The most amazing no-bake cheesecake with mascarpone and kiwi jelly. Easy to make, this dish needs just a handful of ingredients and can stay in your fridge for up to a week. It’s a perfect choice if you want to impress your friends without any fuss.
Ok, ok, I know kiwifruits don’t look like the most seasonal choice right now. Everyone’s posting recipes with pumpkins, apples or cranberries. However, interestingly, this green goodness is actually in season! The best time to eat kiwis is from November onwards and they are the juiciest, sweetest and most delicious little fruits!
Take advantage of this seasonality and incorporate kiwis into your weekend desserts and baking.
No-bake cheesecake tips
This recipe is very easy, however I’d like to share a couple of tips for the ultimate dessert. These tips also work for every single no-bake cheesecake recipe.
- Citrus – always use just the zest of any type of citrus, but not the juice. Citrus juice makes the cheese layer crumble. If you want to add citrusy fragrance, use the lime, orange or lemon zest.
- Chilling – you can’t speed-up the process. I know, it can be tempting to eat this dessert as quickly as possible, however chilling time is crucial. Leave at least an hour for the cheese layer to set in the fridge.
- Jelly layer – if you heat the fruit puree you might lose some colour intensity. As an alternative option, heat the gelatine with water for the gelatine to dissolve completely. After that, just mix it with the fruit puree.
Basically, just take your time! Use simple ingredients and enjoy the most delicious dessert…
No-bake cheesecake recipe swaps
As always, you can choose alternatives for this recipe and amend it to your liking. Here are some options:
- Biscuits for the base – you can bake cookie or cheesecake base using a simple shortcrust pastry recipe (you can use this recipe) or what I did in this instance, use leftover scraps from previously baked tarts. Every time I bake a tart I save the leftover pastry, store it in a jar and use it in later recipes. No food waste!
- Kiwis – you can swap kiwifruits for any berries or fruits you want. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or for that true Christmas feeling – cranberries.
- Mascarpone cheese – this cheese gives a very silky and delicate texture to the cheesecake, however you can swap it for simple cream cheese if you want.
I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe!
Recipe
Base:
150g biscuits
50g melted butter
Kiwi puree:
6 kiwis
Cream layer:
250g mascarpone cheese
100ml double cream
1 lime (zest)
60g icing sugar
50ml rum
Kiwi Jelly:
50ml water
60g caster sugar
2 gelatine sheets
Method
Prepare the base:
1. Add the biscuits into a food processor and blitz them until the texture is like breadcrumbs.
2. Add the melted butter and mix everything together.
3. Put this prepared mix into your glasses and leave them in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Prepare the kiwi puree:
4. Peel and chop the kiwis. Add them into the food processor and blitz until smooth.
Prepare the cream layer:
5. Mix all the ingredients using an electric mixer until it gets smooth and silky.
6. Add three tablespoons of the kiwi puree and mix everything together again.
7. Add the mixture onto the biscuit base and leave the glasses in the fridge for an hour.
Prepare the jelly:
8. Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water for a couple of minutes.
9. Heat the remaining kiwi puree together with sugar.
10. Add the gelatine and heat everything together until the gelatine dissolves completely. Pour the jelly onto the cheesecake and leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours (or ideally overnight).
11. Serve the cheesecake with some fresh kiwis or berries. Enjoy!
