It was my friend’s birthday. Therefore, I made a simple yet fabulous no-bake yoghurt cheesecake. You are going to love this cheesecake. This cake is refreshing, creamy, light and comes with a flavourful crunchy base. You will feel absolutely great when eating a piece or two of this yummy no-bake yoghurt cheesecake.
I am always looking for kind of an excuse to make something sweet and delicious. I found quite some “excuses” this time. Wink. One, it was my friend’s birthday. Two, it has fewer calories than the classic cheesecake.
Three, since my friend is a Spider-Man fan (btw, have you watched Into the Spider-Verse? Amazing!) and the 4th of July is coming up, I made some blueish and reddish toppings as well. Yes, US Independence Day is all about family reunions, fireworks, concerts, parades and food. But, after a barbecue party with burgers, sausages, steaks and corn, there is a place for a cake as well!
Where was I? Right. Four, there is no baking involved (ok, except if you like to bake the meringue leftovers). Five, you can make it ahead. So there was nothing against it. Wink.
No-bake cheesecake vs classic cheesecake
Like I mentioned before, this no-bake yoghurt cheesecake is nothing like the classic one and nothing close to Japanese cheesecake. While the classic one is loaded with butter, sugar and eggs, this one is filled with Greek yoghurt and some cream cheese. In order to keep the cake stable (it’s made out of 75% yoghurt), I used also some gelatin.
Moreover, for the base, I combined 4 cacao cookies, oats and soft dates. Instead of butter, I simply added water. Warm water helps to amalgamate all the ingredients together. You can add a spoon of honey as well, but here the dates were sweet enough.
Swiss meringue as a topping
Since the cake itself is rather simple (in the preparation and looks), I decided to make also a topping. It’s loaded with sugar because beaten egg whites won’t hold up without sugar. Therefore, sugar is a must and the Swiss meringue is just an option. Wink. You can still top the cheesecake simply with berries. However, I made a Swiss meringue and I added some red and light blue colours to it.
All you need is egg whites, sugar, some food colours and a piping bag. I used Wilton gel colours. I find them pretty cool. Of course, I miscalculated the amounts and I had quite some meringue leftovers. No problem at all! Bake some lovely meringue cookies or make a Pavlova. One last thing, if you decide to pipe the meringue on the cake, keep it in the fridge and avoid shaking it or the meringue will lose the volume and become flat. It will still be delicious but without stiff peaks. Shall we start?
Ingredients for a small round (Ø 16 cm) no-bake yoghurt cheesecake:
- 10 big dates (chopped, no pit, soak them in water if too hard)
- 6 Tbsp of oats
- 4 cacao cookies (crushed)
- 450 g Greek yoghurt
- 200 g cream cheese
- 4 gelatin sheets
- 15 blackberries
Ingredients for (a large bowl of) Swiss meringue:
- 3 egg whites
- 150 g caster sugar
- Wilton gel colours (optional)
First, prepare the base. In a bowl combine cookies, oats and chopped dates. Mix it using a wooden spoon and then add some warm water. Add one spoon at a time until everything starts to become kind of sticky.
Take a springform and line the form’s walls with parchment paper. Now, all you need to do is to put the base mixture into the form. Press the mixture with your fingers, with your palms and spread it evenly around the bottom of the springform. Put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
While the cheesecake’s base is in the fridge, make the filling. Making the cream is very easy. Combine yoghurt and cream cheese in a large bowl. Whisk them until well combined.
Furthermore, soak the gelatin sheets in some cold water. After five minutes, squeeze the water off and heat the gelatin up (in a small saucepan, on medium heat) until it dissolves. Then, remove the pan from the stove and mix in two spoons of the yoghurt mixture. That helps to cool down the gelatin before adding it to the cold batter. At this point, mix the gelatin into the yoghurt mixture.
Take the springform out of the fridge and fill it with the yoghurt mixture. Put it back in the fridge for at least 40 minutes. After that, you can decorate it with the berries of your choice or make the Swiss meringue, as I did.
How to make meringue swirls?
For the Swiss meringue, put the egg whites and sugar in a larger bowl. In a small saucepan simmer some water (1 cm high is enough) and put the bowl on top of it. Don’t let the water touch the bowl. Keep whisking the eggs until the sugar is dissolved. Once you can’t feel the sugar grains between your fingers, remove the bowl from the pan.
Moreover, switch your whisk to an electric hand mixer. Mix on high speed until a lovely shiny white meringue has formed. It should have relatively stiff peaks. At this point, you can add the colours and fold them in with a spatula.
Before decorating the cake, remove the springform and carefully peel the parchment paper off. Pipe the Swiss meringue on your cake and add some blackberries as well. Keep the cake in the fridge until serving it.
Make this delicious no-bake yoghurt cheesecake all Summer long. Turn a long hot day into a delightful moment. Surprise your loved ones on 4th of July and or on a birthday party. Every occasion is a perfect occasion. Taste and love every bite of this creamy, light and flavourful dessert like it’s your last one.
Enjoy!
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
