This no bake cheesecake with mascarpone is the perfect no bake dessert! A creamy lemon and mascarpone creamy filling with a graham cracker crust, I love serving it with fresh strawberries. You only need 7 ingredients!
I love making no bake desserts for Spring and Summer! It's perfect for when you don't want to use the oven. It's also perfect to make for special occasions as you can make this ahead of time.
This no bake cheesecake recipe is based off of my strawberry crunch cheesecake and golden Oreo cheesecake. Unlike a traditional cheesecake, these cheesecakes are not baked which makes it much easier to make with no water bath!
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Tell me about this recipe!
- This is a no bake cheesecake that is made with mascarpone instead of cream cheese. Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese made from heavy cream, while regular cream cheese is made from whole milk.
- The mascarpone filling is mixed with a little bit of lemon zest and juice to bring more flavor and brightness.
- This easy recipe features a no bake graham cracker cheesecake crust, though you could use digestive biscuits or Lotus Biscoff cookies instead.
- It only takes 15 minutes to prepare and you can let it chill overnight.
- This mascarpone cheesecake looks beautiful topped with fresh berries!
Ingredient Notes
Mascarpone: instead of using cream cheese, this recipe uses Italian mascarpone! Make sure it is at room temperature before you start this recipe.
Lemon: I use the zest of a lemon and lemon juice to bring a bit of tanginess to the cheesecake.
Graham Cracker Crumbs: if you don't have graham crackers then feel free to use digestive biscuits. I think this cheesecake would also taste delicious with Lotus cookies as a crust like in this biscoff cheesecake. Make sure to blend your graham crackers in a food processor until you have fine crumbs.
Butter: I always use unsalted butter, and I tend to use European style butter like Kerry Gold in my recipes.
Vanilla Extract: be sure to use a good quality vanilla extract!
Heavy Cream: while usually you need all your ingredients to be at room temperature, the heavy cream needs to be cold when you whip it up.
Confectioners' Sugar: this is also known as icing sugar or powdered sugar. Make sure to sift it before adding to your cheesecake filling.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, mix together your graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. You want to make sure the crumbs are evenly moistened and there aren't dry patches.
Step 2: Pour the cookie crumbs into a 9 inch springform pan with a removable bottom. Use the bottom of a metal measuring cup or a rubber spatula to even out the crust, slightly going up the sides. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Step 3: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or just using a hand held electric mixer, whisk your heavy cream until you have stiff peaks. Set aside.
Step 4: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat your mascarpone until smooth. Add in your powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed until smooth.
Step 5: Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. You want to be gentle as you don't want to deflate the air out of the whipped cream. This air is going to help keep your cheesecake light and fluffy!
Step 6: Pour the cheesecake batter into your chilled crust. Use a small offset spatula to smooth out the top. Cover the top of the pan with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 12 hours. After 12 hours, remove the pan from the fridge and take off the sides of the springform pan. Top with fresh fruit or leave plain, and serve!
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. It makes a huge difference to your baking and is the most accurate way to bake!
- I make sure that my mascarpone is at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull that out an hour or two before starting the recipe.
- In order for your no bake cheesecake to set, make sure you whip up your cold heavy cream into stiff peaks. Not only does this make your cheesecake creamy and light, but it will help stiffen up the cheesecake batter.
Frequently Asked Questions
I think both taste delicious! I do find mascarpone is slightly richer than cream cheese, which is why I add a bit of lemon zest and juice to the cheesecake filling.
First I would make sure that you whipped up cold heavy cream into stiff peaks. If the heavy cream wasn't cold, or if you only did medium soft peaks, then your cheesecake will have trouble firming up. Next, make sure you chill it for 12 hours in the fridge. I have tested this with just 6 hours but it wasn't as set and the slices weren't as clean.
Keep the cheesecake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Try these cheesecake recipes next!
Have you made this recipe? Make sure to tag me on Instagram @alpineella and leave a review below if you have! If you want more baking ideas, you can follow me on Pinterest.
Recipe
No Bake Cheesecake with Mascarpone
Equipment
- 9" springform pan
Ingredients
Cheesecake Crust
- 1 ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs or digestive biscuits
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
Cheesecake
- 2 cups heavy cream cold
- 16 oz mascarpone room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- zest of a lemon
Instructions
Crust
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk your crushed graham cracker crumbs with your melted butter. Make sure all the crumbs are moist and there aren't any dry patches.
- Pour the crumbs into a 9" spring form pan. Use a rubber spatula or the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crumbs down into an even layer, you should have the crumbs going up slightly at the sides of the pan. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Cheesecake filling
- In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or using a hand held electric mixer, whisk the cold heavy cream for about 5 minutes until you have stiff peaks. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone on medium speed until completely smooth - you don't want any lumps at all.
- Add in your sifted confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. Beat on medium-high until incorporated and smooth.
- Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in your whipped cream, being careful to not deflate the cream.
- Pour the filling into your chilled crust. Use a small offset spatula to smooth out the top. Cover in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge overnight. 12 hours is best. Take out of the fridge and remove the sides of the springform pan. Cover the top with fresh berries!
Kuldeep
You didn't use lemon juice and lemon zest in the method but in recipe it's showing
Ella
Hi there! You can see where I add lemon juice and lemon zest in step 3 of the cheesecake filling 🙂
Nicole
Hi, made this as it’s too hot to bake.
Was delicious & super easy & quick to make.
Put fiora di sicilie essence in by mistake instead of vanilla & everyone loved it (citrus flavor).
T
What do you suggest using if you don’t have enough mascarpone? Can you swap something else in?
Ella
I haven't tried adding in something else, but you could maybe try some creme fraiche or cream cheese
Cheryl bailey
What is weight of a stick of butter please, I live in France
Ella
Hi there! If you click on 'metric' above the list of ingredients you can see the weight of all the ingredients.