Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Biscuit Crust
- 200 g graham crackers or digestive biscuits
- 100 g unsalted butter, melted
- 1 g sea salt, fine
Vanilla Cheesecake Filling
- 500 g cream cheese, full-fat block style, room temperature
- 300 ml heavy whipping cream, cold, at least 35% fat
- 120 g icing sugar
- 10 g vanilla bean paste
- 15 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Spiced Caramel Sauce
- 150 g caster sugar
- 40 ml water
- 90 ml heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 30 g unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 g ground cinnamon
- ½ g ground nutmeg
- 3 g flaky sea salt
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 596 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbohydrates
- 47 g
- Fat
- 44 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 35 g
- Sodium
- 428 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 26 g
- Trans Fat
- 1 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 12 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 3 g
- Cholesterol
- 123 mg
- Potassium
- 145 mg
- Calcium
- 96 mg
- Iron
- 0.9 mg
- Magnesium
- 16 mg
- Phosphorus
- 117 mg
- Zinc
- 0.6 mg
- Vitamin A
- 403 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 1 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.6 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.4 mg
- Vitamin K
- 6 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.07 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.26 mg
- Niacin
- 1.0 mg
- Folate
- 25 mcg
- Water
- 58 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place the biscuits into a food processor and process until they resemble fine breadcrumbs.
Transfer the crushed biscuits to a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly with the melted butter and fine sea salt until evenly moistened.
Transfer the crumb mixture to a 20cm springform pan. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan using the flat bottom of a glass or measuring cup.
In a clean mixing bowl, whip the cold heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside in the refrigerator.
In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla bean paste, and lemon juice together until entirely smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and gently fold it into the cream cheese mixture in three additions, using a flexible spatula. Use a sweeping under-and-over motion to avoid deflating the air.
Spoon the cheesecake filling over the prepared biscuit crust. Smooth the top into an even layer using an offset spatula.
Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight, to allow the filling to set completely.
To make the caramel, combine the caster sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan gently to dissolve the sugar, but do not stir once it begins to boil. Cook until the syrup turns a deep amber color and reaches approximately 175 C / 350 F.
Remove the pan from the heat immediately. Carefully whisk in the heavy cream, followed by the butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flaky sea salt. Caution: the mixture will bubble up violently and steam.
Allow the spiced caramel sauce to cool completely to room temperature before serving. It will thicken as it cools.
To serve, carefully release the outer ring of the springform pan. Cut the chilled cheesecake into slices and generously drizzle with the cooled spiced caramel sauce.
Chef's Notes
- Using full-fat block cream cheese is absolutely critical. Spreadable tub varieties contain a higher ratio of water and air, which will prevent a no-bake cheesecake from ever fully setting.
- The tiny amount of lemon juice serves two purposes: it brightens the rich dairy flavors, but more importantly, the acidity mildly coagulates the dairy proteins, aiding in setting the filling without the need for gelatin.
- When cooking the caramel, use a light-colored saucepan if you have one. It makes judging the color change of the sugar syrup significantly easier, reducing the risk of burning.
- To cut perfect slices, heat the blade of a sharp chef's knife by running it under hot tap water or dipping it in a tall glass of hot water. Wipe the blade entirely dry before making a clean cut, repeating this process for every single slice.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Keep tightly covered to prevent the dairy from absorbing refrigerator odors. Store caramel separately.
Freezer: 1 month — Freeze the cheesecake naked, wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and foil. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Troubleshooting
Cheesecake filling did not set and is too soft to slice cleanly.
Cause: The cream was not whipped to stiff peaks, spreadable tub cream cheese was used instead of block cream cheese, or it did not chill long enough.
Fix: Freeze the cheesecake for 2-3 hours to firm it up before slicing. Keep slices chilled until the moment they are served.
Prevention: Always use full-fat block cream cheese, ensure the heavy cream holds distinct stiff peaks before folding, and respect the minimum 8-hour chill time.
Caramel sauce crystallized and became grainy.
Cause: Stirring the sugar syrup after it began to boil, or sugar crystals clinging to the sides of the pan seeded the mixture.
Fix: Cannot be completely fixed once finished, but reheating the caramel with a splash of water over very low heat can sometimes dissolve minor crystallization.
Prevention: Do not agitate the pan with utensils once the syrup boils. If crystals form on the sides of the pan, brush them down with a wet pastry brush.
Lumps in the cheesecake filling.
Cause: The cream cheese was too cold when beaten with the sugar.
Fix: Pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve before folding in the whipped cream.
Prevention: Allow cream cheese to come to true room temperature before mixing.
Cultural Context
The no-bake cheesecake surged in popularity in mid-20th century America, riding the wave of expanding home refrigeration and the mass commercial availability of processed block cream cheese. While traditional baked New York-style cheesecakes rely on eggs and gentle heat to create a dense custard structure, the no-bake variation utilizes chilled fats and whipped air to offer a significantly lighter, mousse-like texture that acts as an ideal canvas for rich, highly spiced seasonal toppings.
