Light and refreshing no-bake Greek yogurt cheesecake with apricot mousse on top. I decorated it with apricot ‘bees’, only because it was my daugther’s birthday cake (for her third birthday). So this topping is optional but I can assure you, kids will love it!
The cheesecake has a really wonderful light texture, light lemon flavor, and is so creamy you won’t believe it’s made almost of Greek yogurt! The apricot topping adds a refreshing fruity flavor but is also optional. Instead of apricots, you can also use other fruit (also frozen).
This cheesecake is really easy and quick to make but it requires a good couple of hours to set in the fridge!
Perfect birthday cake
This was our daughter’s 3rd birthday cake. Check out our other birthday cakes:
1st birthday: number cake – lemon cream tart with raspberries
2nd birthday: carrot layer cake with cream cheese frosting
4th birthday: chocolate chip cookie cake with chocolate frosting
Ingredients:
Here are pictured all the ingredients you will need to make this no-bake Greek yogurt cheesecake. I forgot to place the lemons!
This no-bake dessert has the following layers:
- Cookie crumb crust – made with just cookies and butter. Instead of making this crust, you can just use ladyfingers or vanilla wafers.
- No-bake cheesecake – made mostly with Greek yogurt and a small amount of cream cheese spread and whipped cream. It’s not overly sweet and lightly flavored with lemon juice and zest.
- Apricot mousse – it’s made with just canned apricots, syrup from the can, and honey. You can use any other fruit, also frozen (must be thawed and pureed first).
Start with making the cookie crumb crust:
- Mix the cookies and combine with melted butter.
- Press the crumbs into the bottom of the springform pan.
- Place the pan in the fridge.
How to make the no-bake Greek yogurt cheesecake step-by-step:
4. Mix the gelatin powder with cold water. Let stand for 10 mins.
5. Gelatin should bloom (it will thicken).
6. Gently warm up gelatin until it’s dissolved.
7. Mix the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, powdered sugar and lemon juice and zest.
8. Add a couple of tablespoons to the dissolved gelatin.
9. Mix the gelatin with the whole cheesecake batter.
10. Whip the cream and fold into the cheesecake batter.
11. Pour the batter onto the cookie crust.
12. Put in the fridge until set (about 3 hours or longer).
Make the apricot mousse:
You can start making the mousse about 2 hours after putting the cheesecake in the fridge.
13. Mix the gelatin with the syrup from the can. Let stand for 10 mins.
14. The gelatin should bloom (it will thicken but not as much as the gelatin for the cheesecake).
15. Gently warm up the gelatin until dissolved.
16. Puree the apricots with honey.
17. Add to the gelatin.
18. Pour the mixture over the cheesecake. Place in the fridge until set (about 3 hours or longer).
How to make the apricot ‘bees’:
For the body: melt the chocolate and pour over dried apricots halves (make the strips). Put in the fridge until the chocolate is set.
For the heads: Put the melted chocolate in the freezer until almost set. Form small balls and put them in the fridge until the chocolate is set.
When the chocolate is set you can place the apricots and the heads on top of the cheesecake.
Make the eyes from a very thick icing (powdered sugar mixed with a drip of water). Apply it with a toothpick.
Wings: make two small slits onto each apricot and stuck two flaked almonds inside.
Storage:
Store the cheesecake in the fridge for up to 5 days. It tastes and looks exactly the same the next and third day, so it’s perfect to make ahead!
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
No-bake Greek yogurt cheesecake with apricot mousse
Ingredients
cookie crumb crust:
- 4 oz (120g) butter cookies or other cookies of your choice
- 1/2 stick (60g) butter
no-bake cheesecake:
- 2/3 cup (5.3oz/150g) cream cheese spread at room temperature
- 3 cups (30oz/850g) full-fat Greek yogurt at room temperature
- 5.5 teaspoons (0.3oz/18g) gelatin powder
- 9 tablespoons cold water
- 2 cups (8.5oz/240g) powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup (6.3oz/180g) heavy cream cold
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- zest grated from 1/2 lemon
apricot mousse:
- 17 apricot halves in syrup this is 11 oz / 300g drained apricot halves
- 1 flat tablespoon honey
- 1.5 teaspoons (5g) gelatin powder
- 7 tablespoons syrup from the can with apricots
apricot ‘bees’ (optional):
- 5 apricot halves
- 2 oz (60g) dark chocolate
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil or other vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
- 10 flaked almonds
Instructions
- Prepare a high-rimmed 8-inch / 20 cm springform baking pan (this is what I used) or 9-inch / 23 cm springform baking pan (standard height) by lining its bottom with baking paper.
Make the cookie crumb crust:
- Mix the cookies in a food processor or blender until very fine (you can also place the cookies in a ziplock bag and pound them with a rolling pin until they reach a fine crumble).
- Melt the butter. Mix the cookie crumbs with the butter, it should look like wet sand.
- Add the mixture to the baking pan, press with the bottom of a measuring cup or with your fingers to form an even layer.
- Place the pan in the fridge.
Make the cheesecake:
- Prepare the gelatin: add 9 tablespoons of cold water to the gelatin powder and stir. Let stand for 10 minutes. After this time the gelatin should bloom (= it will swell in size and have a thicker consistency). Transfer the gelatin into a small pot. Heat over very low heat until all gelatin is dissolved (you can check with your finger if they’re no gelatin granules). Don’t let it boil (very important) !! Let cool slightly.
- Using an electric mixer, mix the yogurt, cream cheese spread, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and zest until thoroughly combined.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of cheesecake batter to the gelatin and mix. Check again with your finger if they are no gelatin lumps (if they are you can warm up the mixture gently until the gelatin is dissolved).
- Mix the dissolved gelatin with the whole cheesecake batter.
- Add the cold heavy cream into a clean bowl and whip it with clean whisk attachments until ‘stiff peaks’ form (if you scoop some whipped cream with a whisk and turn it upside down it shouldn’t change its shape).
- Using a silicone spatula, fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake batter.
- Pour the batter into the baking pan and place it in the fridge. The batter will need about 3 hours to set. After 2 hours you can start making the apricot mousse.
Make the apricot mousse:
- Drain the canned apricots but reserve the liquid!
- Puree the drained apricots with honey in a food processor until smooth.
- Prepare the gelatin: add 7 tablespoons of the liquid from the can to the powdered gelatin and stir. Let stand for 10 minutes. After this time the gelatin should bloom (it will swell in size and have a thicker consistency, but it won’t be as thick as the gelatin for the cheesecake). Transfer the gelatin mixture into a small pot. Heat over very low heat until all gelatin is dissolved (you can check with your finger if they’re no gelatin granules). Don’t let it boil !! Let cool slightly.
- Mix the gelatine mixture with the apricot mousse until well combined.
- Let stand for about 30 minutes so that it can thicken a bit, then pour over the cheesecake. The cheesecake batter must be almost set (but it can be jiggly still in the middle, so not completely set).
- Place the baking pan in the fridge. The apricot mousse will need about 2-3 hours to set. You can insert a toothpick into the canter of the cake to check if all the layers are set (it should come out clean). Best would be to leave it in the fridge for another 1-2 hours or overnight.
Make the apricot ‘bees’ (optional):
- Melt the chocolate using double boiler method: In a small pot, bring water to a boil, remove the pot from the heat (steaming water should be enough to melt the chocolate). Place a small bowl over the pot, it should not touch the surface of the water. Add the finely chopped chocolate and coconut oil to the bowl and stir until the chocolate is melted. Place the bowl with the chocolate in the fridge for about 15 minutes or longer. The chocolate should thicken slightly but still be pourable.
- Place the apricot halves, with the cut-side down on a chopping board lined with a piece of baking paper. Pat them thoroughly dry with paper towels (or the chocolate won’t stick to it).
- Using a teaspoon, pour the chocolate over the apricot halves so that it resembles the bees’ stripes. Place the board with the apricots in the fridge.
- Make the bees’ heads: Place the bowl with the chocolate in the freezer for a short while. The chocolate should be almost set but still pliable. Scoop small amounts of the chocolate with a teaspoon, cover your hands with cocoa and form small balls with your palms. Place the balls on a piece of baking paper and put it in the fridge until the chocolate is set.
- When the chocolate is set place the apricot halves and their chocolate heads on top of the cheesecake.
- Make the eyes from a thick icing: mix a small amount of powdered sugar with just a drop of water and stir with a toothpick until very thick. Apply with a toothpick on the heads so that they resemble ‘the eyes’.
- Make the wings: Cut 2 small slits on top of the apricots, insert 2 flaked almonds into the slits.
- You can also decorate the cheesecake with edible flowers.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Store the cheesecake in the fridge for up to 5 days. It tastes and looks exactly the same the next and third day, so it’s perfect to make ahead! The ‘bees’ are best freshly made, after a couple of hours the apricots and chocolate don’t look very fresh.
- Instead of cookie crust, you can just use ladyfingers or vanilla wafers. Pour the cheesecake batter directly onto the wafers.
- Calories count = 1 serving (1/12 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
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