The holidays are a time of immense stress for most people so anything that makes life easier is welcomed, such as this no bake Cranberry Cheesecake recipe.
There isn’t gelatin or any setting agent in sight for this and honestly, if you want a real punch of cranberry in this cheesecake, you can absolutely up the fruit content, though a large slice of this was a delicious serving.
Why you'll love this
No bake!
This no bake cheesecake means that even when you’re low on time you can whip this up and pop into the fridge to bring to any special event you might have in the lead up to the holidays.
Light and creamy
Thanks to no gelatin in this cheesecake it's light and creamy and will set perfectly!
How to prepare Cranberry Cheesecake
- Cranberries: Simmer the cranberries and sugar until a soft has formed.
- Blend: Either place an immersion blender into your saucepan or toss into a blender and combine until smooth.
- Base: Stir the crushed biscuits and melted butter together.
- Press: Spoon the biscuit crumbs into the loaf tin and press firmly until it’s nice and even.
- Whip: Whip the cream cheese until smooth.
- Add sugar: Add in half the sugar and beat until well combined and repeat.
- Whipped cream: Whip the cream until soft peaks form.
- Fold: Fold the cream and cream cheese until smooth.
- Flavors: Add in 1 tablespoon of the passionfruit syrup and vanilla extract and fold until smooth.
- Tin: Spoon the cream cheese filling over the biscuit base and smooth out.
- Swirly swirls: Spoon the remaining passionfruit syrup over the cheesecake and swirl it with a skewer or knife.
- Refrigerate: Place the cheesecake in the fridge to set for several hours.
- Remove and slice: Pull the cheesecake out of the tin and slice.
- Serve it up: Serve, ideally with a cup of your favorite hot beverage!
Ingredients and substitutions for Cranberry Cheesecake
- Graham crackers: These the perfect base for these bars with their light and whole wheat flavor. If you are unable to obtain graham crackers, a great substitute in equal measure would be digestive biscuits.
- Cranberries: Tart and full of flavor, raw cranberries were used here, though you need to cook them to incorporate meaning frozen works just as well. If you want a strong cranberry flavor, I recommend upping the amount of cranberries in this recipe to 160 grams / 5.64 ounces
- Sugar: The best sugar here is superfine or caster which helps dissolve into the cream cheese during whipping. You could half and half the sugar with light brown sugar or raw sugar alongside the caster sugar as I do not recommend completely substituting in another due to the flavor it would give the cheesecake instead of simply adding sweetness.
- Cream cheese: The core of our creamy cheesecake is room temperature full fat cream cheese, which results in giving us a light cheesecake that is easy to mix until smooth and full of that beloved cheesecake flavor.
- Heavy Cream: Fluffy and lightly whipped heavy cream helps the no bake hold its shape. It also helps bind the cream cheese and compliment the cranberries.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment needed to make this
Greaseproof paper: Lining your tin will make getting this cheesecake out a breeze!
Loaf tin: The loaf tin used here fits 1 kilo or 2 pounds.
Small saucepan: To make that syrup, you'll need a small saucepan or pot.
Offset spatula: A small spatula helps smooth out the cheesecake.
Hand or stand mixer: To whip the cream cheese and cream, though this can be done by hand.
More cheesecakes you’ll love
How to make Cranberry Cheesecake:
Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
Place the cranberries and sugar into a saucepan on low heat and cover.
Stir intermittently, heating until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is simmering and the sugar has dissolved, approximately 5 minutes.
Allow to cool a little and blend until smooth. Set aside.
For the base, place the crushed graham crackers and butter into a bowl.
Pour into the loaf tin and press firmly and evenly into the base of the tin. Set aside.
Place the cream cheese into a bowl and beat until smooth, approximately 2 minutes with a hand beater.
Add in half the remaining sugar and beat to until smooth and the sugar has dissolved, approximately 1 minute with a hand beater, repeat with the remaining sugar.
Beat the cream until soft peaks form and fold through the cream cheese until well combined.
Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.
Drop 2 tablespoonfuls of the cranberry sauce into the creamy mixture (or more if you want a more punchy cheesecake) and fold to mix lightly.
Spoon ½ the cream cheese mixture over the chilled base and smooth out to remove any bubbles and ensure the mixture is firmly against the edges of your tin.
Spoon the remaining mixture over and repeat by smoothing out nice and evenly.
Top with the remaining cranberry sauce in teaspoon portions and either spread out evenly on top for a nice firm cranberry layer or swirl to your heart’s content.
Place in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
Remove from the fridge and slice.
Slice evenly and serve chilled.
Dig in!
Cranberry Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: + chill time 4 hours 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 10 1x
- Category: Cheesecake
Description
This no bake cranberry cheesecake recipe comes together quickly with a homemade sauce for a great make ahead cheesecake that still serves a bunch of people.
Ingredients
Cranberries
130 grams / 4.6 ounces cranberries, raw or frozen
60 grams / ⅓ cup superfine/caster sugar
Base
150 grams / 5.3 ounces graham crackers, crushed
60 grams / 2.10 ounces butter, melted
Cheesecake
50 grams / ¼ cup superfine/caster sugar
340 grams / 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
200 milliliters / ¾ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
Cranberries
- Place the cranberries and sugar into a saucepan on low heat and cover.
- Stir intermittently, heating until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is simmering and the sugar has dissolved, approximately 5 minutes.
- Allow to cool a little and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Base
- For the base, place the crushed graham crackers and butter into a bowl.
- Pour into the loaf tin and press firmly and evenly into the base of the tin. Set aside.
Cheesecake
- Place the cream cheese into a bowl and beat until smooth, approximately 2 minutes with a hand beater.
- Add in half the remaining sugar and beat to until smooth and the sugar has dissolved, approximately 1 minute with a hand beater, repeat with the remaining sugar.
- Beat the cream until soft peaks form and fold through the cream cheese until well combined.
- Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- Drop 2 tablespoonfuls of the cranberry sauce into the creamy mixture (or more if you want a more punchy cheesecake) and fold to mix lightly.
- Spoon ½ the cream cheese mixture over the chilled base and smooth out to remove any bubbles and ensure the mixture is firmly against the edges of your tin.
- Spoon the remaining mixture over and repeat by smoothing out nice and evenly.
- Top with the remaining cranberry sauce in teaspoon portions and either spread out evenly on top for a nice firm cranberry layer or swirl to your heart’s content.
- Place in the fridge to set for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
- Remove from the fridge and slice.
- Slice evenly and serve chilled.
- Dig in!
Notes
Recipe by Roamingtaste
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece of cheesecake
- Calories: 345 calories per serve
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