This lemon raspberry cheesecake is creamy and delicious without the need for a water bath! It has a lemon cheesecake filling, raspberry swirl topping, and crunchy graham cracker crust.

Overview

• Skill Level: Beginner 
• Components Used: Basic Whipped Cream, Graham Cracker Crust

Cheesecake is my husband’s all time favorite meal. Not just favorite dessert but favorite meal! My Chocolate Chip Cheesecake is his usual answer as to the best one so this year I wanted to challenge myself to find a new favorite.

To tie-in with Valentine’s Day I wanted to make a pretty-in-pink, light, tart, and extremely creamy dessert. I started with my Easy No-Bake Cheesecake recipe and added the flavors of lemon and raspberry. This is a classic flavor combination and one of my favorites! To hold it all in, I’m making my basic graham cracker crust because it doesn’t get any better than a crunchy graham crust.

What makes this recipe even better is that it’s a no-bake recipe. If you haven’t made a no-bake cheesecake before, the process is much simpler than a traditional baked cheesecake. Instead of baking it in the oven with a water bath, the cheesecake filling is simple refrigerated to set up.

Will this year’s Valentine’s Day dessert be a winner? I don’t think there’s any doubt.

Variation Ideas

No-Bake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake: Swap the fresh raspberries in the recipe for fresh blueberries.

No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake: Simply omit the raspberry swirl for a classic lemon cheesecake flavor. You can add other toppings for serving like cherry pie filling or jam.

No-Bake Key Lime Cheesecake: Omit the raspberry swirl and swap the lemon juice and zest for Key lime juice and zest. Garnish with whipped cream and a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs for serving.

Tips for perfectly smooth cheesecake

• Cream cheese must be room temperature! I find it takes (at minimum) a full hour out of the refrigerator for cream cheese to become soft. If it is slightly too cold then you’ll have tiny lumps in your cheesecake that are difficult to remove.
• Don’t deflate the whipped cream! When adding the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, be gentle and use a spatula to fold it in by hand. Do not use the machine to combine these components.
• Chill! When in doubt, chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator for a little longer. For extra reassurance, I prefer to chill it overnight to ensure the filling sets up properly.

How to make no-bake lemon raspberry cheesecake

There are 3 components to this dessert: graham cracker crust, lemon cheesecake filling, and the raspberry swirl. A no-bake cheesecake filling is essentially whipped cream folded into whipped cream cheese creating a silky smooth filling.

Make the crust

For this cheesecake, I’m using my basic graham cracker crust recipe. This recipe can be used with any type of crunchy cookie like vanilla wafers or shortbread cookies but to pair with the lemon raspberry filling, I prefer to use graham crackers.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Pour the mixture into a springform pan and firmly press the crust into the bottom and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the pan. The bottom of a glass or a measuring cup can be helpful to press the crumbs into an even layer.

For a more toasted flavor, bake the crust at 375°F/190°C for 8 minutes and then set aside to cool while you prepare the filling. This step is completely optional. You can also skip baking the crust and refrigerate it while you make the filling.

Prepare the raspberries

Rinse and then pureé the fresh raspberries in a food processor or smash with a fork until fully mashed. You should have a thin mixture. If desired, strain the fruit to remove the seeds. This is what I did for my cheesecake. I prefer the texture of the cheesecake to remain fully smooth. Set aside while you make the filling.

Make the cheesecake filling

Place the cold heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer. Begin whipping on medium speed until stiff peaks are formed. Set aside.

In a separate bowl using a hand mixer, whip the room temperature cream cheese until soft and light. It is very important that the cream cheese is soft and not cold. If it’s cold you will end up with lumps in your cheesecake. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whip together until combined.

Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture using a rubber spatula. Be gentle to avoid de-flatting the whipped cream.

Pour the filling into the springform pan and smooth out with a rubber spatula. Dollop spoonfuls of the raspberry pureé over the top of the cheesecake filling. Swirl together using a toothpick or butter knife.

Use a butter knife if you want the 2 components to mix together a bit more. I find using a toothpick won’t mix the 2 together very well however, it makes the pattern on top look nicer. I used a toothpick for these photos.

Chill

Chill for at least 3 hours and up to overnight before un-molding and slicing. When ready to un-mold, use a butter knife to run around the sides of the pan to ensure that it doesn’t stick.

This raspberry swirled no-bake cheesecake is beautiful as is but if desired, decorate with whipped cream, fresh raspberries, or lemon slices.

Storage

A no-bake cheesecake can be wrapped and stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To keep it longer, wrap it in plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

MORE RECIPES FROM BAKER BETTIE!

If you enjoyed this recipe, you might like to try another creamy cheesecake recipe.

• Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
• New York Style Cheesecake
• Blueberry Lemon No-Bake Cheesecake
• No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake