Philadelphia No-Bake Cheesecake

This delicious homemade Philadelphia No-Bake Cheesecake recipe requires a few simple ingredients to produce an easy decadent dessert.

This super easy dessert is a twist to a regular classic cheesecake in that it doesn't require any baking yet still results in the perfect no-bake cheesecake.

This delightful no-bake dessert is perfect for the upcoming Holiday season or Easter weekend. It can be paired with whipped cream, fresh fruit or berries, or a simple berry compote, or any of your favorite toppings.

Recipe Testing

Going into this recipe I knew I didn't want a no-bake cheesecake with gelatine or one with condensed milk. I had made a few condensed milk cheesecakes in my life, and while they make a delicious dessert, I could never get them to really set firmly for beautiful slices.

What I wanted was something fairly similar to my baked Philadelphia cheesecake, and using heavy whipping cream would be the way to go. Whipped heavy cream can set up quite nicely in the fridge.

Other than that, I wanted to keep it to 3 blocks of cream cheese to 1 cup of cream. Many recipes use more than a cup of cream and well, for convenience's sake, I wanted an even cup.

I did have to play around with the quantity of lemon juice and sugar to get that amazing creamy texture that wasn't too sweet and had a nice tang reminiscent of a traditional cheesecake. So with a few tests, I think I found the best cream cheese filling for this easy cheesecake recipe.

Ingredients

Here are notes on the ingredients used, please refer to the recipe card for full quantities.

Graham crackers/digestive biscuits or plain vanilla biscuits such as Marie biscuits or vanilla wine biscuits can be used to make the crust of your cheesecake. I used plain vanilla biscuits for the crust pictured in the photographs. For an added festive flavor use Biscoff biscuits for the crust.

Melted butter binds together the biscuit crumbs for the cheesecake bake. Butter can be substituted with a baking margarine.

Philadelphia Cream cheese is my go-to cream cheese when it comes to making cheesecakes, cream cheese frosting, or baking in general. It must be noted that in the USA the blocks are 8 ounces or 226 grams, while the blocks here in New Zealand and Australia are 250 grams or 8.8 ounces. Please check the weight of your blocks.

Cream - heavy cream or whipping cream is used to lighten the cream cheese filling and give it that nice creamy texture that we love in no-bake cheesecakes. Make sure your cream contains at least 35% milk fat.

Lemon juice (I prefer fresh lemon juice, but you can use bottled) helps stabilize the cheesecake and adds a delightful tang to this decadent cheesecake.

White sugar (granulated sugar or caster sugar) adds sweetness without really impacting the flavor of the cream cheese, cream, and lemon juice in the creamy filling.

Icing sugar, powdered sugar, or confectioner's sugar is used to slightly sweeten and stabilize the whipped cream. When I first tested this recipe I used half a cup but dropped this down to a third to make sure the filling wasn't too sweet.

Vanilla extract enhances the flavors of the other ingredients in this easy recipe.

Step 1 - Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature. This allows the cream cheese to be beaten into a nice smooth base for the dessert. If baking the biscuit base, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Note - I recommend baking the biscuit base as it adds a nice flavor, and I personally find the crust releases better from the pan when baked.

Step 2- Melt the butter and allow to cool.

Step 3 - Crush or process the Graham crackers or biscuits in a food processor until you have a mostly fine sand-like texture. Combine the Graham cracker crumbs or biscuit crumbs and sugar (an additional requirement for the graham cracker crust version) with the melted butter, and stir together until all the crumbs are coated. 

Step 4 - Pour the biscuit crumbs into the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch springform pan or loose-bottomed cake pan with tall sides. Using the back of a spoon, press the crumbs up the side of the pan, about an inch or more tall.

Note - I used an 8-inch cake pan with tall sides. I didn't grease the pan at all because it is non-stick and fairly new. If I'm using a springform pan I like to line it with baking paper at the bottom for an easy release.

Note - Take your time to work the crumbs up the side of the pan. They may fall off a few times, or even stick to your spoon. Just be patient. A good, well-pressed biscuit base is crucial for a no-bake cheesecake.

Step 5 - Then press the rest of the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Use the back of your spoon to smooth the sides into the bottom. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan.

Step 6 - If baking your biscuit base, bake for 10 minutes and then remove from the oven and allow to cool while making the filling. Alternatively, you can skip baking and allow the crust to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.

Step 7 - In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, place the room-temperature cream cheese, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and granulated sugar. Beat on a medium speed (using a paddle attachment) until all the ingredients are combined and smooth. This will take about 3-5 minutes. Regularly scrape down the sides of the bowl, even if using a hand mixer.

Step 8 - In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks (this can be done by hand or with an electric mixer). Sift in the icing sugar or powdered sugar and then beat to stiff peaks.

Step 9 - Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese using a large metal spoon or a rubber spatula.

Step 10 - Spoon the filling into the prepared crust. Smooth into the crust. Refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours but preferably overnight.

Step 11 - Before popping the Philadelphia no-bake cheesecake out of the springform pan, I like to gently heat the sides and bottom with a Chef's torch, or a warm cloth. Slowly release the sides of the pan. If you haven't used baking paper on the bottom of your pan, work slowly around the edge to release the bottom and lift it off using two large spatulas.

Note - If you haven't baked the biscuit base, it may be a bit more tricky to remove and it may be best to cut the cake directly on the pan base.

Step 12 - Use a sharp clean knife to slice your cheesecake. I like to clean my knife off between slices to get those sharp lines. Serve with fresh fruit, fresh berries, whipped cream, a delicious berry compote, or chocolate ganache.

Expert Tips for This Recipe

• I prefer a baked biscuit crust for this recipe, however, it is just as good with an unbaked crust.
• Lining the bottom of the springform pan with parchment paper really makes for an easy release of the finished cheesecake. To do this - take a piece of square baking paper about 2 inches or 5cm larger than the cake pan. Crinkle the paper into a ball and then place it over the base of the tin. Press the paper into the corners of the bottom of the base (you may need an extra pair of hands here), before clipping on the sides of the tin.
• Use room-temperature cream cheese.
• This is a great make-ahead dessert for any special occasion. I would recommend making it the morning or day before an event.
• Store the no-bake cheesecake in the fridge, and try to slice it straight out of the fridge. The longer it sits at room temperature the softer the filling becomes.
• Serve your Philadelphia no-bake cheesecake with your favorite topping!

Storage and Freezing

This Philadelphia No-Bake Cheesecake can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. I would also be mindful of keeping this cheesecake in the fridge right up until you slice it. The longer the cheesecake sits at room temperature the more the filling will soften up.

Lefto