Ingredients and Equipment

8-ounce package cream cheese
4 ounces sour cream
3-ounce package instant lemon pudding mix
2-quart mixing bowl
Pastry whisk
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
Rubber scraper
1 graham cracker crust
1/4 cup strawberry jam plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Optional: sliced strawberries
2 tablesppons sugar
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
1 whole lemon or lime
Lemon zester

Step One: Place the cream cheese, sour cream and lemon pudding mix in a 2-quart mixing bowl. Use a fork or a pastry whisk to mix everything together into a smooth paste.

Step Two: Add the milk, lemon or lime juice and the vanilla flavoring. Mix everything together until the mixture is creamy and well-blended.

Step Three: Pour the cheesecake mixture into a graham cracker crust. Use a rubber scraper to get all the mixture from the bowl and to smooth the top of the cheesecake to an even depth, with a slight  dip in the center.

Step Four: Mix the jam and lemon juice together and pour it onto the center of the cheesecake, smoothing it evenly without making it touch the edges of the graham cracker crust.

Step Five: Arrange sliced strawberries on top of the jam sauce if desired, along with curls of lemon or lime zest. Whip 1/2 pint of heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of sugar together to make whipped topping if desired.

Step Six: Cover the cheesecake with the plastic insert from the graham cracker crust or cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the cheesecake for 15 minutes, or place it in the freezer for 5 to 15 minutes.

Tip: Place no-bake cheesecake on a bed of ice if you take it to picnics or potlucks, to keep it from becoming runny. Substitute orange juice, orange zest and orange marmalade for the lemon juice, lemon zest and strawberry jam of desired. Nearly any type of jam makes good topping for cheesecake. Just substitute a corresponding fruit that matches its flavor profile.