It’s a well known fact that I am very much an ice cream kinda gal, but there are a few things in this world that I will choose over ice cream! One of those wonderful things is a No-Bake Caramel Cheesecake. A warm, buttery, graham cracker crust, topped with a creamy, smooth cheesecake that’s sweet and tangy, all finished with a warm, golden, caramel swirl on top. It’s like heaven in the form of cheesecake.

No-bake cheesecakes are in my opinion one of the best things on the planet! For one, they are so simple to make, which I loooove! There’s no eggs in them, so you don’t have to bake the cheesecake, (hence the name) therefore, there’s no need to check the oven every two minutes to see if it’s done or not. The no-bake caramel cheesecake get’s structure and volume instead from the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and whipped cream — making it a light and fluffy cheesecake.

The other wonderful thing about this cheesecake is that it only calls for a few ingredients! All you need is:

• Graham Crackers — for the crust.
• Granulated Sugar — to bring out the flavor of the graham crackers in the crust, to sweeten our whipped cream, and to make our caramel.
• Butter — to help the graham crackers stick together for the crust, and to make our caramel, buttery and warm.
• Cream Cheese — Because it’s cheesecake, and you need cream cheese for cheesecake! Cream cheese also gives the cheesecake substance and structure.
• Powdered Sugar — to sweeten the cheesecake. (One time I forgot to put a whole cup of sugar in a cheesecake, it was sad day. So don’t forget the sugar.)
• Lemon Juice — this gives the cheesecake a little tang, while also bringing out the flavor of the cream cheese.
• Vanilla Extract — this gives the cheesecake flavor.
• Heavy Cream — To make the whipped cream, which gives our No-Bake Caramel Cheesecake more volume! And the heavy cream also gives our caramel, a rich, creamy, texture.

Tips for making the Cheesecake

The key to making sure this No-Bake Caramel Cheesecake is ultra smooth is mixing the cream cheese by itself, before we add anything else to it. This ensures that it’s, soft and blend-able. Once the cream cheese is smooth, then we can add in the powdered sugar, and cream the powdered sugar with the cream cheese. This helps the powdered sugar blend smoothly into the cream cheese, so that there’s no clumps when we incorporate the whipped cream — then the entire cheesecake is smooth and delicious.

If we don’t blend the cream cheese first, it’s not soft enough and the powdered sugar clumps up in the cream cheese, and then when we cream in the whipped cream, the cream cheese doesn’t blend in smooth and we get grainy specks of cream cheese and powdered sugar throughout the cheesecake — so it’s super important to cream the cream cheese by itself first, so it’s whipped and fluffy, and then everything else incorporates smoothly.

Tips for the Caramel Sauce

For our Caramel Sauce, don’t stop stirring! The first time I made a rendition of the caramel sauce I followed a recipe that said to let the caramel sit and cook at for a minute, not a good idea. When I let the caramel sit, the caramel sauce developed a slightly bitter taste. We don’t want a bitter caramel! The secret to creamy, golden, caramel sauce, is to keep whisking the entire time you cook it! Did I mention how great of an arm workout you get when making this!? 😉

How to make No-Bake Caramel Cheesecake

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For the Crust

1. Add the graham cracker sheets to the food processor. Pulse until they are a fine consistency.
2. Add in the melted butter and granulated sugar. Pulse until the graham cracker crust is wet and begins to sticks together.
3. Press the graham crackers into the bottom of the spring form pan. Use a spatula to press the grahams so they are tightly packed into the bottom of the pan. Place the crust in the fridge to chill, while you make the cheesecake.

For the Cheesecake

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and lemon juice. Using an electric hand mixer, mix the cream cheese and lemon juice, until it’s smooth and soft.
2. Add in the powdered sugar, cream until smooth and there are no powdered sugar clumps. Add in one teaspoon of vanilla extract and cream until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl combine the heavy cream, granulated sugar, and remaining vanilla extract. Using the electric hand mixer, mix the cream until the cream is the consistency of whipped cream; thick and holds it’s shape, about 5-6 minutes. You want the cream to be thick, so the cheesecake sets.
4. Add the cream cheese mixture to the whipped cream. Cream together the cream cheese and whipped cream until the mixture is smooth.
5. Pour the cheesecake mixture on top of the graham cracker crust. Using a spatula, smooth the cheesecake mixture until its flat and level.
6. Place the cheesecake in the freezer for one hour to set it.

For the Caramel Sauce

1. Stirring constantly, add the 1/2 cup of sugar to a medium sauce pan, over medium heat. The sugar will begin to clump together and then melt into a golden liquid.
2. Once the sugar is liquid, continuing to stir, add in the butter. The sugar and butter will begin to turn a caramel color, and will bubble vigorously.
3. As soon as the butter is completely melted, add in the the heavy cream. When you add the heavy cream, the caramel will bubble more and rise in height, keep stirring, and then the bubbles will begin to descend in height. Remove the caramel from the heat.
4. Continuing to whisk the caramel, add in the Vanilla Extract and the salt. Then pour the caramel into a jar to cool for 20 minutes. As the caramel cools it will thicken.

Assembly

1. Using a knife go around the edge of the springform pan to loosen the cheesecake from the pan. Undo the clamp of the pan, and gently push the cheesecake out of the pan.
2. Pour the caramel onto the cheesecake, and use a knife to gently swirl it on the top of the cheesecake. Put the cheesecake into the fridge for an hour until set.
3. Store the cheesecake in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it.