A quick and easy no-bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake using mascarpone. It takes only 15 minutes to prepare!
No-Bake Cheesecake
I have previously, in my post for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake, lamented about my inability to make a baked cheesecake work and I am afraid the situation remains unchanged.
But I make no apology for it – I’m still happy to stroll to the local Starbucks for my fix of their New York Cheesecake (which I LOVE) – and especially since a no-bake cheesecake is just so much quicker and easier to make.
Making Dessert Ahead of Time
Whenever we have guests coming over for dinner, I always try to make as much ahead as possible, just to minimise any stress on the actual day itself. Dessert is one course I always appreciate making the day or night before, and a no-bake cheesecake is extremely versatile.
For the most part, I like to top my cheesecakes with fresh fruit, such as steeped strawberries or fresh passionfruit. But at this time of the year in Zurich, berries and anything slightly tropical can be hit and miss in terms of quality, not to mention extortionate in price.
Which is why I came up with the idea for this Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
On a recent trip to a French supermarket just across the border from Switzerland, I was particularly excited to find chocolate chips. I know, I know. Every other country in the world sells this basic baking product, but here in Switzerland – aka the land of chocolate – such chocolate drops are nowhere to be found. Instead, the chocolate chips sold here are cubic in shape, like those seen here on my Chocolate Chip Sablé Cookies.
I actually don’t mind the cubic chocolate, but as I grew up with the drop variety, it’s nice to be able to cook with something familiar again.
Speaking of familiarity, there is something about this cheesecake which reminds me of stracciatella ice-cream, especially since I used mini chocolate chips in the filling. It’s up to you if you wish to use dark or milk chocolate; readers living in the US might even like to try other flavoured chocolate chips (pumpkin spice chips sounds pretty perfect to me!!).
I could have gone overboard and used chocolate biscuits for the base, but I wanted a slight contrast in flavour, so I opted for some caramelised biscuits instead. I usually use digestive biscuits for any cheesecake base, and I think they would work equally well in this recipe.
How to Make No-Bake Cheesecake
You will notice from the recipe that, unlike most cheesecakes, this one is made using mascarpone. Whilst I love the taste of cream cheese which is more commonly used in cheesecakes, I always have a large tub of mascarpone in the fridge and it is an ingredient I use more frequently than cream cheese. In fact, when I think about it, we only ever buy cream cheese to make cheesecake!
Also, I should disclose that I have fallen into the habit of making my own mascarpone at home, and this cheesecake sort of came about as way of using up the excess dairy in our fridge. So it is sort of a fridge-raid cheesecake, and an excuse to dip into my new supply of “proper” chocolate chips. Or maybe I just need an excuse to go grocery shopping in France again soon 😉
Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6-8
- Category: Cakes
- Cuisine: Australian
A quick and easy no-bake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake using mascarpone. It takes only 15 minutes to prepare!
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RateIngredients
- 5 oz (125 g) caramelised biscuits or digestive cookies
- 3/4 stick (75 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) double cream (heavy whipping cream)
- 2 cups (500 g) mascarpone
- 1/2 cup (80 g) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g (3.5 oz) chocolate chips, preferably dark or semi-sweet (see Notes)
Instructions
- Place the cookies into a large ziplock freezer bag and seal the bag. Bash the biscuits with a rolling pin and then roll over the biscuits until you have fine crumbs.
- Place the crumbs into a large bowl and mix with the melted butter.
- Line the bottom of a 20 cm (8 inch) springform cake pan with baking paper.
- Press the biscuit mixture into the tin and use the back of a spoon or your finger tips to press the mixture into an even layer.
- Place the cake pan into the fridge to firm up while you make the filling.
- Whisk the cream until it has thickened and soft peaks form. You want the cream to be firm but not over-whipped. If the cream is not firm enough, the cheesecake may not set properly.
- In a separate bowl, beat the mascarpone together with the sugar and vanilla.
- Gently fold through the whipped cream.
- Finally, add half (100g) of the chocolate chips. Reserve the other half of the chocolate chips for decorating the cake.
- Pour the cheesecake filling into the tin and use a small spatula to even the top.
- Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Just before serving, decorate with the remaining chocolate chips.
Kitchen Notes
I normally use only dark chocolate chips in this recipe as I don’t like my cakes and desserts to be overly sweet. However, on the last occasion, I didn’t have enough of either, so I used dark chocolate chips in the cheesecake filling, and milk chocolate chips to decorate the cake. This recipe is very forgiving so you can, of course, use whatever chocolate and whatever combination you like.
If you cannot buy chocolate chips where you live, or you don’t have any at home, a chopped up bar of chocolate would work just as well.
By accident, I used mini chocolate chips in the cheesecake filling and I found that I preferred their small texture to the larger chocolate chips. However, I used the larger (or normal-sized) chocolate chips to decorate the cake.
CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 630
- Sugar: 30.3g
- Sodium: 268.8mg
- Fat: 51g
- Carbohydrates: 40.4g
- Fiber: 1.7g
- Protein: 7.2g
- Cholesterol: 125.8mg
Update
This recipe was first published on 13 May 2017. It has been updated with new photos and more comprehensive recipe notes.
This looks so amazing, and the photos are beautiful! Great post!!
Thanks, Melanie!
15 minutes prep to make something this delicious?! I’m sold! This looks like the perfect dessert for a dinner party.
It’s the perfect recipe if you want a stress-free dessert 🙂
This cheese cake looks so creamy and delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks, Patty!
These are not only delicious but looks great too. my kids will love it as it has chocolate chips in it. You made a perfect recipe in 15 minutes.
Thank you! My children went crazy for the chocolate chips on top of the cheesecake, LOL! 🙂
I love the cheese cake, but never tried chocolate with it! Sounds even better to enjoy cheesecake!
I think cheesecake is most often paired with fruit, but I promise that it is really delicious with chocolate chips 🙂
That is so tempting! I mean to say cheesecake and that too with chocolate chips. So GOOD!.
Actually, my family loved this cheesecake, not only because it had chocolate chips, but also because I used Lotus caramelised biscuits as the base 🙂 It’s a very popular biscuit in Europe which is often served in coffee shops, and it works perfectly as a cheesecake base 🙂
oh it’s amazing! good taste! Yum!
★★★★★