Easy No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake – A delicious lemon cheesecake with a crunchy biscuit base that’s absolutely packed full of flavour from the fresh lemon zest and juice. It’s unbelievably moreish!
Introducing one of the most moreish desserts I’ve ever made – No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake.
This lemon cheesecake is a dessert I hadn’t really expected to share on here. The simple reason is that until recently, I didn’t think I was particularly fussed on either cheesecakes or lemon desserts (so I really wouldn’t go for something that combined the two).
This stems back to the fact that I wasn’t keen on them as a child, and like a stubborn child I flatly refused to give them another go until recently. You may have guessed by the regular stream of both lemon desserts and cheesecakes appearing on here in recent months, I’ve completely changed my mind.
I realised that as my tastes had changed when it came to so many other foods, they had probably done so with both lemons and cheesecakes too, and I’m so glad I decided to give them another go. I have to say that this lemon cheesecake is one of the most moreish desserts I’ve ever eaten. It’s quite light, while still being packed full of flavour, so I could keep eating it for ages. In the end, I had to pop the rest of the leftover cheesecake into the freezer to stop me polishing it all off!
❄️ SUITABLE FOR FREEZING
This cheesecake freezes brilliantly. However, I would recommend adding both the fresh cream and lemon slices to the top just before serving as the cream will go grainy if it’s frozen and then defrosted.
To freeze the cheesecake, either:
- Keep it in the tin (if the tin is freezer-safe) – cover the top with clingfilm to protect it.
- Store it in an airtight container
- Wrap it in clingfilm – pop it into the freezer for a couple of hours on a freezer-safe plate (either uncovered or loosely covered with clingfilm. Once it is firm, you can remove it from the plate and wrap it with clingfilm. It’ll hold its shape well despite not being in a container (as long as you don’t pack it in too tightly!). When you remove it from the freezer, take off the clingfilm immediately (otherwise it will stick to the cheesecake mixture). If you find there are some clingfilm marks on the surface of your cheesecake, simply run a palette knife around the edge to smooth it.
For all of these options, make sure you put the cheesecake onto your serving dish when you take it out of the freezer as it’s much harder to move once it has defrosted.
FREE FROM/SUITABLE FOR
The ingredients I used to make this recipe are all free from the following allergens. However, please check any labels carefully for allergens you need to avoid as brands can vary, and product recipes can change over time.
- Suitable for Vegetarians
- Egg-Free
- Tree Nut-Free
- Peanut-Free
- Sesame-Free
- Soya-Free
- Sulphur Dioxide & Sulphite-Free
- Lupin-Free
This lemon cheesecake can be made gluten-free by switching the digestive biscuits for a gluten-free alternative.
FREE GRAMS TO CUPS CONVERSION CHARTS
Subscribe to the Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen mailing list to get your FREE printable grams to cups and cups to grams conversion charts for twelve popular baking ingredients
Easy Lemon Cheesecake (No Bake)
INGREDIENTS
- 100 g digestive biscuits
- 40 g butter
- 250 g cream cheese - I use Philadelphia
- 280 ml double cream - 300g – I prefer to weigh my cream as then I can pour it straight into the bowl I’ll be whipping it in
- 100 g caster sugar
- Zest of 2½ lemons
- 5 tsp lemon juice - This is the juice of just under 2 lemons
To decorate
- 75 ml double cream - 80g
- 4 slices of lemon (halved)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Line the base of an 18cm round loose bottomed tin with greaseproof paper or a reusable baking liner.
- Melt the butter (40g).Crush the digestive biscuits (100g). Mix together the crushed biscuits and melted butter. Put the biscuit mix into the prepared tin and use the back of a spoon to push it flat. Put the tin into the fridge to chill while you make the topping.
- Finely grate the zest of 2½ lemons. Squeeze out the juice until you have enough for 5 tsp and set aside.
- Whip the double cream (280ml/300g) until it forms a soft peak. Add the cream cheese (250g), caster sugar (100g), lemon zest and lemon juice.Whisk together until combined and thick.
- Remove the tin from the fridge and add the lemon mixture. Add a little at a time and push the mixture down with the back of a spoon, so there are no gaps. Once you’ve added all of your lemon mixture, smooth the top with a palette knife. Put your cheesecake into the fridge for at least 2 hours to set fully.
- When you’re ready to serve, carefully remove the cheesecake from the tin. You may find the edges become a little smudged as you do this. If this happens, simply run a small palette knife around the edge of the cheesecake to smooth it out again.
Decorate your cheesecake
- Whip the double cream (75ml/80g) until it forms stiff peaks. Put it into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle (I use a JEM1B) and pipe 8 small swirls of cream around the edge of the cheesecake. Top each swirl with a half slice of lemon.
- Serve.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Heather says
Amazing, delicious, my favourite cheesecake.
I had a slight issue with it not setting firmly, delicious all the same. Making it again this weekend.
Charlotte Oates says
What type of cream cheese are you using? If it is regular full fat then that is unlikely the issue. In which case it might be a case of overbeating the mixture, sometimes this can make the mixture become loose and then struggle to set.
Pam says
Reduced the sugar to 75g and had a really refreshing lemony result.
Used light Philadelphia cheese and it set well in a few hours.
Lightly oiled the sides of the tin and it slid out beautifully.
Brilliant recipe. So easy. Light and creamy.
Unknown says
I’ve tried your no bake oreo one a t my school and it was delicious I hope this is to
McMahota says
A great simple recipe with very mild citrus flavour. The whole family including me enjoyed it.
I would say from experience with similar recipes. Before adding the cream cheese beat the cream until quite stiff rather than soft peaks. The cream cheese gets sloppy if you beat it too much.
I used ginger-nut biscuits which gave a nice crunch.
I will certainly be doing it again.
Susan Craig says
I have tried a few cheesecake recipes baked and unbaked but this recipe is the best one I have tried. It is not too sweet tastes great and the cheesecake was set and ready to eat in 2 hours. It was also much cheaper and easier to make only using 250g cream cheese which is now very expensive to buy. Could you please tell me what portion your calorie count is based on. Thank you.
Charlotte Oates says
The nutrition calculations in my recipes are always based on the number of serving stated in the recipe card so in this case that is 8 servings.
Ash says
Can you clarify about freezing this please. Reply to one recent comment says freezing not recommended, but the recipe details say it’s fine to freeze. Confused!
Charlotte Oates says
As yes this cheesecake can be frozen using the instructions in the post. I have edited the commend response you saw to clarify this – I was clearly having a moment. I apologise for any confusion caused.
Linda Saunders says
Hi. Can the lemon cheese cake freeze please
Charlotte Oates says
Edited – yes you can find instructions in the post.
Pauline mcguinness says
Have read your recipe on lemon cheese cake,love it cheese cream and lemons have always wanted to try a no cook cheese cake must have a go
Have to look for the tin now will let you know how I got on thank you.
Lisa says
I didn’t quite like this recipe. It came out less gooey and more fluffy like a mouse and had little lemon taste although I put a bit extra lemon. Nothing against the recipe, just not the creamy cheescake I was hoping for.
Lynda Brown says
Made the 10 inch tin size so I doubled the recipe for my daughters birthday worked out brilliant I’m not the best cook but this cheesecake was a success so easy to follow the method.. thanks
J says
Hi my cake didn’t become stiff enough, what am I doing wrong?
Charlotte Oates says
It is possible that you did not whip the cream enough or may have whipped the cream cheese too much. It is also important to make sure that you use full fast cream cheese as lighter varieties do not tend to set.
JENNY JAMES says
How long will this keep in the fridge
Charlotte Oates says
Providing it is well covered, it should last for around 3 days.
Mrs Regina McCabe says
The BEST recipe for cheesecake that I have ever made Every one that tasted it has asked for the recipe. . Regina McCabe
Saphronia says
Yum…I can’t wait to try this cheesecake.
Thank you, Charlotte!
Marsha says
Hi can I top it up with lemon curd please?
Charlotte Oates says
You can. It should work well as long as the curd is quite thick.
David alan hanchard says
Hi Charlotte, looking forward to making this recipe, sounds great! Thank you for sharing it.
Christrine Powell says
Hi Charlotte, I just love this cheesecake recipe and the fact that I don’t have to faff around with geletine. Have made it lots of times and it always comes out perfect. I swap it for the gluten free biscuits, sometimes I use ginger ones and sometimes I use chocolate digestives, Yummy. My 7 year old says…… Nanna makes the best cheesecake ever. Thank you for sharing.
Sarah says
Hello! I’ve made this once before and it was lovely. This time I’d like to freeze the whole cheesecake…how long does it take to defrost?
Charlotte Oates says
It should take around 24 hours to defrost in the fridge.
Emma Bird says
How long would this last in the fridge once made
Charlotte Oates says
I would expect it to keep well for around 3 days if it is well covered.
Jayne says
Hello, I’m looking to make this cheesecake in a 10” tin, what quantities would I use?
Any tips for get it out the tin? I’m going to put the cake board as the bottom of a loose bottom tin..x
Charlotte Oates says
I would double the ingredients for a 10” tin.
To get the cheesecake out of the tin I usually run a knife around the edge to help loosen it. You may find it looks a little uneven but if you the run a palette knife around the outside it’ll neaten up brilliantly.