Rum & Raisin Cheesecake – A delicious no-bake cheesecake inspired by the classic ice cream flavour. Packed full of rum-soaked raisins and with a hint of black treacle.
Today’s recipe is inspired by classic ice cream flavour – Rum & Raisin.
It’s a delicious no-bake cheesecake, packed full of rum-soaked raisins and flavoured with black treacle, just like the classic ice cream. It’s then topped with swirls of whipped cream.
Why are the raisins soaked overnight?
In order to pack this cheesecake full of flavour, I’ve ensured that I’ve added plenty of rum (120ml). However, this amount of rum cannot simply be added into the cheesecake mixture as it’ll end up too runny and the cheesecake won’t set.
The solution to this is to soak the raisins in the rum allowing them to absorb the rum, becoming plump and juicy. The rum is then contained within the raisins meaning your cheesecake mixture remains stiff
It takes time for the raisins to absorb the rum so I find that it’s best to leave them overnight.
You can soak them for less time, but you’ll find that the final cheesecake will have less of a kick of rum to it.
Can I use flame raisins instead of regular raisins?
I’ve tested this cheesecake recipe with both regular and flame raisins and I personally prefer it made with regular raisins.
Flame raisins are already plumper and juicier than regular raisins and I find that the sweetness of these raisins overpowers the rum, so less rum flavour comes through in the final cheesecake.
Should this cheesecake be made with dark or white rum?
You can use either.
For a more traditional rum and raisin flavour, I’d recommend using dark rum. However, I’ve also made this cheesecake using white rum and it still tastes absolutely delicious.
Can this cheesecake be frozen?
Yes.
This cheesecake freezes well without the whipped cream topping. Defrost the cheesecake in the fridge before serving.
Other recipes you might enjoy
If you’re a fan of rum and raisin then you should take a look at these other recipes:
- Chocolate Rum & Raisin Fudge from Family Spice
- Rum & Raisin Cookies from Love Foodies
- Rum & Raisin Cinnamon Twisted Rolls from The Little Epicurean
- Rum & Raisin Cake Bars from Cinnamon & Coriander
If you’re in need of more delicious cheesecake recipes then take a look at my Cheesecake Index.
What do I do if the cheesecake is looking a little too soft to remove from the tin
Due to the addition of the alcohol, this cheesecake mixture is quite soft. It should firm up enough in the fridge, but if you find it’s a little soft to remove from the tin pop it into the freezer for half an hour to firm up before removing it from the tin.
Once it has been removed from the tin, allow it to come up to room temperature for 10ish minutes, so it’s not too cold.
If the edges of the cheesecake look a bit smudged after removing it from the tin, run a palette knife around the edge to neaten it.
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
- Lupin-Free
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Rum & Raisin Cheesecake (No-Bake)
INGREDIENTS
- 200 g cream cheese
- 225 ml double cream
- 160 g raisins
- 120 ml rum
- 60 g caster sugar
- 40 g black treacle
- 100 g digestive biscuits
- 40 g butter
To decorate
- 75 ml double cream
INSTRUCTIONS
- The night before you want to make the cheesecake – soak the raisins (160g) in the rum (120ml) – I put mine in an airtight tub and occasionally give the tub a shake to ensure the raisins are all soaked equally.
- 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.
- Whip the double cream until it forms stiff peaks (225ml)
- Whisk in the cream cheese (200g), caster sugar (60g) and black treacle (40g).
- Optional – set aside 2 tbsp of the rum-soaked raisins to decorate the cheesecake (if you don’t want to decorate the cheesecake like mine, then simply add them all to the cheesecake mixture).Fold in the rum-soaked raisins – If you find that not all of the rum has been absorbed by the raisins, then you can add 2 tsp of the excess rum to the cheesecake mixture – don’t be tempted to add more as you’ll find that the cheesecake won’t set as well as it should.
- Remove the tin from the fridge and add the rum and raisin cheesecake mixture. Add a little at a time and push the mixture down with the back of a spoon, so there are no gaps.Chill for two hours until the cheesecake has set – see notes below the recipe for what to do if the cheesecake looks a little soft after chilling.
- When you’re ready to serve the cheesecake, whip the double cream (75ml) until it forms stiff peaks. Pipe the cream in 8 swirls around the edge of the cheesecake – I use a piping bag fitted with a JEM 1B star nozzle.Scatter the remaining rum-soaked raisins around the cream swirls.Serve immediately (or pop back into the fridge until you’re ready to serve).
NOTES
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.
Tyler says
For those looking to replace the treacle with molasses, try to get blackstrap molasses if possible. It’s a bit closer to black treacle and from personal experience, is super delicious
Eileen Ede says
Can this be frozen?
Charlotte Oates says
Yes, I’ve addressed this in the post.
SuOli says
Easy to make and so tasty
Annie says
Followed recipe exactly and absolutely delicious, one of our local restaurants does this as a house specialty and this was just as good! Can’t wait for the family to try it.
Angelynwyc says
Love this recipe. Thanks for sharing it. It’s delicious and easy to make.
Gill Winstanley says
O. M. G
Just made this recipe. Unbelievable. Best cheesecake ever. Did leave raisins to soak for a couple of days,also used ginger biscuits for the base to give a little Caribbean vibe. Will be making this for Christmas.
caroline says
Hi, previously i was able to get the ingredient increase according to number of people. But now it’s not possible to do so. Kindly assist. Thank you
Charlotte Oates says
That’s not a function I’ve ever offered on my site (except for specific recipes where I have calculators according to tin size). I know some sites do offer an adjustment by number of people, but I prefer not to as sometimes increasing or decreasing a recipe size can require more adjustments than simply to quantity of ingredients needed.
Lai Har says
1) Can I add rum into the buscuit muxture for added rum flavour? If so how much?
2) Can the rum be replaced by brandy or whisky, and by same amount?
Charlotte Oates says
I wouldn’t add rum to the biscuits as this may make them soggy and not hold together as well. As long as you leave the raising to soak for a decent amount of time you should find that the cheesecake has plenty of flavour.
You can replace the rum with any other similar spirit using exactly the same quantities.
Zie says
I saw this recipe about 6 months ago, put my raisins in a jar in the fridge with a really nice spiced dark rum and forgot about them, and kept forgetting about them. I have no idea if the aged raisins had an impact but I finally made it this morning and holy *expletive* it’s delicious. The other substitution I made was caster sugar for the treacle (same weight of) Just couldn’t find it. but I believe the rum I used made up for it. Thank you so much for this recipe. I hope it puts a smile on my partners face, he also loves rum ‘n’ raisin ice-cream, but his other favourite is cheesecake, which makes this a perfect surprise for him. Cheers!
Katie says
Hi,
Since I live in Taiwan which is quite hot especially summer time, adding gelatin would be quite necessary to make it stay firmer, can you suggest the amount of gelatin to add and at which step of the mixing procedure? Thank you so much!
Charlotte Oates says
Unfortunately I’ve never tested this with gelatine so I wouldn’t be able to recommend the correct amount – sorry.
Kerry says
Hi Katie I too would be more inclined to use gelatine due to our climate so I’m going to add 1 tablespoon of gelatine to 120mls of water and desolve in microwave then add to cream cheese mixture hope this helps
Wendy Atkin says
Can I substitute molasses for the black treacle?
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t tested the recipe with molasses but from what I know of the ingredient, it will likely work.
Qiao Wei says
if I don’t have black treacle, can I just replace it with castor sugar?
Charlotte Oates says
You could do, or if you have it, I would opt for brown sugar (preferably dark brown). However, you the treacle does add a lot to the flavour of the cheesecake so I would recommend getting hold of some if you can.
Natalie says
Can I use condensed milk rather than double cream?
Charlotte Oates says
I haven’t tried it so I don’t know how well it would work, but even if it did set I would expect it to end up very sweet.
Lee Harris says
Back in the 70’s marks and spencers in the UK used to sell a vanilla cheesecake with sultanas but with a sponge base which is nicer than a biscuit base how can I make this pls
Charlotte Oates says
Without trying it I’m not too sure what type of sponge it would have been. However, if would expect it to have quite a tight structure and therefore be quite sturdy to support the rest of the cheesecake. I would probably use a Swiss roll sponge.
Wanda says
Just uber scrumptious! Light as a feather and the rum soaked raisins were gorgeous. Top marks for a great recipe!
kim says
Hi,
I was wondering if this could be made without the Treacle?
Charlotte Oates says
It should set just fine. However you may find that it lacks a little sweetness. If you taste the mixture after mixing, you can add a little more sugar to your own taste. If you add additional sugar, don’t over-beat the mixture as this can lead it to not setting as well.