To make a no-bake cheesecake that rivals a classic baked one, using gelatine is essential. It’s affordable, easy to find, easy to use, and results in a superior cheesecake compared to denser or sloppy alternatives made without gelatine.

The filling is exceptionally light-yet-creamy and melts into a smooth, velvety texture with every bite. And everybody loves the crispy, crumbly buttery crust!

PS This cheesecake is not overly sweet, it is French patisserie/Japanese cakes level sweet. If you want American-level-sweet, increase the sugar to 1 cup.

Ingredients

Biscuit crust:
200g/7 oz digestive biscuits (13 pieces, 1 2/3 cups crumbs), or other plain biscuits/cookies
90g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
1 tbsp brown sugar
Pinch of salt
No-bake cheesecake filling:
2 1/4 tsp (9 g) gelatin powder , unflavoured (Note 2)
2 tbsp cold tap water
1 cup thickened or heavy cream , or any whipping cream, FRIDGE COLD (Note 3)
500g/ 16 oz cream cheese block (not tub), well softened at room temperature (Note 4)
3/4 cup caster sugar / superfine sugar (Note 5)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice (not critical, can do without)
Optional decorations:
6 strawberries , halved (plus extra for serving)
Whipped cream (half batch for decorating, or full batch for extra to serving on side)

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
Blitz crumb ingredients. Press into 20cm/8″ inverted base lined springform. Bloom gelatine in the water, re-melt. Whip cream. In separate bowl whip cream cheese + sugar, then vanilla, lemon, salt and gelatine. Fold in 1/4 cream, then remaining cream. Fill crust, fridge 6 hours.
FULL RECIPE:
Inverted cake pan:
Invert & line – Turn the base of a 20cm/8″ springform pan UPSIDE DOWN (Note 6). Grease with butter very lightly. Place a square piece of parchment/baking paper on the base. Then clip into the springform pan – excess paper will stick out.
Line sides – Butter and line the side of the pan.
Biscuit crust:
Blitz – Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor. Blitz until it becomes fine crumbs (~30 seconds).
Add butter – Add the butter, cinnamon and salt. Blitz until it resembles wet sand (~ 10 second). It should stay together when pinched between your fingers.
Press – Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls. Then flatten and press the base and walls using something with a flat base and vertical edges (I used a measuring cup). Aim for the wall to be ~9mm (0.35″) from the top of the rim (Note 7). Refrigerate crust until required.
Gelatine (Note 2):
Bloom gelatine – Put the water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatine across the surface (don’t dump it in one place. Whisk until dissolved then set aside for 3 minute or until it firms up like rubber.
Melt – Microwave for 15 seconds on high or until it melts (do not let it boil). Cool for 5 minutes while you make the filling (make sure it’s still liquid when you use it).
No-bake cheesecake filling:
Whip cream – Put the cream in a bowl and whip it with an electric beater on high for 2 minutes until firm peaks form (ie not softly whipped, we want good aeration!).
Whip cream cheese – Put the cream cheese and sugar in a separate large bowl. Using the same beater (no need to clean), beat on high for 1 minute just until it’s soft and smooth. Add the vanilla, lemon and melted gelatine, then beat for 10 seconds on high to mix it through thoroughly. Don’t beat excessively as we don’t want too many air bubbles in the cheesecake (unsightly).
Fold – Add about 1/4 of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Gently fold through using a rubber spatula or large spoon (don’t mix aggressively, you’ll knock all the air out of the cream!). Then fold in the rest of the cream.
Refrigerate – Pour into the crust, smooth the surface. Refrigerate for 6 hours+ to set.
Serving:
Remove sides of the cake pan. Use then overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan base onto a serving platter. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.
Decorate the top with whipped cream and strawberries, if desired (or just dollop whipped cream on the plate). Cut into slices and serve!

Notes

1. Biscuit base – You can use any plain biscuits you want (ie no filling like Oreos, no chocolate coating). If the biscuit you use doesn’t hold together when pinched, just add a bit of extra butter until it does (some types are a little drier)
Packet crumbs (eg Graham Cracker Crumbs) – 1 2/3 cups crumbs = 200g / 7oz
2. Gelatine – Sold in small containers or little sachets in the baking aisle. See in post for gelatine using tips. Needs to be liquid when used so re-melt again if needed, but make sure it’s not hot!
Other recipes that use gelatine: Mango Cheesecake, Trifle, Nutella cheesecake, Mirror glaze.
3. Cream – Make sure the one you get can be whipped! Not all cream is made for whipping. Label will say if it can be whipped. Also ensure you use the cream straight out of the fridge, cold, so it whips properly. Warm cream will not whip.
4. Cream cheese blocks are firmer than tubs (softer, for spreading). If you can only get the tubs, it’s fine, but increase the gelatine to 2 3/4 tsp.
Ensure the cream cheese is well softened at room temperature so it is easy to whip until smooth.
5. Sugar – If you only have regular white sugar / granulated sugar, beat the cream cheese + sugar for longer or until there’s no sugar grains (rub between fingers). Filling might have some air bubbles but that’s a minor sacrifice for no sugar grit!
6. Inverted cake pan – So the cheesecake can slide off the base smoothly rather than dealing with the lip which could cause crackage. It can be a bit fiddly to clip it in, but you’ll get there! Worth it, to eliminate cracking risk.
7. Wall height – If you want to be exact, my biscuit wall is 4.8 cm (1.9″) high measuring from the surface of the clipped in inverted cake pan. I build up the biscuit wall so it is 9mm (0.35″) lower than the top of the rim. My springform pan sides are 7cm high (2.76″).
But, don’t fret about being exact! If your walls are a little lower, just don’t use all the filling. If they’re a little higher, you can always scrape off and tidy the edge at the end (once set and sides released).
Storage – Keep it in the fridge and serve cool or cold. Keeps the shorter of the cream shelf life, or 7 days though the biscuit base does start to soften at the 4 day mark. The cream piped on top will deflate a bit but it’s not a big deal because it’s a small amount.
Nutrition per serving assuming 12 servings, excluding cream (I cannot be responsible for how much cream you smother on top!). Lower than I expected! It’s practically diet food! 😉
Nutrition
Calories: 288cal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 360mg | Potassium: 158mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 500IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 163mg | Iron: 1mg