Name: Best Cheesecake without Cream Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 70 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 400 gms Cottage Cheese (Paneer/Chenna - either store bought or homemade, both will do); 100 ml Condensed Milk; ½ cup Fresh Cream - alternate would be full fat milk; 12 nos. Digestive Biscuits or Graham Crackers; 3 tbsp Butter; 2 Eggs; 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract; 1 Lemon Juice & Zest

Table of Contents

This baked cheesecake recipe without cream cheese is everything that is delicious and decadent. I promise you won’t even notice that it has no cream cheese in it unless told about. The secret to the thickened, creamy and luscious cheesecake filling lies in the combination of cottage cheese, fresh cream and condensed milk. If you have these three ingredients in your pantry, you are pretty much ready to make this no-cream cheese cheesecake recipe.

This no cream cheese cheesecake recipe has a crust made using digestive biscuits and a hint of butter. Pressed and baked till golden before pouring the cheesecake filling and baking once again. Baking a cheesecake sounds daunting, but trust me, this is perhaps the easiest of all dessert recipes out there. You just cannot go wrong here! In this blog post, you will find the recipe laid out in detail, however, if you are in a hurry you can click “Jump to the Recipe’ and read a more concise version of it.

easy cheesecake recipe without cream cheese

Why you will love this easy recipe for Baked Cheesecake without Cream Cheese and Gelatin

No Cream Cheese, hence budget friendly. Any decent sized cheesecake needs anywhere between 2-4 slabs of Cream Cheese and that doesn’y come cheap. The cottage cheese instead is a relatively much cheaper substitute. You can buy some or even make at home. Either way you won’t feel any difference in taste
No Gelatin used. So if you are averse to the flavour or taste of gelatin, this recipe for no cream cheese cheesecake is for you.
Pantry staple ingredients. All you need is a handful of ingredients to make this cheesecake recipe such as cottage cheese, condensed milk, fresh cream and eggs. In case you dont have cottage cheese, you can always make some by curdling milk using vinegar or lemon juice
Great crowd pleaser as a dessert. You can always bake a big cheesecake a day ahead and serve it to your guests. Takes your load off as well on the day of your party. Simply bring it out of the refrigerator, unmould and top it with a compote or whipped cream. There it is, a delicious and fabulous looking party dessert

If you find yourself with a couple of slabs or tubs of Cream Cheese and craving some classic New York Style Cheesecake using Condensed Milk, click here. In case you wish to read my top tips to get the perfect Cheesecake EVERY single time, scroll below the Recipe Card.

How to make Cheesecake without Cream Cheese – Ingredients list

Cottage Cheese (Paneer/Chenna) – either store bought or homemade, both will do
Condensed Milk
Fresh Cream – alternate would be full fat milk
Digestive Biscuits or Graham Crackers
Butter
Eggs
Vanilla Extract
Lemon Juice & Zest

Step-by-step instructions on how to make a baked Cheesecake without Cream Cheese

Make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature. This means your Butter and Cottage Cheese should be soft, Condensed Milk should be free flowing and Egg not cold
Start by processing the Digestive Biscuits into a coarse powder. Take it out in a mixing bowl and add the butter to it. Rub it in so that you get sand-like texture
Dump it in a Springform Pan and using a flat bottom glass press it to get a levelled base
Bake it at 170C for 10 mins. Once done, take it out and allow it to cool down completely
In another mixing bowl, crumble the Cottage Cheese nicely. If needed whisk it to make it smooth. My advice would be dump it in a blender jar and give it a couple of buzz to blend it smooth.
Add in the Condensed Milk and whisk it till it gets smooth. Now, add the eggs, lemon zest and juice, fresh cream and vanilla extract. Give it a quick mix till you get a free flowing batter
Prepare the springform pan by wrapping the base with an aluminium foil sheet
Pour the prepared cheesecake batter over the base. Tap the pan a couple of times on the kitchen counter to knock out any air bubble which may cause the cheesecake to crack. This step is very important, do not miss it
Place the pan in another bigger baking pan with high rim. Fill the outside pan till halfway with boiling water
Now put this in the oven and bake it at 160C for 50-55 mins. Without opening the door of the oven, see if the top of the cheesecake looks dry-ish and levelled. If so, let it remain in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Take it out and gently take the springform pan out of the water bath
Wipe the base and sides and let it cool down for another 5 minutes or so
Run a knife along the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it. Release the bottom and push it out.
Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight to allow it to set before serving

perfectly baked cheesecake recipe without using cream cheese and gelatin

Top tips on how to get a perfectly baked cheesecake EVERY TIME

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. Take your cream cheese egg butter and lemon from the refrigerator and keep them on your kitchen counter for at least 30 minutes before you are ready to bake. Once your ingredients have softened and reached room temperature, they will mix well and give you a uniform batter
Always make sure that you are using your stand mixer or hand beater at low speed. In fact, you can use a balloon whisk to make the batter. Over mixing of batter causes the inclusion of air bubbles which in turn surfaces during baking causing the cracks on the cheesecake
Always use a water bath to bake your cheesecake. The moisture helps retain the perfect luscious consistency of the cheesecake
Use Springform Cake Pan for easiler release of Cheesecake. If you want to get that perfectly shaped cheesecake for yourself then use a springform pan. Once it is baked you can use a knife to release the edges from the pan and then remove it by pushing the base of the springform pan upwards
Low baking temperature yields better texture. It is always advised to bake the cheesecake at a low temperature that is why I have baked my cheesecake in a water bath at 160 degrees celsius for a considerable amount of time. This allows the creamy cheesecake filling to set properly and hence give you a luscious cheesecake to enjoy

Equipments in use

Mixing Bowl | Electric Chopper | Springform Cake Pan | Baking Tray

Few more quick & easy Baked Dessert recipes from my Blog

baked cheesecake recipe without cream cheese

Best Cheesecake without Cream Cheese

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr 10 mins

Total Time

1 hr 30 mins

This baked cheesecake without cream cheese is everything that is delicious and decadent. I promise you won't even notice that it has no cream cheese in it unless told about. The secret to the thickened, creamy and luscious cheesecake filling lies in the combination of cottage cheese, fresh cream and condensed milk. If you have these three ingredients in your pantry, you are pretty much ready to make this no-cream cheese cheesecake recipe.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cheesecake Recipes, Condensed Milk Recipes, Cream Recipes, Dessert Recipes, Paneer Recipes

Servings: 8 pieces

Author: Priyanka

Ingredients

400 gms Cottage Cheese Paneer/Chenna – either store bought or homemade, both will do
100 ml Condensed Milk
½ cup Fresh Cream – alternate would be full fat milk
12 nos. Digestive Biscuits or Graham Crackers
3 tbsp Butter
2 Eggs
1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 Lemon Juice & Zest

Instructions

Make sure that all your ingredients are at room temperature. This means your Butter and Cottage Cheese should be soft, Condensed Milk should be free flowing and Egg not cold
Start by processing the Digestive Biscuits into a coarse powder. Take it out in a mixing bowl and add the butter to it. Rub it in so that you get sand-like texture
Dump it in a Springform Pan and using a flat bottom glass press it to get a levelled base
Bake it at 170C for 10 mins. Once done, take it out and allow it to cool down completely
In another mixing bowl, crumble the Cottage Cheese nicely. If needed whisk it to make it smooth. My advice would be dump it in a blender jar and give it a couple of buzz to blend it smooth.
Add in the Condensed Milk and whisk it till it gets smooth. Now, add the eggs, lemon zest and juice, fresh cream and vanilla extract. Give it a quick mix till you get a free flowing batter
Prepare the springform pan by wrapping the base with an aluminium foil sheet
Pour the prepared cheesecake batter over the base. Tap the pan a couple of times on the kitchen counter to knock out any air bubble which may cause the cheesecake to crack. This step is very important, do not miss it
Place the pan in another bigger baking pan with high rim. Fill the outside pan till halfway with boiling water
Now put this in the oven and bake it at 160C for 50-55 mins. Without opening the door of the oven, see if the top of the cheesecake looks dry-ish and levelled. If so, let it remain in the oven for another 10 minutes.
Take it out and gently take the springform pan out of the water bath
Wipe the base and sides and let it cool down for another 5 minutes or so
Run a knife along the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it. Release the bottom and push it out.
Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight to allow it to set before serving