Other than a few frozen treats in the freezer I try to not keep any desserts in our home. That way, if I want a dessert, I have to really want it enough to make it! A celebratory meal promoted the desire to make a sweet treat, but the heat made me really not want to bake a thing! Enter a couple of bags of delicious frozen Oregon blackberries, cream cheese, and some beautiful lemons to create this no-bake treat of lemon and blackberry cheesecake parfaits.
This post is in partnership with Oregon Berries. All opinions are my own. About Oregon Berries: The Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Commission focuses on promoting caneberries to multiple audiences, and supports Oregon berry farmers by fostering plant research and farming education initiatives. Find Oregon Berry brands on the Oregon Berries website!
While I can absolutely enjoy lemons anytime, and all the time, it isn’t the most Fall-like flavor. Now that the weather is getting cooler and Fall is firmly beginning to take hold, you may want to substitute the lemon for more fall-like flavors. Read on to learn how to make this no-bake blackberry parfait with lemon and a few different fun seasonal variations!
Lemon and Blackberry Cheesecake Parfait
The name parfait is from French meaning “perfect”– I can’t say that I don’t agree. This dish layers a mixture of delicious cream, jam, and curd to create a delightful chilled, no-bake dessert. Layer in some delicious sponge cake to make a tasty trifle! I’ve layered everything how it made sense to me, but the best part of a parfait is that you can switch it up as you desire! In efforts to make this dessert a very simple no-bake treat, I used a pre-made curd rather than making one. No curd available? Sub in a delicious jam!
Layers of this Lemon-Blackberry Cheesecake Parfait
- Walnut and butter crust
- Blackberry Cheesecake Whip
- Lemon Curd (this is where you can substitute any of your favorite fruit curds or jams!)
- Vanilla Cheesecake Whip
- Whipped Cream
- Blackberry Syrup
- Frozen Blackberry
Lemon and Blackberry Cheesecake Parfait Recipe
I made six, four-once parfaits with this recipe. Below are all of the ingredients, but again, this is something you can really mix and match as your tastes dictate! There seem to be a LOT of steps with this dessert, but they are all really easy and all-in-all are totally worth it!
Walnut crust:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Directions:
- Pulse walnuts, melted butter, and brown sugar in a food processor. Don’t have a food processor? Pulverize the walnuts with a mallet.
Need a nut-free crust? Substitute some ladyfingers or sponge cake.
Blackberry Syrup:
Ingredients:
- 1 package of frozen Oregon blackberries (I used the Stahlbush Island Farms Marion Blackberries which has 10 oz of blackberries) – reserve 6-10 berries for garnish
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 cup water
Directions:
- Put water, sugar, and blackberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally so that the sugar doesn’t burn.
- Cook down and simmer until the mixture thickens. (About 10 minutes.) Continue to stir.
- Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve reserving the liquid. Let the syrup cool in the fridge while you complete the rest of the steps.
Keep reading for the real secret to this delicious dessert!
Cheesecake Whip:
This part is my favorite because you are basically taking one step and turning it into three different layers!
Ingredients:
- 1 pint of heavy whipping cream
- 2, 8 oz packs of cream cheese (room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8th cup of blackberry syrup
Directions:
- Make whipped cream: Whip the heavy whipping cream with a hand mixer (or whisk) until peaks begin to form. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/8th cup of sugar and continue whipping until peaks are well formed. Don’t overwhip as you’ll get sweet butter instead of whipped cream. Set aside two cups of whipped cream.
- Whip cream cheese: Whip up the cream cheese with a hand mixer or whisk until softened. Mix the cream cheese with the remaining whipped cream. Split the mixture into two bowls.
- Vanilla Cheesecake Whip: Take one of the cream cheese/ whipped cream mixtures add the remaining 1/8th cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix well.
- Blackberry Cheesecake Whip: Take the remaining cream cheese/whipped cream mixture and add in 1/8th cup of chilled blackberry syrup. Mix well. This mixture will be thinner than the previous mixture.
- Chill: Place the whipped cream, vanilla cheesecake whip, and blackberry cheesecake whip in the fridge for 30 minutes before building your parfait.
- Build: After the mixtures have chilled, build your parfaits. Layer in jam or pre-made curd to knock this dessert out of the park! Top the mixture with blackberry syrup and garnish with frozen blackberries.
Substitute a pear or apple jam for the lemon curd for a nice fall twist to this dessert!
