This lovely sweet treat makes the perfect patriotic pairing for your 4th of July celebration, without even turning on the oven! You’ll LOVE the light, mousse-like texture and fresh fruit that make up this scrumptious dessert.

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST:

1 ½ cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs

¼ cup white sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons butter, melted

FILLING:

1 cup cream cheese at room temperature

1 cup mascarpone cheese at room temperature

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

â…“ cup white sugar

1 ¼ cups cold heavy whipping cream

20 large fresh strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise, or as needed

24 large fresh blueberries, or as needed

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, cocoa powder, and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Stir until mixture is thoroughly combined, but still crumbly.

2. Transfer crust mixture to 9×11-inch baking dish. Press crust evenly into the bottom of the dish until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set (about 30 minutes).

3. Mix cream cheese and mascarpone in a bowl. Once thoroughly combined, stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

4. In a separate bowl, add 1/3 cup sugar and whisk in the whipping cream until mixture is fluffy and forms soft peaks. Add this whipped cream mixture to the cream cheese and mascarpone mixture from the previous step. Gently whisk together until filling is soft, fluffy, and well combined.

5. Spoon filling on top of the graham cracker crust, spreading and smoothing the top. Tap the pan gently on a work surface several times to settle the crust and filling. Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled and set (at least 3 hours).

6. While your cheesecake sets, rinse strawberries and blueberries and let dry. Slice strawberries in half, lengthwise, and remove green stems. Cover and place in fridge until the cheesecake filling has fully set.

7. Once set, top your cheesecake with the berries to resemble an American Flag – Starting with the blueberries in the top left corner, place them one-by-one, with the bottoms facing up, in uniform rows to create a rectangular shape. (About 7 rows with about 8 blueberries per row). Leave a little space in-between each blueberry. Once your blueberry “stars” are placed, start on the strawberry “stripes” at the bottom long edge of the cake, arrange the strawberry halves in a horizontal line with the pointed bottoms right (away from the blueberries). Repeat the stripes until your cake is complete, leaving a space in-between each row of strawberries to create the white stripes.

8. Refrigerate until ready to serve, and ENJOY!