You can prepare Mary Berry's "heavenly" lemon cheesecake in as little as 15 minutes, but it will require some time to set properly in the fridge.
For this bake, you will need a 20cm round loose-bottomed cake tin, which is greased and base-lined with baking parchment.
Known to be the "favourite pudding" at a charity gala Mary Berry attended, it's sure to be a crowd-pleaser in your home too.
The cheesecake is best made a day ahead so that it has plenty of time to set in the fridge before serving.
Here's how to make Mary Berry's lemon cheesecake with a delicious ginger crust.
Mary Berry's lemon cheesecake recipe
Serves: eight people
Ingredients:
100g of ginger biscuits, crushed
50g of butter, melted
Two x 250g tubs mascarpone
325g of jar lemon curd
Juice of one small lemon
Fresh raspberries and blueberries, to decorate
Icing sugar, to dust
Method
Mix the biscuits with the butter in a bowl, then press into the base of the greased and lined tin (but not up the sides). Put the mascarpone, lemon curd, and lemon juice in a bowl and beat with a spatula until smooth.
Spoon onto the biscuit base and level the top. Chill in the fridge for at least four hours and up to 24 hours to firm up. To serve, remove the cheesecake from the tin, peel off the baking parchment, and arrange on a platter. Decorate with the fruit and dust with icing sugar.
Do note that the cheesecake is not suitable for freezing, so it's best made when you have guests over.
An alternative cheesecake to make is Mary Berry's white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake, which requires more skill and time.
Mary Berry's white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake recipe
Serves: six to eight people
Ingredients:
150g digestive biscuits
60g butter, plus extra for greasing
One tbsp demerara sugar
For the topping
200g white chocolate
One x 250g tub of full-fat mascarpone cheese
300ml pouring double cream
One tsp vanilla extract
500g fresh raspberries
One tbsp icing sugar
Method
Butter the base of the 20cm round spring-form tin and line with a disc of baking paper. Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs by placing them in a resealable freezer bag and use a rolling pin.
Heat the butter in a small saucepan over low heat until just melted. Add the crushed biscuits and sugar and stir until combined.
Spoon into the base of the prepared tin and press with the back of a spoon until level. Chill in the fridge while you make the topping.
Break the chocolate into a separate bowl and sit it on top of a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted but not hot, then leave to cool down for five to 10 minutes until cool but still liquid.
Meanwhile, tip the mascarpone into a bowl, and mix with a spatula. Stir in the cream and vanilla extract, stirring with the spatula until smooth.
To make a coulis for the top of the cheesecake, place half the raspberries into a small blender or food processor. Add the icing sugar and whizz until runny, then pour through a sieve to remove the seeds.
Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl with the mascarpone mixture and stir to combine, taking care not to over-mix.
Spoon half the white chocolate mixture onto the biscuit base in the tin. Use the handle of a teaspoon to make a few small holes in the white chocolate mixture, pushing right down to the top of the biscuit base.
FAQs
Let all the ingredients come to room temperature before you start making your cake if you want a perfectly smooth texture. Give everything, eggs, butter, cream cheese, sour cream, at least two hours on the counter.
How do you thicken a no-bake cheesecake? ›
If your cheesecake filling goes soupy in texture, don't worry—you can fix it! Just add a little gelatin to the mix, and it will set up in the fridge just fine. The trick is to use just enough gelatin so you don't end up with a jello texture for your cheesecake.
Why did my no-bake cheesecake collapse? ›
Cheesecake can split or curdle for a few reasons – often it's down to the temperature of ingredients. When making cheesecakes (particularly no-bake cheesecakes) the soft cream cheese MUST be full fat, but it should also be at room temperature. However, the double cream should still be cold.
How do you not over mix cheesecake? ›
According to Chef Eddy Van Damme, you can do several things to avoid your cheesecake from cracking. Don't overmix ingredients. You want to start with room temperature cream cheese. This way you will be able to blend your ingredients very easily without overmixing.
What happens if you don't use room temperature ingredients? ›
Cold ingredients can disrupt an emulsified batter or prevent it from forming an emulsion in the first place, leaving you with a broken, grainy batter with little to no air-trapping. The result is an unevenly textured, potentially dense baked good.
What not to do when making cheesecake? ›
Cold ingredients are a big no-no when it comes to cheesecake. If your ingredients are cold you will have to mix them longer which will whip too much air into your batter. If the cake has too much air, it will rise too much in the oven and then the middle will sink when cooling. Nobody wants a sad, sunken cheesecake.
Why put cornstarch in cheesecake? ›
Flour or cornstarch is sometimes included in cheesecake recipes to preventing cracks. If you find that you always have problems with cracking and your cheesecake recipe does not call for any flour or cornstarch, it's ok to experiment and add some cornstarch (one to two tablespoons) to the batter when you add the sugar.
Why won't no-bake cheesecake harden? ›
The primary reason a no-bake cheesecake is too runny or doesn't set up properly is generally the temperature of the ingredients. If your cream cheese is too warm, the mixture will be too soft and will never set up properly.
What is the thickening agent in cheesecake? ›
Using Cream and cornstarch is a valid option if you want a cheesecake that has the milky taste that cream brings and the thickness and texture that cornstarch adds.
How thick should cheesecake batter be? ›
The finished batter should be thick, creamy, and silky. Don't worry if you see a few specks of un-mixed cream cheese here and there; they will melt into the batter during baking and won't affect the finished cheesecake.
When making your filling, overmixing can lead to incorporating too much air into the batter. Once baked, the air bubbles will burst, and the cheesecake will fall and crack. THE FIX: The number one reason why you'd overbeat your batter is because you're having dificulty incorporating cold ingredients.
What does adding an extra egg to cheesecake do? ›
I also add an extra yolk, which enhances the cake's velvety texture. (Whites tend to lighten the cake, which is actually fine — if you don't feel like separating that fourth egg and don't mind some extra airiness in the texture, just add in the whole egg.)
What happens if you add too much lemon juice to cheesecake? ›
Cutting too much lemon for a recipe can result in a dish that is excessively sour or acidic. This can overpower the other flavors and make the dish unbalanced. It is important to use the right amount of lemon to ensure the desired taste and to avoid ruining the dish.
What happens if you don't add egg to cheesecake? ›
The cake will not set properly if there is no egg in the preparation, and you will just have a cream cheese pudding. As delicious as cream cheese pudding sounds, it's actually more like buttercream.
Should eggs be room temperature when making cheesecake? ›
Tips for a perfect cheesecake
Always start with room temperature dairy and eggs. Room temperature ingredients will ensure a smooth batter. Cold cream cheese will not incorporate well, resulting in a lumpy batter.
Should heavy cream be room temp for cheesecake? ›
For the Creamy Cheesecake:
5 large eggs room temperature. 3 large egg yolks room temperature. 1/2 cup (113 grams) heavy cream room temperature.
When baking should all ingredients be room temperature? ›
Why Is Room Temperature Important? When at room temperature, eggs, butter, and other dairy ingredients form an emulsion which traps air. While baking in the oven, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy baked good.
How long should cheesecake sit out after baking? ›
While we wish we had better news, if you accidentally went to bed and left your cheesecake cooling on the counter, it's best to not risk illness by consuming it. When you have cheesecake that's already baked and chilled, the absolute max time you could let it sit out to avoid the USDA's "danger zone" is two hours.
