No Bake Cheesecake
This no-bake Cheesecake recipe will be an instant success with your crew, it is reasonably quick to make, and does not require the use of oven space, so production time is reduced as there is no baking involved.
Regarding the eating qualities of this cheesecake, the crumb base is sweet and crumbly with just the right level of crunch which contrasts with the light cream cheese filling with its delicate balance of flavour sweetness and cream, which is tempered by the subtle inclusion Lemon zest into the mix.
You can make this cheesecake in any size or shape of tin or tray and top with any topping or even serve it plain, it has a great taste and for some crew members one slice is just not enough..!

Prep Time | 1 hours |
Passive Time | 12 hours |
Servings |
Portions
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- 700 grams McVities Digestive Biscuits
- 300 grams Butter Unsalted
- 400 grams Caster Sugar
- 2 kg Full Fat Cream Cheese
- 450 grams Icing Sugar
- 650 ml Whipping
- 25 grams Gelatine Powder
- 1/2 Cup Hot Water
- 1 Lemon Juice and Zest Only
Ingredients
Crumb Base
Cheesecake Filling
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- You can use any size cake tins or trays that you feel may be suitable, here I have used 4 x 24cm springform cake tins. Remove the bases of the tins and cover with a single layer of aluminium foil folding the foil underneath and press flat.
- Notice how the tins are lined on the base only, there is no need to grease the tins, your cake tins are now ready to accept the crumb base.
- Put your McVities Digestives in a suitable container and start to Brake up.
- Put the broken biscuits in a robo-coup and blitz until they become crumbs.
- Place the digestive crumbs in a mixing bowl and in a suitable pot melt the butter and add the sugar.
- Add the melted butter and sugar to the digestive crumbs.
- Combine and mix the butter and crumbs using a spoon to ensure all the crumbs have been coated in the butter.
- We now need to divide our crumb base equally between the 4 cake tins, and easy way to do this is to place one of the cake tins on a digital kitchen scale and press the button to bring the scale back to zero.
- Add some of your crumb base until the scale reads 350grams then repeat this process for the other 3 tins
- With the back of a large stainless steel spoon carefully smooth and press the crumb base in the bottom of the tins until smooth, then place in the fridge to chill while you make the cheese filling.
- Please the whipping cream in a machine mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment and whip the cream to firm peaks but don't over whip. than transfer the whipped cream to a clean container. and leave to one side we will be returning this whipped cream to the mixing machine later.
- Place the full fat cream cheese in the machine mixing bowl you have just whipped the cream in and return the mixing bowl to the machine but this time using the beater attachment.
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth
- Add the Icing to the mixing bowl and blend on slow speed and then increase the speed to mix in thoroughly.
- Heat up the water ready to add the powdered Gelatine
- Have your lemon juice and zest standing by in a bowl.
- Because I am using a small mixer I have removed the mixing bowl from the mixer to make it easier to add the whipped cream and lemon juice and zest to the cream cheese.
- Fold the whipped cream and lemon juice and zest into the cream cheese, if your mixing machine is big enough you can do this while the machine bowl is still on the machine.
- At this stage we are going to return the whisk attachment to the mixing machine, and we want to ensure we mix the ingredients rapidly and introduce slight aeration.
- Here we can see the powdered gelatine in the bottom of a stainless steel jug, you can use any type of container you choose. add approximately 1/2 cup of hot water to the gelatine powder and sir to dissolve the gelatine crystals are fully dissolved.
- To assist in keeping the water warm and fully dissolve the gelatine crystals I have stood the jug on a pot of hot water on the stove. If the crystals do not dissolve fully add a tablespoon of water, Gelatine sufficient water to fully facilitate saturation.
- Here we can see the fully dissolved gelatine in the jug, now we need to incorporate this into the cream cheese mix, this can pose a challenge and the cream cheese mixture is cold, gelatine sets when it becomes cold. to avoid the gelatine setting on contact with the cold cream cheese whisk the cream cheese mix on high speed whilst slowly pouring the warm gelatine so it is instantly distributed into the cream cheese without creating tiny lumps.
- Our cream cheese filling is now complete, remove the mixing bowl from the machine and remove the whisk attachment, scrape down the bowl to ensure the mixture is fully mixed right down to the bottom of the bowl.
- Remove the cheesecake bases from the fridge and place on the bench next to the Cream Cheese filling.
- Evenly distribute the cream cheese filling between the 4 cake tine and smooth out as best you can with the back of a spoon, this can be achieved easier when using shallow cake or flan tins.
- Place the cheesecakes in the fridge to fully chill, this could take several hours, leaving in the fridge overnight is favourable.
- Remove the chilled cheesecake from the fridge and place on the bench.
- If you use springform cake tins as I have here release the clip so the tin pulls away from the cheesecake. You may need to run a small pallet knife around part of the ring if the whole rim of the tin does not release from the cheesecake
- Remove the spring loaded side from the around the cheesecake, we are now left with our cheesecake still on our aluminium lines base.
- Open out the aluminium foil from the base of the cake tin, flatten it out and gently slide the base from underneath the cheesecake.
- Place the cheesecakes on a cutting board and slide the foil out from underneath by holding the cheesecake in place as you pull the foil away. and
- Select a long sharp knife and dip the blade into a container of hot water to heat the blade, then remove the knife from the water and wipe off the excess water on a clean tea towel and then cut the cheesecake in half, and return the knife to the hot water to heat up, wipe again and make a second cut at 90° to the first cut. then repeat the process twice more to cut each cheesecake into 8 portions. NOTE;- I never use a knife to cut any anything in or on a baking tray, you will end up with unsightly scratched and marked tins, it is important to maintain both the visual and the none-stick integrity of tins and trays.
- Use a small pallet knife to lift each slice of cheesecake onto plates.
- Finish with a any topping of your choice and place in the messroom fridge or sweet cabinet.