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It was my birthday yesterday – I’m finally 18! This means that we had to celebrate with cake. Cheesecake. In fact, this no-bake lemon cheesecake is my absolute favourite dessert and I’ve requested it for my birthday for the last 5 years! Plus, there’s no gelatin needed which means that it’s both vegetarian and super creamy!
Now, the crust is actually made with chocolate hobnob biscuits, but you can use digestive biscuits instead (graham crackers for you Americans!). We have tried it with gingersnap biscuits before, but it was too hard to cut; it cracked and fell apart! So, while it tasted delicious, we now usually use chocolate hobnobs for our no-bake cheesecake base.
This is where this recipe starts to get a little time consuming; you have to leave the base to set in the fridge before you make your lemon cheesecake filling. So, in that time you can either make something else, take a nap or watch tv – it’s up to you!
When you make your cheesecake filling, the thing that sets it is actually the lemon juice. Therefore, it’s best to use fresh lemon juice and the quantity you need will actually vary. This depends on the weather, your lemons and so many other things that it’s hard to predict! For us, it’s usually around 7 tbsp lemon juice, but if you’re unsure then add a little more – it won’t do any harm!
If you were to use too little lemon juice and it didn’t set properly, that’s ok! It happens to us sometimes even though we’ve been making it for years. It still tastes delicious, it just won’t set. So when you cut it, all the filling will gently ooze into the gap! I’ve eaten a few like this and trust me, they’re still impossible to resist! Sure, it looks better if they set, but what really matters is the taste and this recipe certainly won’t let you down there!
Then, you just spread your filling inside your cheesecake base, leave the whole thing to set in the fridge, and voila! All ready to eat! In fact, sometimes we have a little bit of the cheesecake filling leftover and just spoon it on to biscuits to eat just like that. It’s so good! I’d probably live off this cheesecake if I could, honestly. And that is what makes it the ultimate no-bake lemon cheesecake – it just tastes best!
In fact, the filling for this cheesecake tastes rather like my white chocolate frosting for my strawberry and white chocolate cupcakes! I did eat that frosting on biscuits too. While this cheesecake doesn’t include white chocolate, it would still be great on cupcakes! Although, no-bake cheesecake filling might be a little too runny to pipe neatly!
Another similar type of recipe is my berry cheesecake breakfast bowl. It’s a little lighter on the sugar and has plenty of fresh berries, making it a perfect summer breakfast.
Do I need any special equipment to make this cheesecake?
Honestly? Not really!
You will need to use a food processor to whizz the biscuits up into crumbs. It’s much faster and easier than bashing them with a rolling pin.
After all, with a food processor, you can gradually add the butter while it mixes the crumbs so that it becomes well-distributed. Otherwise, some areas of your base might be more buttery than others – and potentially to chewy, while drier areas may be more crumbly and fall apart when you slice your cheesecake.
You’ll also need a hand mixer in order to whip the cream for the filling. Technically, you could whisk it by hand but I know that I don’t have arms that strong and I’m sure that I’m not the only one!
You also may need to buy a flan dish if you don’t have another dish of a similar size and shape. If you do end up needing to buy one then don’t despair – they have plenty of uses besides flans!
Of course, there’s also the usual equipment that most people already own, including:
- a can opener for the condensed milk
- a juicer so that you can use fresh lemon juice rather than pre-bottled
- a zester or microplane so that you can decorate it with nice, fresh lemon zest
- electric kitchen scales – after all, how else are you going to measure out your ingredients?
Equipment Recommendations for those in the UK:
The Ultimate No-bake Lemon Cheesecake
This no-bake lemon cheesecake is our secret family recipe, saved to be brought out on special occasions only! It's light, creamy, and super simple to make! Plus, there's no gelatin needed which makes it suitable for vegetarians!
Ingredients
Base
- 525 g (18.5 oz) chocolate hobnob biscuits, 2 regular packets
- 70 g (5 tbsp) butter
- 3 tbsp golden syrup
Filling
- 250 ml (1 cup) double (heavy) cream
- 250 ml (1 cup) condensed milk
- 225 g (8 oz) cream cheese
- 7 tbsp lemon juice, 3-4 lemons
- lemon zest (optional), to decorate
Instructions
Base
- Blitz biscuits in a food processor until crumbed. Generously grease a 10" flan dish.
- Over low heat, melt the butter and golden syrup together.
- With the food processor on low speed, slowly add the melted butter and syrup to the biscuit crumbs. A sticky base mixture should start to form. You may need to finish combining them by hand.
- Spread the base mixture evenly around the base and up the sides of the dish, making sure to fill in any gaps or cracks. Press it down slightly to ensure it is solid. Chill for 1/2 hour minimum.
Filling
- Using a hand whisk, mix the heavy cream until thickened.
- Add the condensed milk and cream cheese. Stir to combine thoroughly.
- Gradually add lemon juice and mix it in. Stop the mixer and take the bowl from the machine. Give it a gentle shake. The mix will hold together and ripple if it is set. If it still looks runny you need to add more lemon juice (up to 10 tbsp total without greatly affecting the flavour).
- Spoon the filling mixture in to the base and spread evenly with the back of a spoon. Chill for at least 2 hours to set.
- Garnish with chopped chocolate flake and lemon zest and serve. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Chocolate hobnob biscuits can be swapped for digestives (graham crackers) or ginger biscuits.
If you live somewhere hot, you may need more lemon juice for the cheesecake filling to set. It will also melt quickly if left out of the fridge for long on hot days.
The cake keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 703Total Fat: 41gSaturated Fat: 25gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 265mgCarbohydrates: 76gFiber: 4gSugar: 63gProtein: 11g
All nutrition values are an estimate and may vary.
If you like this recipe and are looking for more delicious desserts, try my strawberry & white chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese frosting, or how about my 4-ingredient almond milk pancakes – they might sound more of a brunch than a dessert, but trust me – they’re delicious and easy enough to eat any time!
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Happy Birthday! This looks amazing and I love the idea of using chocolate Hob Nobs for the crust 🙂
Thank you so much! It really is the ultimate cheesecake – it’s good enough with plain digestives but the chocolate hobnobs really do just take it over the top!
It’s so cozy
Oh this looks so good – I can well understand why you’d want it for your birthday! I hope you had a wonderful 18th birthday 😀 Eb x
Thank you so much – my birthday was great! It tastes as good as it looks too, trust me – it’s always a race to eat as much as possible before it all disappears to other people’s plates!
I also just lemon cheesecake and have been known to request it instead of cake for my birthday! Yours looks delicious! #cookblogshare
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who prefers cheesecake to traditional cake! I’m so glad you like the look of this one – can I ask if you have a recipe for your favourite one posted anywhere? I’d love to take a look!
Happy Birthday! I hope you had a lovely day. The cheesecake looks gorgeous – I think it’s cheesecake as I’ve seen lots about but I love them so I’m not complaining!
Thank you! My birthday was a really good day! I’m so glad you like the look of it – personally, for me, no-bake cheesecake always beats the baked versions – they’re so much creamier!
A lovely fresh treat for this sunny weather!
Absolutely! It’s been so lovely here over the last week or so that it really is starting to feel like summer – the best time of year for cheesecake!
Happy Birthday! Lemon cheeseckae looks delicious and irresistible, hobnobs my favourite and I too have used in my cheesecake crust 🙂
Thank you! The cheesecake absolutely is irresistible, and I’m so glad we aren’t the first to try chocolate hobnobs in a cheesecake crust – they’re the perfect match to the creamy filling and I feel like the whole world needs to know that!
Happy Belated Birthday Hannah! Absolutely love this cheesecake and how beautifully creamy it is! It doesn’t surprise me it is your birthday treat of choice 🙂 Thank you for sharing with #BakingCrumbs
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you like it – it really is our top family recipe ever! I imagine that I’ll still be requesting it every year for birthdays to come too!
Hope you had a fab birthday! No bake Lemon Cheesecake is an all time great and one that I feel very passionate about too! I could eat it every single day! Beautiful photos. This one looks super delicious! Thank you for sharing with #BakingCrumbs
Thank you so much! I could eat it every day too – it’s just the perfect dessert for every occasion! Thank you so much for your compliments on the photos – it took me quite a while to photograph decently but I’m very happy with how they turned out! We also often top it with chopped up chocolate flake or lemon zest – extra chocolate and lemon never hurt anyone!
Genius idea!
Happy birthday! This looks so delicious and creamy 🙂
Thank you so much! It really is super smooth and creamy – there’s a reason it’s our favourite recipe! Baked cheesecakes just can’t compare!
This cheesecake looks delicious! Definitely going to have to try making this sometime soon 🙂
I hope you enjoy it! It’s 100% the best cheesecake I’ve ever had so I hope you think the same – please do let me know what you think!
Looks very good, thank you very much
Thanks – I’m really glad that you like the look of this cheesecake!
Looks very good and easy, thank you very much
It really is easy! I’m really glad that you think it looks good too!
I have a couple q
uestions. What is golden syrup and do we have choclate hob nobs in America.. Is condensed milk sweetened?
Lovely cake and wish you many j birthdays.
Sandy
Golden syrup is similar to maple syrup and no, I don’t believe you have chocolate hobnobs in America but it works just as well with graham crackers. We don’t use sweetened condensed milk here – regular works fine, but if you want to use sweetened then that should work just fine!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy the cheesecake!
love lemon cheesecake – no bake is perfect for the sumer
Agreed! I always prefer no-bake cheesecakes – they’re so much creamier!