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A delicious no-bake Jaffa Cake cheesecake with a buttery biscuit base, orange cheesecake, and hidden orange jelly layer, with chocolate ganache!

Another cheesecake!

So I have posted what feels like a million and one cheesecake recipes on this blog, and you all LOVE them. I can comfortably post more and more, as I know they’re basically the most popular recipes on my blog. I have oodles of requests all the time, and I don’t blame you to be honest.. there are so many combinations of recipes out there that I don’t think I will be running out any time soon!

Jaffa cake

One flavour that I have had requested multiple times is anything Jaffa cake related. I will admit, Jelly isn’t my favourite thing in the world so I held off a bit on posting anything till I found something that I actually liked. Turns out, putting jelly into other things makes me hate it a lot less, so it was time.

I have had may a request for homemade Jaffa cakes, mainly since they made it a challenge on ‘The Great British Bake’ off all that time ago, but I just wasn’t feeling making them quite yet. I wanted to make something Jaffa themed, and Cheesecake was quite clearly the answer. After different attempts and ways of making it, I finally settled on this version and I LOVE IT.

Base

It’s basically a no-bake biscuit base (using digestives because classic, and yum) and then an orange cheesecake filling. I went for orange because the Jaffa flavour is orange as well, but you can easily change this up. You could make it chocolate orange if you wanted by adding 100g of melted chocolate to the mix.

Hidden jelly layer

The tricky bit was the jelly layer. I tried doing the biscuit base differently by letting the biscuit base go up the sides and sort of incasing the cheesecake in a way, but when it came to pouring liquid jelly on, it all seeped though and formed a cracking jelly UNDERNEATH my tin and all over my fridge shelf. Time to try again. I tried it where I literally poured the cooled jelly mix onto the cheesecake layer, but it seemed to take F O R E V E R to set.

The best one, was setting the jelly itself on its own, and in a tub, and putting that into the middle of the cheesecake. It also helped my adding 1/5th less of the water to the jelly, so it was firmer. I found adding the normal amount gave me too much jelly, and also made it a bit delicate. Adding in less water, and setting it somewhat in the freezer gave me a firmer set, and much easier to transfer into the cheesecake.

Filling and ganache

I liked the idea of hiding the jelly in the middle of the cheesecake as with a classic Jaffa cake, you can’t actually see the Jelly. You know its there, but its technically hidden. Adding a ring of cheesecake mix around the jelly centre, adding some more cheesecake on top, and smothering in chocolate ganache made it DELICIOUS and sneaky. I love a hidden anything, like the sweets in my Easter piñata cake!

You can obviously go against what I have said completely, but I settled on this design you could say once I had made SEVERAL cheesecakes, and I like this one best. Everything is personal about a recipe, but you do you. Enjoy! X

Jaffa Cake Cheesecake!

A delicious no-bake Jaffa Cake cheesecake with a buttery biscuit base, orange cheesecake, and hidden orange jelly layer, with chocolate ganache!
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Category: Dessert
Type: Cheesecake
Keyword: Jaffa Cake
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12 Slices
Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

Jelly Layer

  • 1 packet orange jelly cubes
  • 400 ml water

Biscuit Base

  • 300 g digestives
  • 150 g unsalted butter (melted)

Cheesecake

  • 500 g full fat cream cheese (philadelphia or mascarpone)
  • 100 g icing sugar
  • 2 tsp orange extract
  • 300 ml double cream

Decoration

  • 100 ml double cream
  • 100 g dark chocolate
  • 12 Jaffa Cakes

Instructions

For the Jelly Layer

  • Add your jelly cubes to a bowl, and pour over 200ml of boiling water. Whisk to dissolve the cubes. 
  • Once dissolved, pour in 200ml of cold water, whisk again. Leave to cool for 10 minutes or so. 
  • Line a shallow round dish with several layers of clingfilm. It's important to use one thats smaller than your cheesecake tin. So I used a 6" wide tub. 
  • Pour the jelly in and add the tub to the freezer so it cools and sets quicker. Once its set, continue with the rest of the cheesecake. 

For the Biscuit Base

  • Add your biscuits to a food processor, or bag, or bowl, and bash/blitz them up to a fine crumb. 
  • Add in your melted butter and stir/blitz to combine. 
  • Pour into an 8"/20cm deep springform tin, and press down firmly. 

For the Cheesecake

  • Add your cream cheese, icing sugar, and orange extract to a large bowl or stand mixer and whisk until smooth. 
  • Pour in the double cream and whisk again until nice and thick. 
  • Spread 1/3 of the mixture onto the biscuit base, and add on the set jelly layer as carefully as you can, and as centrally as you can. 
  • Pipe/spoon the cheesecake mix around the edge of the jelly, and then spread the rest of the cheesecake mix on top. This makes the hidden jelly layer have a yummy cheesecake surrounding. 
  • Set the cheesecake in the fridge for 5-6 hours, or preferably overnight to make a better set. 

Decoration

  • Add your 100ml of double cream to a pan, and bring to just before boiling point. 
  • Chop your dark chocolate up finely and add to a bowl. Pour over the hot cream, and leave for five minutes without stiring. 
  • Once the five minutes are up, stir the ganache until smooth and leave to cool for 10 minutes or so. 
  • Spread it over the top of the cheesecake, and add some Jaffa cakes for decoration. I do one per slice! 
  • Leave to set the ganache slightly before serving, and then enjoy! 

Notes

  • I used the orange Hartleys jelly cubes, and used the entire quantity with less water so it set better making it easier to use in this recipe!
  • This cheesecake will last for 3 days in the fridge once made
  • The ganache on top is optional, you could just drizzle chocolate over, but I think it made it more Jaffa Cake like! 
  • You could use Jaffa Cake's in the base if you want, but I think its a bit of a waste to be honest.
  • You can use orange zest in the cheesecake filling instead if you wished - I would use the zest of one large orange.
  • You can just do a simple layer of jelly, but it can be quite awkward to cut this way, and it often comes away from the tin when opening the tin up after setting. I prefer it the hidden way like a Jaffa Cake!
  • My favourite orange extract to use is this one!

Find my other recipes on my Recipes Page!

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J x

© Jane’s Patisserie. All images & content are copyright protected. Do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words and credit me, or link back to this post for the recipe.

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63 Comments

  1. Jennifer on October 2, 2023 at 12:15 pm

    Want to make this for a friend of her bday as she loves Jaffa cakes. Just wondering if you could do a cake base, instead of a biscuit base, or would it go soggy?? I’d keep everything else the same.

  2. Cyn on June 4, 2023 at 6:29 pm

    5 stars
    Was lovely but…cheesecake did not set enough, quite soft, so I will add some melted white chocolate to the mix next time I make it. Always sets fine for the triple choc cheesecake recipe.

  3. Sue King on December 26, 2022 at 7:08 am

    5 stars
    Made this for Christmas Day dessert. It was delicious, everyone loved it Had a very smug moment when the jelly ended up exactly where it should and in one piece. Left it in the fridge overnight. Made a rookie error of putting the ganache on too early Christmas morning and refrigerating it, was hard to cut. Note to self: add ganache just before serving. Thank you Jane, a delicious recipe

  4. Gill on November 10, 2022 at 12:04 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Jane
    I’ve just made this and it went down a storm. I added a thin layer of sponge o top of the cheesecake, yo make it slightly more authentic delicious. Thank you for another amazing recipe.

  5. Sharon Berry on October 14, 2022 at 7:32 am

    Hi we have set the jelly in the freezer overnight will it still work ok once in the cake ???

    • Jane's Patisserie on October 17, 2022 at 1:15 pm

      Hiya! As long as its completely set, you should be fine! Hope this helps! x



  6. Jordynn on July 31, 2021 at 11:26 am

    5 stars
    Hi Jane,
    I love all your recipes, they’re always so easy to follow and really yummy! Was just wondering if you could give me a little advice, I made this jaffa cake cheesecake yesterday and have left it to set overnight but I was just wondering if the cheesecake needs to come to room temp or anything before putting the chocolate on? Thank you xx

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 31, 2021 at 4:42 pm

      It needs to be kept in the fridge all the time as it’s a fresh product, never bring it to room temp! x



  7. Gemma on July 29, 2021 at 8:08 am

    5 stars
    I love all of your recipes. I have just made the cheesecake. I made the jelly and left it in the freezer for an hour and then transferred it to the fridge overnight. Should I have left it in the freezer? I made the cheesecake the next day but found it really hard transferring the jelly to the cheesecake. I used the lid of a Pyrex dish to make the jelly as it’s quite shallow. Is there a technique for getting the jelly out? I had to plop it on top which then caused it to break. It looks fine as I managed to hide it.

  8. Molly on June 20, 2021 at 9:03 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe!
    I made this cheesecake for Father’s Day – the recipe was easy to follow and the cheesecake is delicious!
    I used a 6 inch spring form cake tin lined with clingfilm for the jelly. I made the jelly on friday, left it in the fridge overnight and then made the cheesecake Saturday morning.
    Leaving the jelly overnight definitely helped as it was easy to move from the tin to the cheesecake – if anyone struggles with the jelly, I’d definitely recommend leaving it overnight in the fridge as it worked well!
    Thank you for the amazing recipe Jane x

    • Jane's Patisserie on June 21, 2021 at 10:09 am

      You are very welcome!xx



  9. Jess on May 20, 2021 at 12:00 pm

    4 stars
    Hi, I absolutely love your recipes! I have just attempted this one and I only had one issue….moving the jelly! Do you freeze yours until it’s pretty much fully frozen? Mine was set and as soon as I took it out of the tray to get it in the cheesecake it just broke apart in my hand. I still put it in there but now it’s more dome like but gonna roll with the punches (can’t waste it after all). But just wondered how long you usually leave yours in the freezer for so that you can move it without it breaking plus any other words of advice if you have any 😂

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 24, 2021 at 12:19 pm

      Hiya, yes you need to freeze it for longer!xx



  10. Karen on April 27, 2021 at 3:44 pm

    5 stars
    Great Recipe
    Easier than I thought and very tasty. I used a pie tin to set the jelly in just the right size for the cheesecake.
    Thanks for sharing the recipe

  11. Jack Mccreath on March 30, 2021 at 8:26 am

    Hi Jane, I can’t get this cheesecake to set. I’m using all the exact ingredients and quantities stated.

    • Marleen Monroe on December 7, 2022 at 8:52 pm

      Same here Jack, I’ve never not had a cheesecake not set
      before but this one totally collapsed and was like a trifle 😞



    • Jane's Patisserie on December 15, 2022 at 1:26 pm

      Hiya! If the jelly was too close to the edge this may have caused some instability, but there is no reason the cheesecake shouldn’t set if made correctly! Hope this helps! x



  12. Kerry on March 15, 2021 at 2:54 am

    5 stars
    Hi! Haven’t made this yet but my British husband loves these Jaffa Cakes so I thought I’d give it a go. Any advice with regard to Jell-O as we don’t have Hartleys nor cubed Jell-O here…do I make the Jell-o let it set and then add to the cheesecake? Wish me luck!!

    • Jane's Patisserie on March 15, 2021 at 11:56 am

      Hii! It depends, you want a slightly stronger jelly than usual, but home-made should be fine!x



  13. Salman on March 14, 2021 at 1:19 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Jane,
    Thanks for the lovely recipe, I made it for my wife on mother’s day. Needless to say that she loves jaffa cake :D.
    I used orange zest and fresh juice to make jelly.

  14. Kirsty on January 8, 2021 at 2:58 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe and I love jaffa cakes so couldn’t go wrong with it.
    My execution of it wasn’t the best and my cream cheese and chocolate layers were uneven but I believe this is partly from my jelly being a bit uneven and breaking on me trying to get it in to the tin.

  15. Emma on December 7, 2020 at 8:13 pm

    5 stars
    I made this a fee months ago it went the very same day with 2 lads to feed I didn’t get a chance lol

  16. Jessica King on August 13, 2020 at 12:08 pm

    Hi Jane, Just made this one, but misread the freezer technique! I popped the jelly in the freezer for an hour, so it was mostly set, and then transferred to the cheesecake, and covered it with the cheese and popped it back in the fridge! Hope this works the same!

    • Jane's Patisserie on August 13, 2020 at 2:30 pm

      That’s exactly what you are meant to do..! x



  17. Tori on July 17, 2020 at 7:35 pm

    5 stars
    Lovely recipe. The cake went down a storm! Thank you x

  18. Liane Bean on May 28, 2020 at 9:30 pm

    Evening Jane,
    Just looking at making this for weekend. Have made jelly, thought I would be smart to set jelly on a cling wrap bowl, hoping it would be easier to pull out.
    Question; should I leave out of fridge before cutting into slices? If chocolate top is hard, would it be difficult to cut if chocolate is different and ruin the cheesecake?

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 29, 2020 at 9:13 am

      Hiya – no you don’t need to leave it out of the fridge. The chocolate is a ganache, so it isn’t hard! You do not want the cheesecake to be left at room temp xx



  19. Iona on May 25, 2020 at 11:37 am

    4 stars
    Tastes lovely but it has just flattened totally with putting jelly in the freezer. All the water has released from frozen jelly as its thawed in the fridge. Next time I may just pop in thr fridge to set the jelly instead of the freezer.

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 25, 2020 at 1:18 pm

      Hey! Oh how strange – you can definitely just use the fridge, the freeze just makes it slightly firmer so easier to move without breaking!



    • Rachel on May 29, 2020 at 11:34 am

      Hello, would it be OK to halve all quantities of this one to make a smaller Cheesecake? Thanks!



    • Jane's Patisserie on May 29, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      Hey! Yes theoretically – half makes about a 6″ cheesecake – I just haven’t made the jelly part of this in half before haha! x



  20. john kavanagh on May 7, 2020 at 2:13 pm

    5 stars
    awesome, worked out perfectly and tasted delicious…just like a big creamy Jaffa

  21. Allison Boulton on May 6, 2020 at 12:49 pm

    5 stars
    Jane, This was my first attempt at your cheesecake, it was perfect and went down exceedingly well, thanks!

    Going to try something else this week.

  22. Natalie Shroeder on May 5, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    5 stars
    What a fabulous recipe – this went down a treat with my family! The recipe is great, easy to follow (though I had never realised before how hard it is to move Jelly but I got there in the end). Will definitely be making this one again!

    • Jane's Patisserie on May 5, 2020 at 2:28 pm

      Hahaha yes it’s definitely tricky, isn’t it!! So glad you liked the recipe!



  23. Sarah on April 29, 2020 at 8:26 am

    Hi Jane! Sorry stupid question- do we put the jelly onto the biscuit base when it’s actually frozen? or set at room temp? Thank you

    • Jane's Patisserie on April 29, 2020 at 9:09 am

      You put a 1/3 of the cheesecake mix on the base first, then add the frozen jelly, and then the rest of the cheesecake around the edges and on top!



  24. Tru on January 20, 2020 at 11:18 am

    5 stars
    Hello,can the cheesecake be Frozen?

    • Jane's Patisserie on January 20, 2020 at 1:54 pm

      I haven’t personally with this one due to the jelly – but I don’t see why not! x



  25. Tristan on September 25, 2019 at 6:37 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Jane, I’m about to make this tomorrow but would just like some guidance on the jelly, is it better to make this the night before and put in the freezer or would say make it in the morning then freezer, make the cheesecake in the afternoon and then take the jelly out?

    You also said you used the entire Hartley cube quantity but with less water, may I ask how much less water?

    Thank you, it looks yummy!

    • Jane's Patisserie on September 25, 2019 at 8:51 pm

      Hiya – you just need to do it so the jelly is frozen. It would be fine to do it either way! And the quantities are in the recipe and method! Thanks!



    • Tru on January 21, 2020 at 10:04 pm

      Thanks Jane,
      I’ve made the cheesecake,it’s turned out great,I just wanted to make it for a dinner play this weekend,that’s why I wanted to freeze it ahead of time!.wish I’d left out the jelly!.i could of put it on the top instead.anyway I will let you know if it freezes.
      Tru



  26. Beverly freegard on July 27, 2019 at 10:48 pm

    5 stars
    I have made this twice now and it always comes out lovely. Your recipes always work well. Thank you for sharing.

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 28, 2019 at 8:57 am

      Awh that’s so lovely! I’m so glad you like it!



  27. Rebecca on June 28, 2019 at 1:48 pm

    5 stars
    Followed your recipe exactly and it went down very well, thank you! Making it again today but am going to use orange zest instead of the essence and I’m going to try with melted chocolate in the cheesecake layer. Attempting to improve on perfection though!!

    • Sarah on May 29, 2020 at 11:28 pm

      How did it turn out using zest please?



  28. Helen on June 2, 2019 at 9:17 am

    5 stars
    Hi Jane, my family pick from your cheesecake list and nominated your Jaffa cake cheesecake cake this weekend; my husband said it was his favourite so far! I made a small separate one for my sister who is a vegetarian ( minus the jelly), and my 8 month old nephew had his 1st taste of jelly, and loved it. Thank you for you recipes, which one next!?

  29. Tru on April 15, 2019 at 11:55 am

    5 stars
    Hello,do you think I could freeze this recipie so that I could make it ahead?

    • Jane's Patisserie on April 15, 2019 at 7:09 pm

      Hiya! I’m sure you can, but I always think fresh is best! x



    • Agatha on March 31, 2022 at 4:45 pm

      Hi, I’m a fan of Jane’s recipes and I have been looking at the Jaffa cheesecake.
      Did you freeze yours and if so how was it when you defrosted it?



  30. Jill on April 2, 2019 at 9:18 pm

    Hi I’m vegetarian so I can’t use the gelatine any other suggestions to create the orange section??

    • Jane's Patisserie on April 2, 2019 at 9:34 pm

      Use a vegetarian jelly, or vegetarian setting agent to make your own jelly!



  31. Helen on September 27, 2018 at 8:27 pm

    I made this for my sons birthday everybody loved it it… great recipe ..I would add the picture but I can’t.

    • Jane's Patisserie on September 28, 2018 at 9:46 am

      Ah amazing! I’m so glad! If you ever want to post a picture you can post it on my facebook page, or tag me on other pages like Instagram.



  32. Catherine Pritchard on August 11, 2018 at 2:29 pm

    5 stars
    I made a giant Jaffa cake and used less water for ease of transfer, I used a cake tin lined with cling fill to set it. Good idea to make the jelly smaller so it’s concealed in the cheesecake. Thanks for another yummy recipe

  33. Mary on July 19, 2018 at 6:12 pm

    Hi! This cake looks delicious ! As all of your recipes do!
    What is Hartley jelly cubes? I’m in the US would that be like a pkg of orange gelatin?
    Thank You 😊

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 19, 2018 at 6:19 pm

      I’m afraid I don’t know as I have never seen American jelly packets as I’m based in the UK. Hartleys jelly cubes are a packet of orange cubes that you melt down to form the jelly which contain the gelatine needed for setting x



  34. Amy on July 19, 2018 at 9:23 am

    5 stars
    Could I put orange zest into the cheesecake for a stronger flavour? Btw I love all your recipes!

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 19, 2018 at 6:18 pm

      Yeah you can! Its equal to the orange extract so any orange flavouring works x



  35. Abby A on July 17, 2018 at 1:23 pm

    I dont like jelly in my cheesecake. If I make this cheesecake and if I don’t want to add any jelly to my cheesecake do I just skip the “For the jelly layer” in the “instructions” section and move on to the next step called the “For the Biscuit Base”?

  36. Sally Gillibrand on July 16, 2018 at 9:37 am

    4 stars
    Hello Jane,
    Thank you so much for your recipes, I love them and so do my family!
    I too, don’t like jelly, so when I made some Jaffa cakes once, I used sieved marmalade mixed with the orange jelly to get the slightly less “rubbery” texture. I’m wondering if this might work in your Jaffacake cheesecake recipe too. I may give it a go this weekend, following the rest of your recipe to the letter of course.

    • Jane's Patisserie on July 16, 2018 at 9:50 am

      Hiya! Ah thank you. I’m sure that would be lovely. Can I ask what would make this recipe 5 stars if you haven’t tried it yet?



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