No-bake mini cheesecakes is made up of light, creamy, and airy cream cheese filling, and buttery and crunchy biscuit crust. The contrast of lush cream cheese filling and crispy biscuit trust is heavenly. Rich and decadent melt-in-mouth little bites of heaven are very simple to make. Make these mini treats to impress a crowd or just your taste buds.
Classic cheesecakes are a delectable delicacy. Its smooth and creamy texture with a deliciously tangy and slightly sweet flavor is pure magic. But making a cheesecake is quite time consuming. And we often end up with not-so-perfect cheesecake. Well these no-bake mini cheesecakes are a hassle free approach to the classic cheesecake recipe.
Just like the classic recipe, but bite-sized. And instead of an oven, these go into the fridge. No water bath, sinking, or cracking cheesecakes. So, the next time you want homemade cheesecake but want it quick and easy, try this recipe. And also because of this hassle-free approach, this recipe is great for beginners.
These no-bake mini cheesecakes recipe is pretty simple and straightforward. Also, it requires only a handful of ingredients. Only requires 15 minutes of prep with couple of hours to chill. Nothing gets easier than this.
Ingredients required
- Digestive biscuits – I have used Marie biscuits but feel free to use whatever you like. Oreo cookies, cream sandwich cookies, or homemade cookies (chocolate shortbread or butter cookies) are great replacements.
- Cream cheese – Don’t use cream cheese spread as they contain salt and has more liquid than fat.
- Brown sugar – Brown sugar adds moisture and flavour to the crust.
- White sugar (powdered) – It helps the heavy cream to thicken and reach stiff peaks also helps in breaking down cream cheese.
- Almonds(chopped) optional- Enhances the taste and flavour and also provides a crunch to the crust. You can use any nuts you prefer. Or you can completely avoid.
- Vanilla extract – Flavour enhancer.
- Heavy/Whipping cream – Provides a creamy, velvety texture to the filling.
- Butter(melted) – To add flavor and bind the crust.
- Salt-Taste enhancer.
How to Make No Bake Mini Cheesecake
The recipe card below has step-by-step directions, but here is a quick summary:
Preparing the crust
- Make crumbs from digestive biscuits by either using a plastic bag and rolling pin or a food processor. Mix these crumbs with brown sugar, salt, chopped almonds and melted butter in a small bowl until combined. Mixture will have the consistency of wet sand.
- Spoon the mixture into a muffin pan lined with liners. With the help of flat bottom utensil, pack it down tightly.
- Place it in the freezer till filling is prepared.
Filling preparation
- Whip the cold whipping/heavy cream and powdered sugar using a hand mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, till stiff peaks appear. Set aside.
- Mix the cream cheese, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and fold in with a spatula until just combined. Spoon or pipe this filling over each crust. Smooth the surface.
Refrigerate
- Place the cheesecakes in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. For best results leave overnight.
- Refrigerate till serving. Serve with optional topping.
Toppings for no-bake mini cheesecakes
These delectable no-bake mini cheesecakes are extremely versatile. They can be paired with dozens of toppings.
- Fresh berries and their sauces
- Jams and fruit preserves
- lemon curd or salted caramel
- Whipped cream
- Fresh fruits
- Chocolate ganache or shavings
The options are limitless.
How to store no-bake mini cheesecakes?
Cheesecakes will become soft and sticky, if left at room temperature for more than 60 minutes. Therefore, keep refrigerated until serving time.
Cover and store leftover mini cheesecakes (without toppings) in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen cheesecakes overnight in the fridge before consumption.
Tips for success
- Whipping/Heavy cream is responsible for the delicious mousse-like consistency, airiness, and solidification of cream cheese filling. Therefore, It is necessary to whip the whipping/heavy cream till stiff peaks appear. For cream to thicken quickly and properly, place the bowl and beater in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before using. And the whipping/heavy cream should be very chill preferably straight from fridge.
- When buying cream cheese make sure to avoid cream cheese spread. The spread contains more liquid and less fat. This can affect the consistency of the filling. Also spread contain a large amount of salt which can affect the taste of the cheesecake.
- Make sure that the cream cheese is at room temperature. Otherwise, there will be lumps in the filling.
- To speed up the chilling process don’t place the cheesecake in the freezer as it may solidify the crust and leave the filling partially chilled. And it will extremely difficult to eat a frozen crust.
- Make sure to properly compact the crust with a flat bottom utensil otherwise, they won’t set properly and might break up.
if you liked this recipe, try these!
No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
crust
- 70 g digestive biscuit/cookies 13 biscuits
- 10 g brown sugar
- 15 g Almonds(chopped) optional
- 25 g Butter(melted) 2 tbsp
- ⅛ tsp salt
filling
- 113 g Cream Cheese(room temperature) ½ cup
- 125 ml Whipping/Heavy cream ½ cup
- 40 g Sugar(powdered) 4 tbsp
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
Crust
- Place the digestive biscuits/cookies in a plastic bag. With the help of a rolling pin crush them to form a crumb. A food processor can be used for this process.
- In a small bowl, combine biscuit crumbs, chopped almonds, brown sugar, salt, and melted butter until evenly combined. Mixture will have the consistency of wet sand.
- Spoon around 1½ Tablespoons of the crust mixture into each cupcake liner and use the back of the spoon or a flat bottom utensil to pack it down tightly. Freeze crusts until set while you prepare the filling, 15 to 20 minutes.
Filling
- Beat the cold whipping/heavy cream and powdered sugar (2 tbsp/20 g) in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Beat cream cheese, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar (2 tbsp/20 g) in a large bowl on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
- With a spatula fold in the heavy/whipped cream, until just combined.
- Spoon or pipe about 2 Tablespoons of filling over each crust. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the tops so they are flat.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. For best results leave them overnight.
- Serve with toppings of your choice.
Notes
- Whipping/Heavy cream is responsible for the delicious mousse-like consistency, airiness, and solidification of cream cheese filling. Therefore, It is necessary to whip the whipping/heavy cream till stiff peaks appear. For the cream to thicken quickly and properly, place the bowl and beater in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before using. And the whipping/heavy cream should be very chill preferably straight from the fridge.
- When buying cream cheese make sure to avoid cream cheese spread. The spread contains more liquid and less fat. This can affect the consistency of the filling. Also spread contain a large amount of salt which can affect the taste of the cheesecake.
- Make sure that the cream cheese is at room temperature. Otherwise, there will be lumps in the filling.
- To speed up the chilling process don’t place the cheesecake in the freezer as it may solidify the crust and leave the filling partially chilled. And it will extremely difficult to eat a frozen crust.
- Make sure to properly compact the crust with a flat bottom utensil otherwise, they won’t set properly and might break up.