Easy Christmas Cheesecake Slab – No Bake!
Ingredients
This no bake Christmas cheesecake is based on the classic no-bake cheesecake I published earlier this year – pop over to read glowing reviews! Here’s what you need:
Biscoff biscuit base (or not!)
I use Biscoff for the base because it’s having a moment (so you get street cred, especially with the under 25 crowd), it has built-in holiday flavours (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg – that sort of thing) and I like the rich golden colour. However, you can use any plain biscuits you want – see below for suggestions.
Biscoff – This is spiced biscuit from Belgium has been around “forever” in Europe but really gained popularity in recent years thanks to social media. It’s a lovely spiced cookie, and ideal for this particular recipe because of the holiday spicing, but I really don’t know why people lose their minds over it. (Speaking frankly, as a thoroughly un-hip foodie!).
It’s also a little dearer than other plain biscuits. Don’t fret if you can’t find it or prefer a more economical option, noting that you need to buy 2 packets as the recipe calls for 300g/10oz and each packet is 250g/8.8oz. (I did try with just one packet but the base was too thin and lacked structure).
Other biscuit options – you can use any plain biscuits you want. Marie Crackers (common cheesecake base here in Australia), digestives, graham crackers (US). You can also add a touch of extra spices for holiday flavour if you want (nutmeg, ginger, all spice), see recipe notes for amounts.
Avoid biscuits/cookies coated with chocolate, or sandwiched with filling (like Oreos) because it may affect how well this no-bake base sets.
Butter – This is what holds the cheesecake base together because it solidifies when the cheesecake is refrigerated.
Sugar – Just a smidge, for a boost of sweetness in the base. It is, after all, the holidays! 🙂
Cinnamon – For an extra touch of holiday flavour.
The no-bake cheesecake filling
Alarmed because you spotted gelatine? Don’t be! See below for why.
Cream cheese – I always use Philadelphia but if you’ve had success with another brand, feel free to use that.
Softened to room temperature – Take it out of the fridge at least 1 hour prior so the cream cheese is softened, not fridge-cold-hard. We want to be able to beat it so it’s quite soft, smooth and fluffy so the whipped cream mixes effortlessly into it without knocking out the air (which means a lovely light aerated cheesecake filling = win!). It’s also important to ensure the gelatine mixes in smoothly. Nobody wants little bits of gelatine in their cheesecake! 😱
Blocks not tubs – This recipe calls for cream cheese blocks which are firmer than cream cheese in tubs which are softer as they are designed for spreading. If you can only get tubs, you just need to use a little more gelatine. See notes in the recipe card for quantity.
Gelatine – This is essential for a no-bake cheesecake that rivals the texture of a beautiful classic baked cheesecake (which has egg in the filling, that’s what sets it), one that is light-yet-creamy yet set enough to cut slices. Without gelatine, you need more cream cheese so the cheesecake sets enough to cut, which means it’s heavier and denser. See FAQ below for some background on versions I tried.
Gelatine is cheap, easy to use, and sold at regular grocery stores. I prefer to use powder rather than gelatine leaves when I can because it’s more accessible and (important to me) the strength is relatively universal around the world. The same cannot be said for gelatine leaves. 🙂
Find gelatine powder in the baking aisle in small tubs (pictured above) or packets of small sachets (open and measure using a teaspoon).
Water – This is to “bloom” the gelatine (explained in the step photos below). I use the bare minimum for the amount of gelatine I use – just 3 tablespoons – so we don’t dilute flavour.
Whipping cream – Whipped cream helps create a lovely light textured filling by aerating the cream cheese. You can use thickened / heavy cream, or regular cream. Just make sure it can be whipped because not all cream is made for whipping (for example, pouring cream, dolloping cream). The label should say if it can be whipped.
Couple more cream rules:
1. No low fat! Now is not the time! It will compromise the texture.
2. Fridge cold! The cream needs to be fridge cold else it will not whip properly.Sugar – Best to use caster sugar (superfine sugar) which are finer grains than regular sugar (granulated sugar) so we can be confident it will dissolve. It’s especially important because this is a no-bake recipe so we don’t have heat on our side here to melt the sugar. If you only have regular sugar, that’s ok. Just beat the cream cheese for a little longer than per the recipe and rub the mixture between your fingers to ensure there’s no sugar grains left.
Vanilla – Please use vanilla extract which is real flavour extracted from vanilla beans (hence the name!) rather than vanilla essence which is imitation. It’s especially important for no-bake recipes because the vanilla flavour is “raw” and doesn’t have the benefit of baking in the oven to bring out the flavour.
Lemon juice – Just a touch, to bring a smidge of tang to the filling. It’s not a deal breaker if you don’t have it, just leave it out.
Salt – Standard baking practice these days to bring out the flavours in sweet baked goods. We use just a tiny amount so it doesn’t make it salty by any stretch of the imagination.
Decorations
For a Christmas look, I smothered the cheesecake with a fairly generous amount of whipped cream then decorated it with berries and rosemary dusted with icing sugar.
I also tucked in some orange slices to add a nice splash of bright orange and break up the busy mass of berries. I think it works quite well!
Other decorating ideas – The rectangle cheesecake surface is literally like a blank canvas, ready for you to work your magic! Here are a few more decorating ideas:
Aussie summer Pavlova style! I see passionfruit, mango slices, strawberries and blueberries with little mint leaves for a splash of colour. Gorgeous!
Fruit compote and sauces (also see Mango Cheesecake, Strawberry and Blueberry Cheesecake, and Blueberry Cheesecake Bars);
Sauce – Serve with a chocolate or salted caramel sauce, though when I make chocolate or caramel cheesecakes I like to get those flavours inside the cheesecake too by swirling them in (I also usually add a hidden layer inside, for extra impact). They will be coming onto my website eventually! 🙂
Sprinkle of nuts and/or chocolate shavings – Think, macadamia and white chocolate, peanuts and dark chocolate, pecans and chocolate, pistachios or almonds. Lovely addition of texture!
Pretty spring garden – Edible flowers, petals and leaves (dried or fresh), pistachios, gold leaf! I have visions I hope to make a reality one day. 🙂
How to make this Slab No Bake Cheesecake
This slab form cheesecake is easier than my classic round no bake cheesecake which has a biscuit wall. Although not technically difficult, biscuit walls can be a bit fiddly if you’re a first timer.
The one important step to remember is to line the pan with plenty of paper overhang so you can easily lift the cheesecake out of the pan once it is set.
1. biscoff crust
If you don’t have a food processor, just put the biscuits in a ziplock bag and bash with a rolling pin or meat mallet (it’s very satisfying). Because of the volume we are using, you might find it easier to do this in two batches.
Prepare pan – Lightly grease a 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13″ rectangle pan with butter or a plain oil spray (I use canola), just enough for paper to stick. I emphasise LIGHTLY because if you use too much butter, it acts as a glue once refrigerated so you have to wait until the butter softens before removing the cheesecake (Yes I know this from personal experience 😁)
Then line the pan with baking paper (parchment paper) with LOTS of overhang on the long side, to make it easy to lift the cheesecake out at the end. It’s ok if you don’t get 100% coverage on the base (like mine, because standard baking paper is a little shorter than my pan).
Blitz – Break the Biscoff biscuits up roughly by hand and blitz until they become fine crumbs, about 10 to 15 seconds on high, depending on how powerful your food processor is. Add the butter, cinnamon, sugar and salt, then blitz again until it becomes wet sand.
CHECK for clumping ability! The mixture should press together well when pinched between fingers. This is important to check because structural integrity of the base is key to ensure your cheesecake holds together when you lift it out of the pan!
⚠️ Not pressing together? Just add a little extra melted butter. You might have this problem if you used a lower fat biscuit than Biscoff, or if they were a bit stale.
Pour the crumbs into the prepared pan.
Press it in firmly. The firmer you press it in, the more stable your base will be. Then refrigerate until required.
Note: The idea here with this no-bake biscuit base is that the melted butter solidifies and this is what holds the biscuits crumbs together.
2. BLOOM THE GELATINE
There is no need to fear gelatine! It’s simple to use if you just follow the steps I’ve provided. There’s a reason for every direction!
Bloom gelatine – Put the water in a small bowl then sprinkle the gelatine across the surface. Mix with a small whisk (or spoon) – it will become like lumpy jelly. Then leave it for 5 minutes. This is called “blooming” the gelatine, and it makes gelatine powder dissolve so it can be stirring into liquids to make them set.
⚠️ Don’t dump the gelatine in one place and don’t pour water into the gelatine. This can cause the gelatine to turn into a big lump immediately.
Rubbery! The gelatine should solidify into a firm rubber. If it doesn’t, then your gelatine is dead – time to get another!
Gently re-melt – Microwave for 15 seconds on high to melt it then mix until lump free.⚠️ Do not let it boil as it can destroy the setting abilities of gelatine.
Cool for 5 minutes while you make the filling. The melted gelatine will be whipped into the filling.
⚠️ Make sure the gelatine does not have a skin on the surface or sides when you pour it in as this will not mix into the cheesecake filling properly. If it does, re-heat for 5 seconds in the microwave.
⚠️ Do not pour hot gelatine into cream or anything that it could melt or deflate. Cool it first but make sure it’s still in liquid form. It’s ok to use slightly warmer than room temperature.
3. MAKE FILLING
I prefer using a handheld electric beater to make the filling as you can move it around the bowl rather than stopping and scraping down the sides like you’d need to do with a stand mixer. You also only need to use one attachment (the whisks). If you use a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to whip the cream, then the paddle attachment for the cream cheese step (stand mixer whisk may aerate it too much because it’s more powerful = large unsightly bubbles + risk of collapse mid-setting).
Whip cream – Put the cream in a bowl and whip it on high for 2 minutes or until stiff peaks form. We’re not looking for silky soft whipped cream, we want full on stiff whipped cream, as this makes our cheesecake beautiful light and fluffy.
Beat cream cheese – Put the cream cheese and sugar in a separate bowl and using the same whisk (no need to clean it), beat for 1 minute on high just until it’s softly smooth. Then add the vanilla, lemon, salt and melted cooled gelatine, then beat it in just until dispersed.⚠️ Don’t beat excessively because it can cause unsightly large air bubbles in the filling (not the end of the world though, I’m just fussy!).
Fold in whipped cream – Using a rubber spatula, fold through about 1/4 of the cream into the cream cheese filling. This lightens up the cream cheese mixture a bit before adding the rest of the cream, so less air is knocked out of the cream.Once the initial cream is mostly mixed through, gently mix through the remaining cream. Don’t stir vigorously as you will knock air out of the whipped cream which will make the cheesecake filling denser than we are aiming for!
Pour the mixture into the prepared crust.
Smooth – Gently spread the filling across the base and smooth the surface.
Set – Cover the pan with a large cutting tray, baking tray or foil (not cling wrap, it might sag and touch the surface). Refrigerate for at least 12 hours until the filling is set.
4. REMOVING FROM THE PAN AND DECORATING
Remove cheesecake from pan – Use the paper overhang to lift the cheesecake out of the pan and transfer it to your serving platter. Then slide the paper out from underneath.
Tips/notes:
– Sagging base: Don’t fret if your base sags a little bit when you lift it out, it still holds together. You’ll see in the recipe video mine is not 100% stiff and straight, and it’s totally ok.
– Stuck! It you were a little too enthusiastic greasing your pan with butter and your cheesecake is stuck, just wet a tea towel with hot water and put the pan on it to accelerate softening the butter without having to leave the cheesecake out for too long (blazing hot Aussie summers are not a friend of cheesecake). It should only take a minute or two.Decorate as you please! Here’s what I did for a Christmas Cheesecake look. First, spread generously with whipped cream.
Pile on berries (I used cherries, raspberries, small strawberries), tuck in orange slices (to break up the visual mass of berries), poke some rosemary sprigs in.
Dust with icing sugar / confectionary sugar. This always makes things look so pretty!
Assemble ahead with stabilised whipped cream!
There you go! My brand new Christmas dessert for 2024 built with practicality in mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment