Sometimes you just don’t want to put the oven on and bake something. You NEED a no-bake dessert! My No-Bake Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake has you sorted!.
Layered with a buttery biscuit base, 2 tone strawberries and cream cheesecake filling, crumbled shortbread, topped with dairy-free whipping cream, fresh strawberries and more shortbread. How delicious does that sound!!?
This recipe has been made in collaboration with Naturli. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. (For more information, check out my disclosure policy.)
Why make a No-bake cheesecake?
Baked cheesecakes are absolutely scrumptious!!! My Baked Vegan New York Cheesecake is one of my favourite recipes of ALL TIME (recipe in my new book). But if you’re after a bake that won’t take you long in the kitchen and requires zero baking, this is the recipe for you! I’m sure you’ll absolutely adore this tasty recipe!
No-bake cheesecakes are most definitely one of my favourite’s to make. If you want anymore no-bake inspiration, check out my delicious recipes here. Strawberry shortcake is such a classic flavour combination. It’s rich and sweet with the biscuit base and vanilla, along with the fresh and juicy strawberries. It’s simply divine and reminds me of a summer’s day (which is always great to think about!).
You really can’t beat a no-bake cheesecake!
- They’re easy to make
- No baking required
- It’s ultra creamy
- Little ingredients involved
- No time waiting for the oven to heat up
- There is absolutely no waiting for the bake to cool down before decorating. Such a winner- haha!
- The only thing you do need is a little bit of patience for the chilling time, but that’s about it!
Whilst having a think of some new cheesecake flavours, I was nibbling on a doughnut from The Doughnut Whisperer. My book launch for my debut baking book ‘The Little Book of Vegan Bakes‘ was this week, and I put together some PR boxes. Inside those boxed, I collaborated with ‘The Doughnut Whisperer’ who made me some of the most incredible Vegan Strawberries and Cream Doughnuts! They we’re so good in fact, I was craving the flavour of strawberries and cream the following day!
To make the strawberries and cream flavour in this cheesecake, I made my super quick and easy no-bake cheesecake filling along with a homemade strawberry compote.
What is compote?
Compote is quite like jam. It uses fruit, sugar and a thickening agent like cornstarch / cornflour. It resembles jam in it’s taste and texture but has a stronger flavour, which is why I love baking with it! Plus, its super easy to make!
Looking for more fruity desserts? Look no further than:
Baked Vegan Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Raspberry Tart
Vegan Strawberries and Cream Macarons
Vegan Raspberry Cake 
The Best Vegan Lemon Loaf 
Vegan Baked Blueberry Cheesecake Bars 
Vegan No-Bake Raspberry Tart 
Vegan Strawberries and Cream Macarons 
Vegan Strawberry Flødeboller
How many people will this cheesecake serve?
This recipe used a 8″/20cm heart shaped tin. This size tin will serve approximately 8 to 10, depending how big you cut the slices. If you require a smaller cheesecake, all you need to do is use a smaller tin and halve the recipe quantities.
Ingredients you’ll need to make a No-Bake Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake?
Strawberries: I like to use frozen strawberries for the compote, and fresh for decorating the cheesecake, but you can use fresh strawberries in the compote also.
Cornflour / cornstarch: To help thicken up the compote.
Caster sugar: Adding this into the compote makes it sweeter along with adding stability and helping to jellify the mixture.
Cashew nuts: The nuts add stability to the cheesecake, which helps it set firm in the fridge. Unfortunately for this recipe, there isn’t an alternative. If you have a nut allergy, make sure to check out my cream based cheesecakes!
Dairy-free cream cheese: If you want your cheesecake to be silky smooth and creamy, this ingredient is essential. My favourite vegan / dairy-free cream cheeses are Violife ‘Original Flavour’ Cream Cheese, and Sainsbury’s ‘Deliciously Free From Cream Cheese. There are so many different brands of cream cheese nowadays, it’s definitely worth having a look around to find which you like the taste of!
Coconut cream: Adding coconut cream into the mix help to loosen off the mixture (as its quite a thick cheesecake mixture, along with helping with the setting process. When the coconut cream starts to set, it will help set the cheesecake.
Icing sugar: This helps sweeten the cheesecake filling.
Vanilla: The vanilla isn’t necessary in this recipe, but it does add a yummy flavour to the filling which is delightful.
Dairy-free butter: As this cheesecake is ‘Strawberry Shortcake’, butter is essential in making a delicious and crumbly shortbread! (Continued below)
I’m so excited to share that I’ve collaborated with Naturli for this recipe!
Their Vegan Block is one of my favourite butters to bake with! It’s a Vegan Block butter, which act’s, taste’s and look’s like ”normal” butter.
To make this cheesecake ‘Strawberry Shortcake’, you’ll want to make a small batch of homemade vegan shortbread. Thats where Naturli comes in.
Shortbread consists of 4 ingredients: Flour, Sugar, vanilla and butter (or in this cake, Naturli Vegan Block). You’ll begin by creaming the sugar, vanilla and butter together until pale and creamy, then adding in the flour. The dough is perfect, and makes for some of the most tastiest vegan shortbread! As the cheesecake is ‘no-bake’, you’ll want to bake the shortbread before hand and allow it to cool fully before adding it into the cheesecake mixture. The shortbread can be kept and stored before use in a sealed container in the fridge.
I highly recommend Naturli. It is also amazing at making the most INCREDIBLE Vegan Italian Meringue Buttercream. Perfect for for icing cakes, cupcakes and more! It will change your vegan baking game for sure!
Buy Naturli Vegan Block here.
Available at Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and many more supermarkets and online stores.
Make sure to ‘PIN’ this photo below to your favourite Pinterest Board!
No-Bake & Vegan Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake
- Total Time: Overnight
- Yield: 8–10 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Be prepared for Valentines day with this phenomenal Vegan & No-Bake Strawberry Shortcake Cheesecake. It’ll leave your guests wanting more!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the shortbread
- 150g of Naturli Vegan Block Butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 80g of caster sugar
- 250g of plain flour
Ingredients for the compote
- 200g of fresh / frozen strawberries
- 60g of caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons of cornflour / cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Ingredients for the base
- 200g of digestive biscuits
- 80g of Naturli Vegan Block butter
Ingredients for the filling
- 200g of cashew nuts (see notes*)
- 350g of dairy-free cream cheese
- 80g of coconut cream (see notes*)
- 50g of icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
+
- Extra fresh strawberries (for decoration)
- Dairy-free cream (to serve)
Instructions
Method (shortbread)
- Preheat oven to 140 degrees c fan and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, cream the dairy-free butter, vanilla and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Sift in the flour and mix to combine into a dough. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball, wrap in grease proof paper and place in to the fridge for 30 minutes. Chilling the dough will make it easier to work with, and the shortbread won’t spread out in the oven when baked!
- When the dough is firm to touch, roll out the dough until 1/2 inch thick, in-between 2 sheets of grease proof paper. Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out shapes and place into the lined trays.
- Prick them middle of the shortbread with a fork and place into the middle of the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the shortbread is golden in colour. Repeat for the other tray, and allow the shortbread biscuits to cool fully before use. They will firm up as they cool.
Method (compote)
- Place the strawberries into a medium-sized saucepan and sprinkle over the sugar, cornflour / cornstarch and lemon juice.
- Place on top onto the hob over a medium to high heat and bring to the boil. This will take around 5-8 minutes. Keep stirring with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon to prevent the mixture from sticking and burning. It will start to turn thick. Once thick, remove from the heat and allow to cool before using. As it cools, it will thicken up even more and turn into a jellified sauce.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. As the compote cools, it might go too thick to add into the cheesecake mixture. If this happens, give it a vigorous whisk before adding into the filling mixture.
Method (base)
- Line an 8” loose base heart cake tin with grease proof paper.
- In a blender, add in the digestive biscuits and blitz until fine and crumbly.
- Add the dairy-free butter / margarine into a small saucepan, place on the hob over low heat and allow to melt.
- Add the melted butter / margarine into the biscuit crumbs and pulse until the mixture is like wet sand. Test it’s ready my pinching some if the buttery biscuits together, and if it sticks together and hold’s it’s shape, it’s ready.
- Compact the buttery biscuit crumbs into the base of the lined tin. The more compact it is, it’s less likely to crumble when serving.
- Place into the fridge while you make the filling.
Method (filling)
- The cashew nuts will need to be soaked overnight in water. See notes* for more details.
- Drain the cashew nuts from the water and place them into a food processor/blender along with the dairy-free cream cheese, coconut cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract. Whizz up on high speed for around 5 minutes until smooth. Add some more coconut cream if needed.I use a ‘Kitchenaid Powerplus blender’. It’s best to use a high-speed blender if possible as the mixture is quite thick, and you want it as smooth as possible. You might need to stop the mixture a few times and scrape down the sides to make sure everything is incorporated and smooth.
- Pour half of the mixture into a separate bowl and add in a few tablespoons of strawberry compote. Stir to combine.
- In stages, pour some of the plain cheesecake mixture into the tin, followed by some of the strawberry cheesecake filling, a swirl of compote topped with some crumbled shortbread (watch me make this cheesecake here). Adding the ingredients in stages will give you. Gorgeous ripple effect.
- Place into the fridge overnight to set.
- Once set, remove from the fridge, and push out the cheesecake (as the base is loose bottomed).
- Place on a serving place and serve immediately or add on some extra decorations.
- I whipped up some Elmlea Plant Based cream, added it into a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 2D star tip nozzle and piped a swirl around the top edge of the cheesecake, followed with some more crumbled up shortbread and fresh strawberry halves.
Notes
To store: Store this cheesecake in a sealed container in the fridge. Best enjoyed 2 days of making.
Store the compote in a sealed container / jar in the fridge. Can be enjoyed within 1 week of making.
Store the shortbread in a sealed container in the fridge. Best enjoyed 3 days of making.
Cashew nuts: The cashew nuts need to be soaked overnight in water. Just make sure the water is covering the nuts! This makes them softer, which creates a grain-free and smooth cheesecake filling.
Cream cheese: To be honest, any dairy-free cream cheese will work perfectly in this recipe. My favourites to use are: ‘Violife Cream Original’, Sainsbury’s own Free From Cream Cheese’. Any soft, and creamy cream cheese is great!
Coconut cream: Coconut cream- Chill a can of coconut milk in the fridge overnight, turn it upside down and open. Pour out the liquid and use the thick, white cream.
- Category: Cheesecakes
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: Valentines Recipes
