No-Bake Easter Egg Cheesecake

This easy, light-as-air no-bake Easter Egg Cheesecake recipe is perfect for Easter dessert or any spring gathering. 

Why you’re going to love this Easter Cheesecake recipe

The plush texture is mousse-like and creamy – made so fluffy when you use a combination of cream cheese, whipped cream and yogurt.
It’s a totally no-bake cheesecake, all the way from the graham cracker crust to the cheesecake filling. No need to turn on the oven, fuss with a water bath or worry about cheesecake cracks.
The chocolate Easter eggs on top are totally irresistible to kids and adults alike. I love to use a mixture of Easter egg sizes and textures, plus a little whipped cream and a broken-up Caramkilk bar to make it really stunning.
I know you already love this scrumptious Cadbury Mini Egg Cookies recipe and Easter Brownies – a cheesecake is the natural next step.

Easter Egg Cheesecake Ingredients

Heavy Cream: (a.k.a. whipping cream, double cream, or 35% m.f. cream). Whipping this up first and then folding it into the batter adds a light airiness to this cheesecake for a gorgeous, fluffy texture. I like to whip a little extra to use as a topping on the finished cake.

Cream Cheese: can’t have cheesecake without it! I prefer full-fat cream cheese (Philadelphia cream cheese is my go-to) for optimal creaminess (and usually no texture-changing additives like the spreadable kind usually does).

Yogurt: Plain yogurt is my secret ingredient in a no-bake cheesecake. Not only does it add a lovely tang, it helps firm up the fluffy filling without gelatin, as the live bacteria subtly set the cream (like making creme fraiche). So good!

Lemon juice: the little bit of extra tartness just brings out the tang of the cream cheese and cuts the richness.

Vanilla: this adds a warm flavor to the yummy cheesecake base and pairs beautifully with chocolate easter eggs.

Easter eggs for decorations: I am personally partial to Cadbury mini eggs (they just taste so much better than any other brand, don’t you agree?) but I love the visual contrast of including a couple of larger-sized chocolate eggs as well. I used a couple of Kinder eggs (available in Canada but not in the US), but any hollow milk chocolate eggs or other Easter candy will work.

3-Ingredient No-Bake Cheesecake Crust

Just graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. I love a good graham cracker crust, especially this one because it is so simple.

You can buy graham cracker crumbs specifically or crush your own graham crackers by whacking at them with a rolling pin, or put them in a blender or food processor.

Feel free to swap in digestive biscuits, chocolate wafer crumbs (like oreo baking crumbs) or gluten-free cookies if you prefer.

You can just mix the three staple ingredients together and press the mixture into a 9-inch springform cake tin. No need to bake it at all! It firms up naturally as the melted butter returns to solid state.

I also really love the specific ratio of butter to crumbs. It is tender enough to easily cut through with a fork but stands up to lifting tidy slices without crumbling. Not a rock-hard cheesecake base, not a crumbly mess. Perfect!

How To Make This No-Bake Easter Egg Cheesecake

Graham Cracker Crust:

Line the bottom of a 9” springform pan with parchment paper and spray the bottom and sides with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the crust ingredients until they are evenly moistened.
Firmly press the crust mixture into the bottom and 1” up the sides of the prepared pan, using a flat-bottomed measuring cup to help pack it in tightly. Freeze the crust for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.

Cheesecake Filling:

In a stand mixer on medium-high speed, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Scrape it into a separate bowl to reserve. Don’t bother washing the stand mixer bowl
To the stand mixer bowl, add the cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until it’s fluffy and shiny like buttercream frosting. It could take 5 minutes. If cream cheese is too cold to whip up to this airy consistency, warm the bowl slightly by pressing a hot, damp towel on the bottom.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture using a large rubber spatula.
Scrape the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust and smooth the top.  Chill in the fridge for 12 hours to set. Top cheesecake as desired just before serving. Wrap any leftovers tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Pro Tips

To press the graham cracker crust into the pan, I use a flat bottom of a glass (spray it with nonstick spray first) and it comes out super smooth and perfect. The trick is to really press it into the bottom firmly and up the sides of the pan by about an inch. Pop it in the freezer while you prep the cheesecake filling.
Cut slices with a sharp knife and run the knife under hot water between slices for easy, tidy cuts.
A no-bake cheesecake should be allowed 12 hours to fully set. Although this requires a bit of advance planning, the payoff in luscious texture is so, so worth it. You can easily make it a day in advance (or in the morning to serve at night). Let the cheesecake set fully before adding any toppings.
The whisk attachment on your stand mixer is more effective than the paddle attachment for getting lots of air into the batter.

Can Easter Egg Cheesecake Be Frozen?

Short answer: not ideally.

Freezing no-bake cheesecake causes the water naturally occurring in the cream and cream cheese to freeze and form ice crystals. Frozen water expands, and when thawed, leaves behind holes that disrupt the structure. The water often separates from the fat emulsion and seeps out. Fat molecules also clump together, and the overall result may be gritty and/or weepy.

Although you may be tempted to use the freezer to speed up the setting process, resist the urge and let the fridge do the chilling time.

FAQs

Other Easter Desserts You’ll Love

Chewy Chocolate Mini Egg Easter Cookies
Easy Easter Egg Brownies
Chocolate Easter Egg Cookies

Last Updated on March 29, 2023 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD