No-bake lemon cheesecake from the Cooking with Mamma Marzia cookbook

Impress your family with this simple and easy cheesecake recipe

Image for No-bake Lemon Cheesecake recipe from the Cooking with Mamma Marzia cookbook

A reliable no-bake cheesecake recipe can come in handy on those hot spring or summer–or fall, we suppose–days when turning on the oven will do anything, but help you feel refreshed. It's also a perfect type of "cake" for non bakers to pull off with minimal stress.

This vibrant, lemony creation comes by way of Vancouver cookbook author and culinary instructor Marzia Bellotti Molatore. Her recently released book, Cooking with Mamma Marzia: Authentic Italian Recipes for the Whole Family, is a collection of approachable family recipes and many of which are rooted in Italian tradition.

Image for No-bake Lemon Cheesecake recipe from the Cooking with Mamma Marzia cookbook

Cheesecake crust

200 g graham crackers, crumbled
113 g (8 tbsp) butter, melted

Crumble your crackers into a bowl, add the melted butter and mix very well.

Pour everything into a round cake pan with a 9 ½-inch diameter, I suggest using a spring-form cake pan, and press the cracker mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before adding filling.

Cheesecake cream

10 g (3 sheets) gelatin sheets
250 mL whipping cream
300 mL lemon yogurt
200 mL cream cheese
70 g (5 tbsp) sugar
Juice from 1 lemon

Place the gelatin in a bowl and cover it with a layer of cold water. Let it soak for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the cream for the cheesecake.

Whip the whipping cream.

In another bowl, add the lemon yogurt, cream cheese and the sugar. Mix well with a hand-mixer and then add the whipped cream.

Squeeze out the juice from one lemon into a small pan. Drain off the water from the gelatin and add the gelatin to the pan.

Melt the lemon and gelatin over low-medium heat for 1-2 minutes.

Once melted, add to the yogurt and cream cheese mixture. Mix well. Pour the mixture over the graham cracker crust.

Put the cheesecake in the fridge for at least 3 hours or place it in the freezer for 1 hour.

Lemon cream

100 mL orange juice
100 mL lemon juice
70 g (5 tbsp) sugar
16 g (2 tbsp) corn starch

Now it’s time to make your lemon cream.

Pour the orange juice and lemon juice into a small pan.

Add the sugar and the corn starch and cook over medium heat for approximately 4 -5 minutes, until the cream is nice and thick. It’s very important that the cream is thick, which might take a few minutes longer.

Let it cool down for 2-3 minutes.

Remove the cake from the fridge, open the pan very gently and pour the lemon cream on top. Let it cool down for 30 minutes and decorate with lemon slices.

Buon appetit!

 

Yield:
1 cake
Prep Time:
2.5 hours