Published: Sep 5, 2020 · 44 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

No-Bake Vanilla Cheesecake (No Gelatine)

Name: No-Bake Vanilla Cheesecake (No Gelatine)
Prep time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup digestive biscuit crumbs ((150 g)); 1/4 cup unsalted butter ((60 g), melted); 16 oz full fat cream cheese ((450 g), room temperature); 1/2 cup powdered sugar ((60 g)); 2 tsp vanilla extract; 1/2 cup whipping cream, min 35% fat ((125 ml), chilled); some sweetened whipped cream

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I know many of you simply love my cheesecake recipes. Be it baked cheesecakes like these mini ones, Cheesecake Factory inspired or no-bake ones like mango cheesecake or chocolate cheesecake. Well just to name a few.

Of all the flavours that I've made, I've never shared with you this simple no-bake vanilla cheesecake. Right?

Well that's changing because here it is! Just plain old vanilla cheesecake that's super easy to make. And guess what? It doesn't require any gelatine. So that's a plus, right?

Vanilla Cheesecake

This vanilla cheesecake really is perfect when you just want to enjoy a slice of cheesecake with some fruits or berries. Or use that leftover homemade lemon curd (see my delish recipe!). It's a white canvas that you can flavour with whatever your heart desires. Drizzles of melted chocolate? White chocolate? Why not?

It has this creamy and smooth texture that is just so satisfying. Not overly sweet. Combines perfectly with digestive biscuits that have a slight salty touch to them.

What Biscuits To Use As The Base

As I mentioned earlier, I simply love the contrast of a touch of saltiness from digestive biscuits against the sweet cheesecake filling.

But if you're not living in Europe then maybe digestive biscuits sound weird to you. I have readers asking if they were biscuits to help with digestions or dog biscuits. Haha!

Bottom line is, no worries. You can use whatever biscuits that you like. If you're used to using graham crackers then by all means, use them. Oreo cookies, coconut cookies? Why not?

Create your own base.

ingredients used in no-bake vanilla cheesecake

What Cream Cheese To Use

Believe it or not, as simple as choosing the right cream cheese is the ultimate key for this recipe.

Full fat cream cheese - I know some of you would like to make this a light cheesecake but yeah, no. It won't work with light cream cheese. We need the full fat ones so that it holds and firms up in the fridge. Remember we're not using gelatine or eggs (since this is a no-bake one) to hold it together.

Not whipped cream cheese - Somebody asked if I was using whipped cream cheese since the ones that I use always come in tubs. The answer is no. Since I'm in Europe so the packaging is different. So far all cream cheeses that I've seen here are in tubs. Not bricks. Regardless the container, do not use whipped cream cheese that you find in tubs (or any other containers).

Tips On How To Get It Right

I love to share with you all these simple tips that I religiously follow whenever I'm making a no-bake cheesecake. For me they come as routines or habits and I like to keep sharing them with you so that they can become your routines and habits also.

Ingredients temperature - Follow the temperatures mentioned in the recipe. Cream cheese at room temperature. Whipping cream, chilled.

Fluffy - I like to whisk my cream cheese until it's fluffy first, before starting to add other ingredients. This ensures light textured cheesecakes.

Sifted powdered sugar - Always, always, always sift your powdered sugar. They tend to make these balls of sugar if you don't and we don't want those in our smooth cheesecakes.

Whipping cream - Here in Spain the whipping cream is with minimum 35% fat. Yes, we call it whipping cream. I know in other places it's called differently. Double cream, heavy cream, etc. It doesn't matter what it's called. The important thing is the minimum fat content needs to be at least 35%. It'll help in setting our cheesecakes.

portion of vanilla cheesecake missing a bite

Stiff peaks - Whisk your whipping cream until stiff peaks. Careful not to over whisk it or you'll get grainy texture in your cheesecake. Under whisking it will make the cheesecake not set. So stiff peaks, alright?

Chill - As all ovens come differently in temperature wise, so are fridges in the coldness wise. We can set the level of coldness to our fridge. There's also different rack positions in the fridge. Whenever I make a no-bake cheesecake I always set my fridge to its coldest. I always place the cheesecake in the coldest part of the fridge. Mine is at the lowest rack, above the vegetable containers. Depending on your fridge, you might need to chill the cheesecake more than 8 hours. Or you might need less.

Serve - Cheesecakes need the cold. They're not like cakes that you can display on your dining table for hours while your guests arrive and eat. No. Remove from the fridge just before you slice and serve. If you really want it out for quite a while (or your place is super hot), then place it in the freezer for 1-2 hours. That'll help maintain it.

So there you go. Everything that you need to know to make this no-bake vanilla cheesecake error and stress free. Let me know what you think!

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