Red Velvet Cheesecake

Red Velvet Cheesecake!! A no-bake showstopper where the bold, striking colour of Red Velvet Cake meets the creamy decadence of cheesecake. The filling is beautifully chocolatey, rich-yet-light, with that signature velvety texture. Make this when you have people to impress – it’s special!

Red Velvet Cheesecake

This is a cheesecake that has an Oreo base and an attention-seeking red velvet coloured cheesecake filling with a gorgeous chocolatey flavour.

It tastes luxurious but it’s not overly rich because there’s only 3/4 cup of sugar and the filling is light-but-luscious, the type that cuts neatly into slices but melts into a river of creamy goodness in your mouth.

The recipe is adapted from my classic no-bake cheesecake. A creation I made on a whim when I noticed how my latest recipes were all so yellow and orange. We need colour! I declared dramatically.

Here is colour!

Ingredients in Red Velvet Cheesecake

Most Red Velvet Cheesecakes use cocoa powder and food colouring which makes the filling a fun, bright candy-red colour. I wanted a deeper, more sophisticated burgundy tone – using melted 70% dark chocolate instead of cocoa powder gave me that, as well as impressive chocolate flavour!

Also – gelatine is key. That’s why the texture of this cheesecake is so terrific – light but luscious is how I describe it – and it won’t melt into a puddle within 10 minutes taking it out of the fridge, nor does it call for 3 blocks of cream cheese which I find too dense for my taste.

1. RED VELVET CREAM CHEESE FILLING

• Cream cheese – I use Philadelphia, but if you’ve had success with other brands, feel free to use them. Note: use blocks, not tubs. Tubs are too soft as they are intended to be spreadable. If using tubs, increase gelatine slightly (see recipe notes).

  Softened – Take out 1 hour ahead so it’s soft enough to beat smooth and fluffy.

• 70% cocoa chocolate – This refers to chocolate that is made with 70% cocoa. It is darker in colour and richer in chocolate flavour than regular dark chocolate (typically 40–45% cocoa), giving the filling a deeper, scarlet red colour and a more intense chocolate flavour.

  That said, regular dark chocolate (US: semi-sweet) works perfectly, it’s just that the red colour is a bit brighter, and the chocolate flavour slightly milder. I can see this appealing to some people more!

• Red food colouring – You’ll need 2 tablespoons of regular liquid colouring to get that bold red hue. It sounds like a lot, but less just doesn’t cut it – the colour is much less impressive and kind of defeats the purpose of making this. Unless, of course, you are after a pink velvet cake! 🙂

  If using red gel, start with a drop and add more as needed – it’s much more concentrated.

• Gelatine – I prefer powder over leaves – easy, cheap, widely available, and consistent in strength from brand to brand, country to country, whereas leaves can vary wildly. Find it in the baking aisle in tubs or sachets.

• Water – Used to “bloom” the gelatine. Just 2 tablespoons so flavour isn’t diluted.

• Whipping cream – Whipped cream helps make the texture of this cheesecake beautifully light rather than dense. Make sure it’s fridge-cold when you use it else it won’t whip properly. And make sure you get cream labelled as suitable for whipping, not pouring or dolloping cream which cannot be whipped. Full fat please!

  We also use cream to decorate the cheesecake.

• Sugar – Caster sugar (aka superfine sugar) is best as it dissolves more easily, especially in no-bake recipes. Regular sugar can be substituted by rub some of the mixture between your fingers to ensure there are no granules – if there are, keep beating.

• Vanilla – Use extract (real vanilla), not essence (fake). Makes a difference in no-bake recipes where the flavour isn’t cooked.

• Salt – A tiny bit to enhance flavour – won’t taste salty.

2. The cheesecake crust

I chose Oreo cookies for the crust because I like the look of the dark chocolate base against the red. Also because they go on sale regularly at my local grocery store!!

No need to scrape out the cream filling, that gets blitzed up as well which, along with the melted butter, is what holds the base together.

How to make Red Velvet Cheesecake

No-bake cheesecakes are simpler to make than baked ones. But there’s one important thing to be mindful of: making sure the melted chocolate and gelatine are fully liquid but not hot. Goal: warm like a bubble bath, but not as hot as your morning coffee. If they start setting or getting gummy, they won’t blend smoothly and you’ll end up with tiny lumps in your otherwise silky smooth filling.

Baking pro? You’ll probably find these steps more detailed than you need, they’re designed to give first-timers the confidence to nail this! Feel free to jump straight to the recipe. 🙂

1. INVERTED BASE (PRO TIP!)

We use a springform pan for cheesecakes so they can be removed without flipping – no cheesecake would survive being turned upside down! For easy removal, turn the springform base upside down – no lip means the cheesecake slides off smoothly without cracking the crust.

1. Flip the base of a 20cm/8″ springform pan upside down. 

2. Butter and line – Spray the base with oil or grease very lightly with butter, just enough to hold a square(ish) piece of baking paper (parchment paper) in place so it’s not sliding around when you clip the sides in.

3. Clip the sides in so the excess paper is sticking out. The overhang makes it easy to slide the cheesecake onto a serving platter – no structural stress!

4. Line sides – Grease then line the sides as well.

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2. oreo biscuit base

In this recipe, I opted not to line the walls so you can see the red filling which is the star of the show!

1. Break up cookies roughly by hand, then place in a food processor;

2. Blitz until it becomes sand-like. Pour in the melted butter and blitz again briefly to just combine;

3. Tip this cookie-sand into the lined pan; and

4. Press into pan – Use something with a flat base and straight sides to press the crumbs firmly against the base of the pan. I use a measuring cup!

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3. BLOOM THE GELATINE

Gelatine is simple to use if you just follow the steps I’ve provided. There’s a reason for every direction!

1. Bloom gelatine – Sprinkle over water in a small bowl (don’t dump in one spot), stir, and let sit 5 minutes to form a rubbery block.

2. Rubbery! This is what it looks like once set. If it doesn’t set, it’s no good – replace it.

3. Melt gently – Microwave for just 15 seconds to turn it back into liquid, stir until smooth.

4. Cool slightly – Let it sit 5 minutes while you make the filling. It should be warm liquid but not hot when added. If it sets again (even around the edges), re-melt gently.

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4. MAKE THE FILLING

I prefer a handheld beater for the filling – it’s easier to move around the bowl and needs less scraping. If using a stand mixer, use the whisk for cream, then switch to the paddle for cream cheese to avoid over-aerating (which can cause bubbles).

1. Whip cream – Put the cream in a bowl and whip it on high for 2 minutes or until stiff peaks form. We’re not looking for silky soft whipped cream, we want full on stiff whipped cream, as this makes our cheesecake beautiful light and fluffy.

2. Beat cream cheese – Put the cream cheese and sugar in a separate bowl and using the same whisk (no need to clean it), beat for 2 minute on high just until it’s smooth and quite fluffy. Then add the melted cooled gelatine and vanilla, and beat until combined (~15 seconds).

3. Make it RED! Add the melted chocolate and red food colouring and beat until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute.

   Colour check – Whatever the colour the filling is at this stage, it will be slightly paler in the finished cheesecake after the cream is added. Feel free to add more red colouring if you like, but don’t add more chocolate because it will weigh the filling down too much and make it denser (I found 150g/5oz was the limit).

4. Fold in whipped cream – Using a rubber spatula, fold through about 1/4 of the cream into the cream cheese filling. This lightens up the cream cheese mixture a bit before adding the rest of the cream, so less air is knocked out of the cream. Once the initial cream is mostly mixed through, gently mix through the remaining cream. Don’t stir vigorously as you will knock air out of the whipped cream which will make the cheesecake filling denser than we are aiming for! 

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and smooth the surface

6. Refrigerate for 6 hours to let it set. This cheesecake sets faster than my classic cheesecake because it has chocolate in it which helps with the setting.

5. removing from pan and decorating

This is the moment you get to feel smug for flipping the cake pan base – clever you! 🙂

1. Slide paper off base – Unclip then remove the sides of the springform pan. Grip the paper overhang and slide the cheesecake off the base onto a serving platter.

   ⚠️ If the paper’s stuck, it’s likely due to too much cold butter acting like glue. Warm the base slightly (e.g. with a warm damp tea towel) or slide a long knife or spatula underneath to loosen it.

2. Slide the paper out from under the cheesecake. I use my hand to hold the cheesecake as I’m pulling the paper out from underneath it.

3. Decorate with whipped cream and chocolate shavings! I pile the whipped cream in the centre leaving a 2.5cm/1″ border so you can see the red filling from above.

4. Ready to serve! Well, the Red Velvet Cheesecake is ready. So the real question is – are you ready for the inevitable gasps of appreciation when you bring this out??

It won’t melt into a mess!

This is lovely served fridge cold or even if it’s closer to room temperature after sitting out on the table for a while. As long as it’s not an insanely hot day, this Red Velvet Cheesecake will maintain the fluffy-yet-creamy texture rather than melting into a mess, thanks to the gelatine.

It will keep for 5 days in the fridge though the biscuit base gets progressively softer. It’s crispiest in the first 24 hours, then on day 2 it is a bit softer and continues to soften.

The filling, however, maintains its perfect fluffy-yet-creamy texture the whole time. And if you stabilise the cream, it will stay fluffy for days rather than weeping! See the Stabilised Whipped Cream post for how I make it – choose the method that works for you: cream stabiliser powder, gelatine or mascarpone.

Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x

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Watch how to make it

Life of Dozer

Just a random selection of recent Dozer photos on my iPhone!

1. Foot warmer – who needs slippers?

2. His favourite place – under the table. Wherever we are, it’s the first place he goes! Sometimes I tap away on the computer on the floor next to him, especially when he’s been going through his rough patches over the past year.

3. The things we do with AI – Our vision for a Dozer patting machine!! 😂

4. Failed cookie consumer – Well actually, he ins’t allowed to have crunchy crumbly cookies anymore (due to the risk of accidentally inhaling into lungs), but that doesn’t stop him hovering around my baking efforts – successes and fails!

5. Just on a walk

6. Refusing to go to work – This is what he does when he doesn’t want to get into the car. I wonder when he will figure out a more effective way to be a brat – it’s not exactly an effort for me to step into the garden bed and lead him out. 😂

7. No eating in peace – Leftover Zucchini Tots that I posted earlier this week. Sadly too much garlic for Mr Dozer, but it didn’t stop the wishful thinking!

Actually, that’s a pretty good representation of 48 hours in Life of Dozer!