No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake – Back to Basics

A Delicious, Sweet and Easy No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake! Part of my Back-To-Basics Series!

So heyyy there, I’m back with another Back to Basics recipe! That’s right, I thought I would post another delicious recipe, but explain it down to the ground so that anyone and everyone can enjoy it and make it! 

This is my fifth recipe in my Back to Basics series, and I am loving them all so far! Everything else has either been Vanilla themed, or Chocolate themed, so I thought I would delve down the lemon route. 

My No-Bake Vanilla Cheesecake was a wonderful hit in the Back to Basics series, so I know you will all love this fresh and fruity No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake as well! 

The basic premise of this No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake is extremely similar to the Vanilla version. The only real difference is swapping out the Vanilla for the Lemon! 

The reason that I thought posting a new recipe for such a similar recipe, is partly because people google for a certain recipe, and this version will come up, as well as the other one. Also, because who doesn’t love a new recipe?!

For this beauty, I thought I would use Shortbread Biscuits in the base of the Cheesecake. This is to show that you can use pretty much any and all biscuits for a cheesecake base! I mainly use Digestives as they’re so classic, but Shortbread is delightful. 

Blitzing up shortbread for a biscuit base, add a little melted butter, and pressing into the bottom of an 8″/20cm Deep Springform Tin and squishing it down firmly results in a delicious biscuity base. 

If you wanted to use another biscuit that is basic, and not covered in chocolate and has no filling, the butter is always 150g. If you are using a biscuit with a filling (such as an Oreo) or a Chocolate Digestive, lower the butter to 125g. 

The reason you have to change the amount of butter is that the butter can make the filling/chocolate melt, and too much butter for those biscuits would be a greasy mess. Shortbread and Digestives are interchangeable, however!

For this recipe, I use Philadelphia Original. It’s the full-fat version, and this is the only version you should use! You cannot use the light, or lightest ones, as it won’t set. You can use Mascarpone instead, or a shop own-brand cream cheese instead. 

I prefer Philadelphia original for this particular recipe, as the tartness of the Cream Cheese mixes really well with the Lemon juice, but if you prefer it sweeter, you can use Mascarpone. 

One key point about Mascarpone, however, it is more likely to split in comparison to Philadephia as it needs less whipping in general! If you are in other countries, you just need to use your fattiest cream cheese you can find!

So, once you whisk your Cream Cheese and Icing Sugar together so that they are smooth, you can pour in your liquid double cream. I MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer to do it this way, but you can whip the cream separately and fold it in. 

Once I have started whisking in the liquid double cream, and it has started to thicken, I will slowly pour in the lemon juice as it whisks. The lemon juice, as long as it’s not added too quickly, will thicken the mixture quite a bit. 

If you want your cheesecake to be a bit more ‘yellow’ to represent the flavour of the cheesecake, you add the food colouring in at the same time as the lemon juice. Once all finished and delicious, spread it over the base, and leave the cheesecake to set in the fridge for AT LEAST 5-6, or preferably overnight. 

Leave the cheesecake the longer, the better. Some times, I have accidentally forgotten or neglected to decorate a cheesecake for a couple of days, and taken it out of the tin and it’s set PERFECTLY. If you find after setting overnight, your cheesecake is still very soft, it wasn’t whisked up enough.

I then decorate my cheesecake as per usual, with some whipped cream swirls, and the theme of the cheesecake. This time? Lemon slices, and lemon zest. All done, and delicious. The cheesecake is light, moussey, and DELIGHTFUL. Enjoy. x

4.17 from 6 votes

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No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake!

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Setting Time

6 hrs

Total Time

6 hrs 25 mins

 

A Delicious, Sweet and Easy No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake! Part of my Back-To-Basics Series!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Cheesecake

Keyword: Lemon, No-Bake

Servings: 14 Slices

Calories: 475 kcal

Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

Biscuit Base!

• 300 g Shortbread Biscuits
• 150 g Unsalted Butter

Cheesecake Mix!

• 600 g Full-Fat Cream Cheese
• 100 g Icing Sugar
• 300 ml Double Cream
• 75 ml Lemon Juice (about 3 lemons)

Decoration!

• 150 ml Double Cream
• 2 tbsp Icing Sugar
• Lemon Slices
• Lemon Zest

Grams - Ounces

Instructions

For the Biscuit Base!

1. Blitz your Shortbread Biscuits to a fine crumb. Melt your Unsalted Butter carefully, and then add into your biscuits.

2. Blitz the biscuits again to combine, and add to the bottom of your 8"/20cm Deep Springform Tin.

For the Cheesecake Mix!

1. Add your Cream Cheese to a stand mixer bowl, or a large bowl. Add in your Icing Sugar, and whisk till smooth using the whisk attachment on the Stand Mixer, or using the whisks on your Electric Hand Whisk.

2. Pour in your Double Cream, and whisk. As the mixture is starting to thicken, add in your Lemon Juice (and yellow food colouring if using), and whisk again.

3. Continue to whisk until very thick. Be careful to check the mixture frequently to see how thick it is, and fold through with a spatula to make it all even.

4. Once whisked, spread over the Biscuit Base, and then leave to set in the fridge fully for at least 5-6 hours, or preferably over night for longer.

For the Decoration!

1. Whisk together your Double Cream and Icing Sugar until pipeable. Pipe onto your Cheesecake with your favourite tip.

2. Add a bit of Lemon per slice, and sprinkle over some Lemon Zest.

Recipe Notes

• This Cheesecake will last for 3 days, in a fridge. 
• I recommend using this 8"/20cm Springform Tin. 
• I use a 2d Closed Star Piping Tip to decorate this Cheesecake!
• I use 600g Cream Cheese as I like the tin to be full. You can use 500g instead, or up to 750g and the recipe will still work. 

 

Nutrition Facts

No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake!

Amount Per Serving

Calories 475 Calories from Fat 360

% Daily Value*

Fat 40g62%

Saturated Fat 22g138%

Cholesterol 119mg40%

Sodium 263mg11%

Potassium 113mg3%

Carbohydrates 25g8%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 13g14%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 1335IU27%

Vitamin C 2.2mg3%

Calcium 73mg7%

Iron 0.8mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. These are only estimates.

Enjoy!

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.