No-Bake Espresso Chocolate Cheesecake

No-bake espresso chocolate cheesecake is the ultimate indulgence. A creamy, rich chocolate and espresso no-bake cheesecake with an Oreo biscuit base.

One of my personal favourites, this espresso cheesecake is one which all the family enjoy. This recipe is smooth, creamy and perfect for any occasion. It’s very rich, but that won’t stop you from having another piece later, so that diet is going to have to wait another week. 😉

If you decide to give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment below and rate it – it’s really helpful to me and the other readers. And don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #thegourmetlarder on Instagram. I love seeing what you come up with! 🙂

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RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS

• EASE: easy and no-bake.
• FREE FROM: check my substitutions section for gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan options.
• GREAT FOR: weekend baking, birthdays, picnics or friends and family visiting.
• TASTE & TEXTURE: an Oreo biscuit base topped with a creamy, rich chocolate and espresso cheesecake filling, what’s not to love!
• SERVING: great on its own or with a little whipped cream on the side.
• QUANTITY: 16 slices 20cm (8″) springform pan
• TIME: 45 minutes, plus 4 hours chilling.

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INGREDIENTS

For this recipe all you need are these ingredients:

• Oreo biscuits – used to create a delicious chocolaty biscuit base.

• Butter – adds both structure and flavour to the biscuit base and the ganache topping.

• Dark chocolate – gives this cheesecake and the ganache a lovely deep rich chocolate taste and helps with structure.

Chocolate recommendations: bars – Lindt Excellence dark 70% bar 100g, Montezuma’s darkside 51% bar 90g, Menier dark cooking chocolate 100g, Green and Black’s Organic dark Chocolate 100g, 1kg bags – Callebaut dark chocolate, Callebaut milk chocolate, Callebaut white chocolate.

• Espresso powder – gives the cheesecake its distinct flavour and makes it that little bit more special.

• Double or heavy cream – makes the cheesecake filling lighter and the ganache softer, making the overall cake lighter.

• Full-fat cream cheese – I tend to use Philadelphia for my cheesecakes, it has the perfect consistency for this type of no bake cheesecake. Just remember to remove it from the fridge a couple of hours prior to starting, so that it is easier to incorporate the other ingredients.

• Caster sugar – I like to use caster or fine sugar for this, as the filling is not baked the sugar needs time to dissolve, when the ingredients are mixed together.

TIP:

Here I want to add how just a pinch of salt can make a difference to eating cake. With the addition of salt, all the intrinsic flavours of the chocolate are brought to the surface faster. In a seemingly absurd or contradictory way, salt intensifies the mouth’s ability to taste sweetness. It is the sodium that sends signals to move glucose into the sweet taste receptor cells in our tongue. The result is that salt not only alerts our ‘salt sensitivity’, but also our ‘sweet sensitive’ taste buds.
I recommend Maldon Sea salt flakes or Cornish sea salt.

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SUBSTITUTIONS

While I am making recommendations for alternative ingredients, I haven’t necessarily tried them. If you try making any adaptions, I would love to know how you get on and share it with the other readers.

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION

• Oreo biscuits: are available gluten-free, look out for them in your supermarket.

SUGAR-FREE AND LOW-CALORIE OPTIONS

• Sugar-free or calorie reduced options: try alternatives such as coconut sugar, honey, natural erythritol, xylitol, stevia or fructooligosaccharide powder instead. There are also sweetener mixes available, that are 70% calorie reduced and low in carb.

• Brown sugar suggestions: Pure Via Baker’s soft brown sugar or Sukrin Gold’s natural brown sugar alternative.

VEGAN OPTIONS

• Butter: I recommend Naturli vegan block or Flora plant-based block butter alternative.

• Chocolate: There are now quite a few brands making vegan chocolate to choose from, such as these bars – Lindt classic milk chocolate, Ombar 55% coco mylk, Ombar 72% dark chocolate, Happi plain oat milk, Happi white chocolate, Montezuma’s Fitzroy 74% dark cocoa.

• Cream: I recommend the Coconut Collaborative double cream or Elmlea plant based double cream.

• Cream cheese: is available from specialist shops, or it can be made at home using soaked cashews. This is not something I have tried to make or know if it would work in this recipe.

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WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?

• Oreo alternatives – Try replacing the biscuits with any other biscuit or cookie. Biscoff, malted milk or digestives would be great.

• Omit coffee – If you don’t like coffee this recipe makes a great chocolate cheesecake even without the coffee. Just omit the espresso coffee from the recipe.

• Boozy version – Add (25ml) 1 shot of Kahula liquor to the cheesecake filling and only use 180ml of double cream, instead of 200ml.

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NUTRITION

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STORAGE AND FREEZING

This cheesecake will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days – if it lasts that long!

Freezing: It is best to place slices into an airtight container and freeze for up to a month. Defrost completely at room temperature before serving.

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TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Here is some kitchen equipment that I use and recommend for this recipe.

• Earthenware Mixing Bowl Mason Cash, Cream 29 cm Chip Resistant.

I like the sturdiness of this bowl and its 4 litre capacity means I can use it for mixing just about everything in the kitchen. It is also microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe.

• Mixing Bowls Set of 5, Stainless Steel Nesting Bowls with Airtight Lids, 3 Grater Attachments, Size 5, 3, 2, 1.5, 0.63 QT

These different size mixing bowls are really useful depending on the amount of food you are preparing. They also have airtight lids that fit snugly to seal and keep food fresh, so this set can be used as dry storage bowls with lids on. The plastic lid of the largest bowl has a removable centre. Where one of 3 graters can be used.

• 3 Plastic Mixing Bowls, Non-Slip Base, Soft Grip Handle, Microwave and Dishwasher Safe, Compact, Stackable, Ideal for baking and cooking, off-white, 1.5 Litre, 2 Litre, 2.5 Litre.

I do own a plastic mixing bowl but I am personally not a big fan of them. These 3 bowls are on the smaller size but good for the odd cake making.

• Milk Saucepan, 1 Litre With Double Sided Pouring Lips

This small pan is a great size for boiling small amounts of liquids and it has pouring lips built into the rim of the saucepan which makes it easy to use.

• Springform Round Cake Pan/Tin, Loose Base 20cm (8 inch)

These springform pans make removing cakes from them after baking a doddle. I personally tend to line them as often as possible to ensure that my cakes don’t break for added security.

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TIP: I highly recommend using metric measurements and a digital kitchen scale, rather than cup measurements. If you have ever ended up with dry, dense or crumbly baked goods, it might be because of inaccurate volume measurements, not all measuring cups are made equally. All my recipes on this blog are carefully developed so that you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success, using metric measurements. It is also a lot easier, less messy and you will get far better, consistent results. 🙂
If you are interested in understanding conversions, here you will find the best conversion chart.

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RECIPE TIPS

Room temperature ingredients – to ensure that the ingredients blend together smoothly and are easier to work with, I highly recommend removing the cream cheese and cream from the fridge a couple of hours prior to using them.

Chilling the cheesecake – Chill the completed cake for at least 4 hours or longer, if possible. This allows all the layers to firm up.

Cutting – Remove the chilled cake from the springform pan. I like to heat a large sharp 24-26cm knife in hot water and then wipe it dry/clean with a paper towel before cutting through the cake. This will give you nice clean-cut edges.

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