No-bake cheesecake reminded me so much of my younger days, barely out of university and sharing a 3-bedroom flat with a few fantastic girlfriends. For lack of equipment and baking skill, we were very excited when we stumbled upon a cheesecake recipe that did not require baking.
This week I was in the mood for something creamy, yet I was too lazy to turn on my oven (I just came back from 2 weeks holiday in Indonesia where I slept, ate, and read books everyday. My limbs still refused to cooperate :-P) Hence, I decided to revisit no-bake cheesecake for my husband’s 29th birthday.
The base recipe for the cheesecake is an improved version of the one my girlfriends and I used to follow many years ago, while the Tim Tam was inspired by another recipe I saw on the newspaper some time ago.
Shopping list:
- 500gr cream cheese at room temperature (it’s important to ensure cream cheese is soft enough for the texture of the cheesecake to be smooth)
- 225gr digestive biscuits
- 7 tbsp butter, melted; plus 2 tbsp set aside
- 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
- 15 pieces of Tim Tam biscuits (I mixed Classic Dark Chocolate and Black Forrest. Feel free to use your favorite Tim Tam flavor)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1/2 cup thickened cream
- 1 tsp gelatin
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup chocolate, roughly chopped
Mixing steps:
- Line the bottom of 9-inch round springform pan with baking paper or aluminium foil. This is to allow easy transfer to serving plate later on.
- Ground digestive biscuits in food processor. Mix with melted butter (7 tbsp) and press into the base of the pan until it forms an even layer. Place the pan in the freezer.
- Pour gelatin into warm water and let it sit for a couple of minutes before stirring.
- Place Tim Tam in ziplock bag and crush them with rolling pin until they are roughly the size of pebbles.
- In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and gelatin water with electric mixer until smooth. In another bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold cream into cream cheese mixture, followed by crushed Tim Tam until well combined.
- Remove baking pan from the freezer and pour in cream cheese mixture. Smooth out the surface using a spatula. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Melt chocolate with remaining 2 tbsp butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Drizzle over cheesecake with a spoon. Continue to refrigerate until ready to serve.
This recipe results in a cheesecake with the right texture and level of creaminess for me. It’s smooth and filling, exactly how I like my cheesecake to be. So be sure not to eat a heavy lunch or dinner if you wish to indulge on a piece of this.
Next time, I’m gonna replace Tim Tam with tiny bits of strawberry and clusters of graham cracker. It’s gonna be just like one of my favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavors; Strawberry Cheesecake 🙂
The Hikikomori Traveler 