Description
This Christmas Cheesecake Slab is a delightful no-bake dessert featuring a spiced biscuit crust and a creamy, airy cheesecake filling. Decorated with festive berries, cherries, orange slices, and rosemary sprigs, it offers a perfect blend of sweet and tangy flavors, ideal for holiday celebrations.
Ingredients
Scale
Biscuit crust:
- 300 g Biscoff biscuits (about 38 pieces) or other plain biscuits
- 120 g unsalted butter, melted (8 tbsp)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
No-bake cheesecake filling:
- 3 1/2 tsp gelatin powder, unflavoured (13.5 g)
- 3 tbsp cold tap water
- 1 1/2 cups thickened or heavy cream, fridge cold
- 750 g cream cheese block (3 blocks), well softened at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups caster sugar / superfine sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Whipped cream (Chantilly cream):
- 2 cups thickened or heavy cream, fridge cold
- 3 tbsp caster sugar / superfine sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Christmas decoration:
- Strawberries, halved or quartered
- Blackberries and raspberries
- Cherries
- Rosemary sprigs
- 6 orange slices, cut into half moons
- Icing sugar / confectionary sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Prepare pan: Lightly grease a 23 x 33 cm (9 x 13 inches) pan with butter or oil spray. Line with parchment paper, ensuring a large overhang on the long sides to help lift out the cheesecake later.
- Make biscuit crust: Break the biscuits roughly by hand and pulse in a food processor until fine crumbs form (about 30 seconds). Add melted butter, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar, then pulse for 10 seconds until it resembles wet sand and holds together when pinched. Press the mixture firmly into the base of the prepared pan. Refrigerate until needed.
- Bloom gelatin: Sprinkle gelatin powder evenly over cold tap water in a small bowl. Whisk briefly and allow it to rest for 3 minutes until it firms up like rubber.
- Melt gelatin: Microwave gelatin for 15 seconds until melted but not boiling. Let it cool for 5 minutes while preparing the filling. If gelatin thickens before use, warm briefly for a few seconds to liquefy.
- Whip cream: Whip 1 1/2 cups of cold cream with an electric mixer on high speed for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes until firm peaks form.
- Prepare cream cheese mixture: In a separate large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar on high speed for 1 1/2 minutes until soft and smooth. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice, and melted gelatin, then beat for another 10 seconds to combine without incorporating excessive air.
- Fold whipped cream: Gently fold 1/4 of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture using a rubber spatula, taking care not to deflate the mixture. Fold in the remaining whipped cream likewise until just combined.
- Assemble cheesecake: Pour the filling over the biscuit crust in the pan and smooth the surface evenly. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours to fully set.
- Prepare whipped Chantilly cream: Whip 2 cups of cold cream with caster sugar and vanilla extract on high for 2 to 3 minutes until softly whipped.
- Decorate: Use parchment paper overhang to lift cheesecake out of pan and place on serving platter; remove parchment paper carefully. Spread whipped cream thickly in large swirls over the cheesecake surface. Arrange strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, orange slices, and rosemary sprigs on top. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Notes
- Use plain biscuits for the crust, like Biscoff, Marie crackers, digestives, or graham crackers. If the crust mixture does not hold together, add extra melted butter.
- For a holiday spice flavor, add 1/8 tsp each of nutmeg, allspice, and ginger powder or an extra 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the biscuit crust mixture.
- Ensure gelatin is fully dissolved and liquid when folding into the cream cheese mixture to avoid lumps.
- Use cream that is suitable for whipping and always cold to achieve proper aeration.
- If cream cheese tubs are used instead of blocks, increase gelatin to 4 tsp for proper set.
- For a sweeter cheesecake, increase sugar to 1 3/4 cups caster sugar.
- To stabilize whipped cream for decorating ahead, bloom and melt 2 tsp gelatin in 2 tbsp water and add to cream midway through whipping.
- Store cheesecake covered in the fridge and serve chilled. It’s best eaten within 3–4 days. Not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (1/18th of cheesecake)
- Calories: 260 kcal
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 18 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg
