiest dessert EVER! These parfaits are gorgeous and SO fun!
Yum these look delicious! And so perfectly presented.
What a beautiful sweet treat! These would be perfect for a bridal shower or baby shower! Sharing!
I love everything about this one, especially the gorgeous pink color! Pinned!
Chrisy, these parfaits look gorgeous! This post is so inspirational. I’m so sorry for the loss of your father. The one’s who love us never leave us <3
These looks amazing. Just wondering if you would know of a substitute for the pink lemonade powder, I live in Australia & we don’t have this available but I would absolutely love to make it.
Hey Adele! That’s a good question. Do you you have lemonade concentrate? That’d be an alternative if you can get your hands on it. Then it’s just a matter of adjusting some of the other ingredients (or using less of the concentrate) so the consistency isn’t too runny. If you can find raspberry lemonade concentrate that should get you the pink coloring.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I used it to make little blue cheesecake shooters for a boy’s baby shower – they were a big hit! Linked to you on my blog: http://thetarragonahouse.com/2016/02/07/blue-lemonade-cheesecake-shooters/ 🙂
Hi you listed powdered and granulated sugar but just say sugar in the directions which sugar do we mix with the graham crackers and which with the cream cheese?
Sorry
Hey Sarah! Sorry the recipe wasn’t clear. It should be granulated sugar with the graham crackers and powdered sugar with the cream cheese (for a smoother consistency). I’ll make sure to update the instructions – thanks for letting me know!
How much do I need of each to make 8 total? I need measurements for each ingredient.I need 8 not 4.. can someone tell me please..not good with Math
Hey Natalie! I’m not good at match either 🙂 Below the recipe card, there’s a little box where you can change the number of servings to whatever you’d like it to be (8, 12, etc) and it’ll adjust the ingredients automatically. Let me know if doing that gets the answer you need!
On my must try list for sure.
Can I make this the day before a baby shower? Or will it hold up better to make it the day of?
Hey Lisa, sorry for the late reply! You can make & refrigerate these in advance, but because they have cream cheese in them, they’ll need to be left out for a few hours so the cream cheese softens up again before serving. So if that fits into your schedule, then yes, they can definitely be made in advance 😀
This is amazing I had 3 to my self yum!
😀 So glad to hear you liked them!
Hi I live in Australia and can’t get my hands on dry pink lemonade concentrate
Is there another substitute I could try ?
I made this for twelve of my family members. Only one liked it. The rest left it uneaten and did not make any comments about it. So I take that as one to not make again.
What size wine glasses would you use. ? Would 5 ounce be big enough?
Is the lemonade powder the small packet that you need to add sugar and water or the canister of powder that you just add water to make lemonade.