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This No Bake Cheesecake is the easiest, most decadent dessert your kitchen will ever produce. It’s a definite crowd pleaser with its bright and light flavor, super creamy and silky texture, and fresh from the fridge chill. Get ready to protect that secret recipe, but if you’re feeling generous let them know Jo showed you the way.
Growing up as a kid my mom went through a big no bake cheesecake kick, for a few years that was all she seemed to whip up for dessert! Whenever I bite into one now I judge it by those nostaglic standards.
Is it just sweet enough? Creamy and rich but still light enough to devour? Perfectly set and easy to cut into?
Well let me tell you, this recipe is one mom would approve of! You might be a little skeptical looking at the ingredients list now and wondering how this mess of a cake will turn into a beautiful dessert, but just trust the process – when have I ever led you wrong?
There’s definitely some perks to opting to go ovenless for this dessert. We don’t have to worry about water baths, tin foil, etc to ensure the cake cooks properly and doesn’t leave us with any unsightly cracks. It’s perfect any time of year, but especially on those hot days that leave us craving something cool and refreshing.
Ingredients
Crust
- Graham crackers – Buy a box of the crumbs or put the cookies themselves in a food processor and process till they’re small fine crumbs.
- Sugar – Brown sugar to create a nice sweet crust full of depth of flavor and a molasses note.
- Butter – Unsalted butter as we want to control the sodium content of our dessert.
Cheesecake
- Cream cheese – I used 2 packages of whole fat Philadelphia cream cheese.
- Sugar – We’re using icing sugar today to ensure we get a nice silky smooth texture with absolutely no graininess.
- Vanilla extract – Without this your dessert may taste a little flat.
- Sour cream – Now I know you must be skeptical about this ingredient but it will add some fat to help our dessert set and will give us brightness and tang.
- Cream – We’re going to beat whipping cream till stiff peaks form and mix in the rest of our cake ingredients, this will ensure it binds and sets properly in the fridge.
- Lemon – We’re just using a bit of fresh lemon juice today as we want to lend a bit of brightness to our dessert to help cut through all that fat and sugar.
How To Make No Bake Cheesecake
- Make the crust: Stir the craham cracker crust ingredients together in a bowl. Pour them into a 8-inch sprigform pan and pack tightly. Use a measuring cup or a spatula to firmly press the crumbs into the pan. Transfer to the freezer while preparing the filling.
- Make the filling: Add the whipping cream to the bowl of your mixer and beat until stiff peaks form, on medium-high speed. Should take about 5 minutes. Add the cream cheese to another bowl and beat the cream cheese together with the icing sugar on medium speed, until perfectly smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Blend the filling: Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and sour cream to the cream cheese bowl and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high speed until smooth and well combined. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Fold in the whipped cream: Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream into the cheesecake filling until well combined. Do this slowly, you don’t want to deflate all the air in the whipped cream.
- Assemble: Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the cream cheese filling into the crust. Use a spatula to smooth the top as much as possible.
- Chill: Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours and up to 2 days. It’s best to prepare this the night before and chill overnight. The longer the cake is refrigerated, the better it will set.
- Serve: Use a knife to loosen the cake from the side of the springform pan, then remove the rim. Use a clean sharp knife to cut into slices for serving. Top with additional whipping cream if preferred, and serve.
What’s the Best Cream Cheese to Use
I prefer using Philadelphia cream cheese because it always makes a super silky cheesecake. However, if you can’t find the Philadelphia brand, use a cream cheese that is full fat. Do not use fat free or light cream cheese.
Not A Sour Cream Fan?
I know there’s some of you out there and I don’t judge – we’ve all got our preferences! If you’d rather steer clear from the sour cream for whatever reason then definitely feel free to swap in equals amount of Greek yogurt.
What Can I Top My Cheesecake With?
I will never steer you away from going above and beyond when it comes to serving up decadent desserts, so add toppings to your hearts desire!
- Caramel sauce
- Dulce de leche
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Chocolate sauce
- Whipped cream
- Fresh cherry sauce
- Praline sauce
Some Tips
- Let your cake rest in the fridge for as long as you can stretch it! This will allow it to set properly so that it doesn’t become a runny puddle all over your plate.
- Fold in the whipped cream gently this one is also important for ensuring the integrity of your dessert! Otherwise you might find yourself with cheesecake soup!
- Be sure to beat the cream cheese properly before incorporating the other ingredients, we want a filling that is silky smooth from start to finish.
Storing Leftover Cheesecake
You can store this dessert in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, you can also store it wrapped in plastic wrap.
You can also freeze this dish! In fact no bake cheesecake freezes beautifully, just place it in an airtight container for up to 3 months before allowing to thaw out overnight in the fridge.
Craving More Cake? Try These Delicious Recipes
- Easy Strawberry Cake
- Mini Cherry Cheesecakes
- Carrot Cake
- Lemon Yogurt Cake
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Peach Upside Down Cake
- Chocolate Lasagna
- Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake
- Ricotta Cheesecake
- Burnt Basque Cheesecake
- New York Cheesecake
No Bake Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 8 tablespoon butter unsalted, 1/2 cup or 1 stick
Cheesecake
- 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
- 24 ounce cream cheese full-fat, such as Philadelphia, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup icing sugar same as confectioners sugar or powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Make the crust: Stir the craham cracker crust ingredients together in a bowl. Pour them into a 8-inch sprigform pan and pack tightly. Use a measuring cup or a spatula to firmly press the crumbs into the pan. Transfer to the freezer while preparing the filling.
- Make the filling: Add the whipping cream to the bowl of your mixer and beat until stiff peaks form, on medium-high speed. Should take about 5 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese to another bowl and beat the cream cheese together with the icing sugar on medium speed, until perfectly smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and sour cream to the cream cheese bowl and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high speed until smooth and well combined. Make sure there are no lumps.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream into the cheesecake filling until well combined. Do this slowly, you don't want to deflate all the air in the whipped cream.
- Assemble: Remove the crust from the freezer and pour the cream cheese filling into the crust. Use a spatula to smooth the top as much as possible.
- Chill: Cover titghtly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours and up to 2 days. It's best to prepare this the night before and chill overnight. The longer the cake is refrigerated, the better it will set.
- Serve: Use a knife to loosen the cake from the side of the springform pan, then remove the rim. Use a clean sharp knife to cut into slices for serving. Top with additional whipping cream if preferred, and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- For neat slices, wipe the knife clean between each slice.
- You can store this dessert in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, you can also store it wrapped in plastic wrap.
- You can also freeze this dish! In fact no bake cheesecake freezes beautifully, just place it in an airtight container for up to 3 months before allowing to thaw out overnight in the fridge.
