No-bake Strawberry cheesecake

No-bake strawberry cheesecake with Graham cracker crust is one of the most popular desserts all around the world and no wonder why! It is phenomenal as the silky ultra-creamy cheese filling meets the fruity strawberry compote in the crunchy, sweet Graham cracker crust. This is an absolutely no-fuss strawberry cheesecake recipe, no baking involved, no issue around the water bath, you do not even have to turn the oven on. Equally delicious as its baked counterpart without all the hassle!

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• Ingredient notes
• 5 Expert tips
• Recipe FAQs
• Other No-bake Cheesecake recipes
• RECIPE CARD
• No bake Strawberry cheesecake

Ingredient notes

For the Graham cracker crust (or Digestive crust)

1. Butter: Use always unsalted as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using European-style 82% fat content butter in all my recipes. The butter needs to be melted. See my notes about the “technique” below
2. Biscuit: All you need is biscuit crumbs eg. Graham cracker or Digestive, you can even bake your own biscuit if fancy making it totally from scratch
3. Sugar: No need extra sugar for the crust given the biscuit already contains enough sugar and it will be crunchy anyway
4. Salt: An essential ingredient in most of the dessert recipes. Balances flavor and enhances other ingredients. This is a lovely sweet crust and I just love that extra very mild salty kick at the end

Please make sure you read my tutorial about the perfect cheesecake crust!

For the cream cheese filling

1. Gelatin: It´s an odorless, tasteless, and colorless thickening agent, very often used in pastries particularly in mousse cakes. Powder or sheet versions are available, in my recipes I always use sheet (1,7 g / sheet), which I found easier to handle. Simple soak the gelatin sheet into cold water for a few minutes before you need them and use it according to the recipe. Powder gelatin can be used 1:1 so when I state 1 gelatin sheet that means 1,7 g gelatin powder. Please note that gelatin is not suitable for vegetarians. Agar-agar can be a good substitution for vegetarians however replacing gelatin with agar-agar is not 1:1. If using agar-agar, check the conversion rate to gelatin and adjust the quantity accordingly.
2. Heavy whipping cream: Also known as heavy cream, has a fat content between 36% and 40%, I usually use double cream that contains 36% fat. Use it very cold and do not substitute with vegetable-based “whipping cream”. Heavy cream will make the Strawberry cheesecake filling extra smooth and creamy, effectively a mousse-like consistency
3. Granulated sugar: I use simple, white granulated sugar, nothing fancy. I do not use a lot of sugar in this cheesecake so feel free to adjust the quantity if desired. While heating it up with cream make sure the sugar granulates fully dissolve. If you want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read my article in here.
4. Cream cheese: I always use a full-fat Philadelphia tub when I state cream cheese in my recipes. I find it easy to cream (need to bring it to room temperature first) and very pleasant in taste, perfect for this Strawberry cheesecake. I usually beat it with a hand mixer for less than a minute, just until it becomes fluffy and increases a bit in volume to avoid over whipping
5. Vanilla: Please please avoid using artificial vanilla. There are several great brands for fine, pure vanilla, I use Nielsen massey which I love and really recommend. I use vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract which has lovely vanilla bits in there too

For the strawberry topping

1. Strawberry: Fresh or frozen strawberries both work well here. I just love how the natural strawberry flavour without using tons of sugar meets the silky cream cheese in this No-bake Strawberry cheesecake. It is so simple yet so delicious!
2. Sugar: Simple granulated sugar is fine to make the topping
3. Lemon juice: Use a small amount freshly squeezed. Lemon juice is needed to balance the sweetness, it won´t taste lemony
4. Gelatin: See notes above

5 Expert tips

Making this No-bake Strawberry cheesecake is really so easy! Absolutely hassle-free, no need to worry about issues like water bath, cracking, collapsing, etc. Yet, I have some important tips for you below so your cheesecake will turn out exactly like mine!

1. How to prepare the perfect Graham cracker crust

Please make sure you read my tutorial about the perfect cheesecake crust!

You can use this crust for making any other kind of cheesecake or can even replace some part of the biscuit with another ingredient eg. nut. This cheesecake crust is super easy however I still have some important tips for you to make sure that your crust will turn out neat and stable to hold the filling:

• Mix butter and biscuit crumb while butter is runny (melted). Butter will act as a binding agent in the recipe. Once it is cooled in the fridge, it will set creating a crunchy, but firm crust to hold the filling. You might have a bad experience from the past with cheesecake crust being too crumbly and not holding its shape, it’s probably due to not enough butter in the recipe
• When butter is melted the mixture might be runny depending on the temperature of the butter but do not add more gracker crumbs. If you feel that mixture is too runny, pop it into the fridge for 5 minutes, it will set very quickly into a consistency you can use making the crust with
• The one and only secret of making a firm, neat crust is to press crumbs firmly and evenly into the side and the bottom of your cake ring. Start with the side and work your way up then when it looks neat and even, continue with the bottom. Find some equipment in your kitchen eg. bend a spoon and use it to really press the crust. I spent probably a good 10-15 minutes just focusing on the crust making sure that it is even on the side and really neat. Place your crust into the freezer and let it set while you are preparing the filling

2. How to prepare the cream cheese filling

Preparing the filling of this No-bake Strawberry cheesecake could not be simpler, one thing that can go wrong is over mixing instead of gently folding which would result in runny consistency. Do not attempt to cut corners and reduce the number of steps, there is a reason why we whip the ingredients separately then fold them together in a particular order.

• Step 1: Prepare the gelatin mixture; heat together cream and sugar just until simmering, then mix gelatin sheets in. Once everything is mixed, the key here is to bring the mixture down to lukewarm temperature before step 2. Too warm? It will melt cream cheese in Step 2. Too cold? Gelatin will set and will be impossible to mix with the rest of the ingredients. Do not place the mixture into the fridge to speed up the chilling process as gelatin can start to form lumps
• Step 2: Beat cream cheese until fluffy, for about a minute. Cream cheese is an interesting ingredient, it won´t get more fluffy or harder if you beat it longer, in fact, it will break and become runny. I suggest using an Electric hand mixer  to avoid overbeating. Fold whipped cream cheese mixture into the gelatin mixture
• Step 3: Whip heavy cream until soft peaks. Make sure heavy cream is very cold or it might be difficult to whip up. While whipping heavy cream, remember that it will go through the following stages: runny, soft peak, stiff peak then it will break and a few minutes later buttermilk separates and you can make butter. For this recipe make sure you stop at a soft peak so it will be easy to fold the mixture together and keep the mixture fluffy without breaking it. Fold whipped cream into the rest of the ingredients

Use cream cheese filling immediately. The filling must be fluffy, airy although it won´t be stiff at this point. Don´t worry, it will set in a few hours due to the gelatin added at step 1

That´s it! Remember, making this cream cheese filling in fact very easy but a step-by-step process. Feel free to flavor it with vanilla, a small amount of lemon juice, etc.

3. How to make the strawberry topping

You can make cheesecake with almost any topping, this one is made with a few ingredients super easy and quick strawberry compote. I like to have a thick layer of fruit on top of the creamy cream cheese filling but feel free to adjust the quantity according to your preference.

• Cook strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice until the mixture slightly thickens about 10-15 minutes. Monitor the consistency as the cooking time can vary depending on the saucepan, stove and whether you are using frozen or fresh strawberries. The mixture should not fully thicken, we are not aiming to make jam, but the majority of the water should evaporate
• Soak gelatin sheets into cold water
• Squeeze excess water from the gelatin and stir into the strawberry mixture
• Then wait. You will have to find the perfect moment to pour the strawberry mixture onto the cheesecake. If too hot, it will melt the cheese cream. If too cold, the gelatin will already set and you won´t be able to pour the mixture. Aim to pour the compote over when it is neither hot nor cold, somewhere in between at room temperature

Please note that the quantity of the gelatin sheet will depend on how thick you cook the mixture so you might need slightly more or less.

4. How to assemble the cheesecake

Patience is key when making mousse-type cakes, like this No-bake Strawberry cheesecake. You just can’t rush certain steps or it will make a mess. It is a super simple recipe, but you have to respect time, concretely leaving enough time in between the steps until each phase sets.

• Freeze the crust for 30 minutes while preparing the cream cheese mousse filling
• Make the cream cheese filling and pipe or pour it into the cold crust
• Move cheesecake into the fridge and let it set for a minimum of 1-2 hours. Do not attempt to proceed with the strawberry topping before the cheesecake top is properly set or they will melt together
• Make the strawberry topping and let it cool to about room temp. You want it to be warm enough to be able to pour before it sets but not hot that would melt the cheesecake
• Once strawberry compote is on top of the cheesecake again put it back to the fridge for min 4 hours to set. Do not attempt to open the cake ring before that.
• Don´t forget to leave some cream and compote for later to decorate the cake, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate
• After 4 hours carefully remove the cake ring, move the remaining cream and topping into a piping bag and decorate your strawberry cheesecake

5. Equipment notes

You will be pleased to hear that making this No-bake Strawberry cheesecake does not require too much equipment!

For assembling the cheesecake I am using a Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size) set to 16cm / 6 inches. I really like the neat tall design of it, however, it does not have a bottom so I make one using a spring form bottom and kitchen foil. Alternatively, use a springform pan but please note that it does not have such a neat side.

For pressing the crumb together I suggest using a spoon that you can bend, it´s that simple!

Use an Electric hand mixer to whip the cream cheese and heavy cream, and a Rubber spatula is absolutely crucial to fold the cream without breaking it.

Last but least, for the decoration use a Piping bag with a simple 1A Round nozzle tip.

Recipe FAQs

Other No-bake Cheesecake recipes

• Pistachio cheesecake recipe: If you are a cheesecake and pistachio lover and like to make delicious desserts without a lot of fuss, this will be a recipe you will love! A No-bake, no problem recipe! Recipe in here
• Oreo cheesecake recipe: Crunchy, decorative Oreo crust filled with extra smooth vanilla cream cheese mousse with hidden Oreo pieces! Recipe in here
• Raspberry cheesecake recipe: Silky, ultra creamy lemony cheese filling meets raspberry compote in this crunchy, sweet crust that is enhanced with freezed dried raspberries for the ultimate luxurious taste. Recipe in here

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