Style: No-churn
Yield: about 1.5–2 L / 8–10 servings
Prep: 35–45 minutes
Freezing: 8 hours or overnight
Difficulty: Easy
1. Strawberry sauce
Ingredients
400 g fresh strawberries, hulled and chopped
100 g granulated sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp water
Tiny pinch of salt
Method
Put strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, water and salt into a saucepan.
Stir well while cold so the cornstarch doesn’t form lumps.
Cook over medium heat.
Once bubbling, reduce the heat and cook for 8–12 minutes, stirring frequently.
Mash some of the strawberries but leave some small pieces intact.
The finished sauce should be thick, glossy and jam-like, not watery.
Transfer to a bowl.
Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until completely cold.
Important: Don’t put hot strawberry sauce into the ice-cream mixture. It can melt the whipped cream and ruin the texture.
L
Little Black Skillet
2. Cheesecake crumble
This is the golden, biscuit-like layer visible at the bottom and throughout your photo.
Ingredients
120 g graham crackers or digestive biscuits, crushed
55 g unsalted butter, melted
50 g brown sugar
1 small pinch salt
¼ tsp cinnamon — optional
Method
Crush the biscuits into a mixture of fine crumbs and small pieces.
Mix with melted butter, brown sugar and salt.
Spread on a baking tray lined with parchment.
Bake at 175°C / 350°F for 7–9 minutes.
Remove and cool completely.
Break into small chunks.
Baking the crumble rather than simply mixing the ingredients gives you the toasted cheesecake-crust flavor and keeps the pieces pleasantly crunchy.
O
Once Upon a Chef
Shortcut: You can simply mix the biscuit crumbs with melted butter and use them without baking, but the baked version tastes better.
3. Cheesecake ice-cream base
Ingredients
225 g full-fat cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk — about 380–400 g
480 ml heavy/whipping cream, very cold
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp lemon zest
¼ tsp salt
Method
Step 1 — Cream cheese
Beat the softened cream cheese until completely smooth.
There should be no lumps.
Step 2 — Flavor
Add:
condensed milk
vanilla
lemon juice
lemon zest
salt
Beat until smooth and creamy.
Step 3 — Whip the cream
In another cold bowl, whip the cold heavy cream until it reaches medium/stiff peaks.
Don’t keep whipping after this point or you can turn the cream toward butter.
Step 4 — Combine
Add about ⅓ of the whipped cream to the cream-cheese mixture and gently fold.
Then fold in the remaining whipped cream in 2 additions.
Don’t aggressively stir—the goal is to retain the air in the whipped cream.
This basic no-churn technique is also used in published strawberry-cheesecake ice-cream recipes.
F
Food Network
+1
4. Assemble it like the picture
Use a freezer-safe container, approximately 2 L capacity.
Layer 1
Spread some cheesecake ice cream over the bottom.
Layer 2
Add spoonfuls of cold strawberry sauce.
Layer 3
Sprinkle cheesecake crumble.
Repeat
Continue:
ice cream → strawberry sauce → crumble → ice cream → strawberry sauce → crumble
Finish with a layer of ice cream.
Create the strawberry swirls
Use a butter knife or skewer and make gentle S-shaped movements through the dessert.
Don’t completely mix it.
You want distinct red strawberry ribbons rather than turning the entire ice cream pink.
Top it
For the appearance in your photograph, add:
fresh chopped strawberries
strawberry sauce
cheesecake crumble
a few larger biscuit pieces
Cover tightly.
Freeze for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight. Published no-churn versions generally recommend an overnight freeze for a firm, scoopable result.
O
Once Upon a Chef
How to get the exact look in your photo
The photograph has large fresh strawberry pieces on top, rather than only strawberry sauce.
For the topping:
150–200 g fresh strawberries
2–3 tbsp chilled strawberry sauce
3–4 tbsp cheesecake crumble
Dice some strawberries into 1–2 cm pieces.
Put them on top immediately before serving rather than freezing them for many hours. Fresh strawberries can become hard and icy after prolonged freezing.
Drizzle the strawberry sauce around the berries and finish with plenty of crumble.
NUT & ALLERGEN INFORMATION
Is this recipe naturally nut-free?
Yes, if you use nut-free ingredients.
There are no peanuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, macadamias or other tree nuts required in the recipe.
However, commercially produced ingredients can have different allergen warnings.
Main allergens to check
Ingredient Possible allergen
Cream cheese Milk/dairy
Heavy cream Milk/dairy
Butter Milk/dairy
Sweetened condensed milk Milk/dairy
Graham crackers Wheat/gluten; possible nuts/peanuts depending on brand
Digestive biscuits Wheat/gluten; possible milk/nuts depending on brand
Strawberries Usually no major tree-nut/peanut allergen
Cornstarch Generally nut-free, but check facility statement
Vanilla Usually no nuts, but check flavored products
Lemon No nut allergen
For someone with a serious nut allergy
Don’t assume that “graham crackers” or biscuits are safe just because the recipe itself contains no nuts.
Check the package for statements such as:
Contains: peanuts
Contains: tree nuts
May contain peanuts
May contain tree nuts
Made in a facility that processes nuts
For a severe allergy, choose products specifically labeled according to the person’s required allergy standard.
Peanut vs tree nuts
Peanut: botanically a legume, but treated as a major food allergen.
Tree nuts: almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts, macadamias, Brazil nuts, etc.
This recipe intentionally adds neither.
Nut-free crumble alternative
If you need maximum control over the ingredients, make your own crumble with:
120 g plain nut-free biscuits
55 g butter
50 g brown sugar
pinch of salt
That lets you select a biscuit with an appropriate allergen declaration.
Recipe Q&A
Q: Can I make it without an ice-cream machine?
Yes. That’s the main advantage of this version.
Q: Can I use frozen strawberries?
Yes. They’re excellent for the sauce. Thawing isn’t essential; simply allow extra cooking time so excess water evaporates.
Q: Can I use strawberry jam instead?
Yes. About ½–¾ cup of good-quality strawberry jam can replace the homemade sauce. Some published versions specifically suggest prepared strawberry jam as a shortcut.
F
Food Network
Q: Why is my ice cream icy?
Usually because the strawberry sauce contains too much water or the container isn’t well sealed.
Cook the strawberry sauce until thick and jammy, and cool it completely before assembling.
Q: Why did my strawberry swirl disappear?
You probably mixed it too much. Add the sauce in spoonfuls and make only a few gentle knife swirls.
Q: Why is my ice cream rock-hard?
Homemade ice cream becomes very firm in a domestic freezer. Let it sit at room temperature for about 5–10 minutes before scooping.
G
Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking
Q: Can I make it less sweet?
Yes. Reduce the added sugar in the strawberry sauce somewhat, but don’t drastically reduce the condensed milk because it contributes to the texture as well as sweetness.
Q: Can I use mascarpone instead of cream cheese?
Yes, but the flavor will be milder and less tangy. For a classic cheesecake flavor, cream cheese is preferable.
Q: Can I use whipping cream instead of heavy cream?
Yes, provided it has enough fat to whip properly. Very cold cream works best.
Q: Can I add white chocolate?
Yes. Finely chop about 75–100 g white chocolate and fold it into the finished mixture along with the crumble.
Q: Can I add nuts?
Yes, if nobody has a nut allergy. Toasted pecans, almonds or pistachios would work, but they are completely optional. For the nut-free version, leave them out.
Q: How long does it keep?
For best texture and flavor, I’d use it within about 1–2 weeks, tightly covered. Published recipes vary on freezer-storage recommendations, with some giving approximately two weeks for their no-churn version.
O
Once Upon a Chef
Q: Can I make individual cups like the photograph?
Absolutely. Divide the layers between small freezer-safe cups:
crumble → ice cream → strawberry sauce → crumble → ice cream → strawberries → sauce → crumble
This is actually a very convenient way to serve it.
My recommended proportions for the photo-style version
For the closest balance of creamy cheesecake + strawberry + crunchy crust, use:
Cheesecake base
225 g cream cheese
400 g condensed milk
480 ml whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp zest
¼ tsp salt
Strawberry
400 g strawberries
100 g sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp lemon juice
Crumble
120 g graham crackers/digestive biscuits
55 g butter
50 g brown sugar
pinch salt
Decoration
150–200 g fresh strawberries
3–4 tbsp crumble
2–3 tbsp strawberry sauce
That will give you the white cheesecake-colored base, bright red strawberry ribbons, visible strawberry chunks and golden crunchy pieces shown in your photo.
120 g plain nut-free biscuits
55 g butter
50 g brown sugar
pinch of salt
With years of experience in restaurant research and local SEO, Sara creates accurate, user-friendly guides that work for both people and search engines. Her goal is to help users go from search results to their nearest restaurant or menu choice with as few clicks as possible.
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