No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake Cups
A dense, creamy no-bake cheesecake cup set on a buttery digestive biscuit base, brightened with fresh lemon zest and juice. Cool, tangy and rich, with no oven needed.
- Total
- 270 min
- Prep 25 · Cook 5 · Rest 240
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Zesting · Whisking
- Sweet
- No rush
- No cook
Instructions
-
Melt the butter gently by setting it in a bowl over hot tap water, or leave it at room temperature until soft. Meanwhile, crush the digestive biscuits in a food processor, or seal them in a zip bag and roll with a rolling pin, until they are fine crumbs.
~8 min
Crushing biscuits into fine, even crumbs ensures the base presses together compactly and holds its shape when cut.
-
Stir the melted butter and a pinch of salt into the biscuit crumbs until the mixture looks like damp sand. Spoon it evenly into the 8 glasses and press down firmly with the back of a spoon to make a compact base.
~7 min
Pressing the crumb mixture firmly compacts it so the base stays intact and doesn't crumble when the filling is spooned on.
-
Zest the 2 lemons with a fine grater, then juice them to get about 80 ml of juice. Set the zest aside for the topping.
~5 min
Zesting before juicing matters because once the fruit is cut, the zest is much harder to remove cleanly.
Zest the lemons before juicing them: once the fruit is cut, the zest is much harder to remove cleanly.
Zesting Grate only the bright yellow outer peel, stopping before the bitter white pith. Zest before juicing, since a whole fruit is far easier to hold and turn.
-
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the 200 ml cream and 60 ml of the lemon juice and whisk until the mixture is thick and holds a soft ribbon. Taste and add a little more lemon juice if you want it sharper.
~5 min
Whisking cream into the cheese traps air and thickens the mixture, letting it set firm without baking.
For a firmer set without any baking, use cold cream straight from the fridge and whisk only until the mixture thickens, since over-whisking can loosen it.
Whisking Whisk until the mixture thickens and falls in a soft ribbon, but stop there. Over-whisking can loosen the cream and prevent a clean set.
-
Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the biscuit bases, dividing it evenly and smoothing the tops. Scatter the reserved lemon zest over each cup.
~5 min
-
Chill the cups in the fridge for at least 4 hours, until the filling is fully set and cold. Serve straight from the fridge.
~240 min
Chilling lets the fat in the cream and cheese firm up, so the filling sets into a sliceable, cold cheesecake texture.