Red velvet cheesecake

5 from 14 votes

Recipe video above. 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 that just melts in your mouth.

Make this when you have people to impress - it's special!

Prep Time30

Chilling time5

Course: Cakes, Sweet

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: Baked Cheesecake, No bake cheesecake, Nutella cake, Nutella cheesecake, Nutella dessert

Servings: - 16

Calories: 540cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

Base:

200g/ 7oz Oreo cookies (1.5 standard packs, Note 1)
60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter , melted

Red velvet cheesecake filling:

2 tsp gelatine powder (unflavoured gelatine) (Note 2)
2 tbsp water
1 cup heavy/thickened cream , fridge cold
500g / 1 lb cream cheese , softened (block form, Note 3)
3/4 cup caster sugar / superfine sugar (Note 4)
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g / 5 oz 70% chocolate (or dark chocolate) , chopped and melted, then cooled 3 minutes until lukewarm but no lumps at all (Note 5)
6 tsp red food colouring (Note 6) - UK readers especially!

Whipped cream topping:

1 1/4 cups heavy/thickened cream , fridge cold (for whipping)
3 tbsp caster sugar / superfine sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional - stabilise the cream so it doesn't deflate - see here for directions

Chocolate topping:

2 tbsp shaved or grated dark chocolate (I use a potato peeler, grater also works)

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Inverted pan base - Flip the base of a 20cm / 8" springform pan upside down – this makes it easier to remove the finished cheesecake without the lip in the way. Very lightly butter the pan base, then press on a square sheet of baking paper. Clip the pan sides onto the base, letting the excess paper stick out the sides (for easy removal later). Butter and line the pan sides with more baking paper.

Oreo biscuit base:

Blitz cookies - Roughly break up Oreos with hands and place in food processor. Blitz until they become fine crumbs. Add melted butter, then blitz again until combined.
Press into pan - Transfer crumbs into prepared pan, pressing evenly and firmly on to the base (I use the underside of a straight-sided, flat-bottomed cup measure to do this).

Red velvet cheesecake filling:

Bloom gelatine - Place water in a small bowl then sprinkle the gelatine powder across the surface. Stir to partly dissolve. Set aside 5 minutes. It will turn into a solid rubber; this process is called blooming. Microwave the gelatine for 15 seconds to turn it into liquid, stir, then let it stand for 3 to 5 minutes to cool. But it MUST be liquid when added into the mixture (else you'll end up with gelatine lumps), so re-melt if needed.
Whip the cream until stiff peaks form (2 - 3 minutes on high).
Whip cream cheese - In a separate bowl (no need to clean beaters), beat the cream cheese and sugar for 2 minutes on high until fluffy and smooth. Add the cooled gelatine liquid and vanilla, beat another 30 seconds to mix it through well.
Make it red! Add the lukewarm melted chocolate and red food colouring. Beat well for 1 minute until well combined. It should be a dark, seductive scarlet red colour rather than bright red, bearing in mind the cream will lighten it a bit.
Fold in cream - Add one third of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and gently fold until just combined. Then fold in the remaining cream.
Transfer to cake pan - Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and place in the fridge for at least 6 hours to set.

Decorating

Remove cheesecake - Release the sides of the springform pan. Use the paper to slide the cheesecake off the base onto a serving platter. Peel the paper off the sides, then slide the paper out from under the cake.
Whip cream - Place the cream, sugar and vanilla in a bowl. Beat on high for 2 minutes until softly whipped. (See here for make-ahead stabilised whipped cream option).
Decorate - Pile the whipped cream on the cheesecake in the middle, leaving a 2.5cm/1" border. Sprinkle with shaved chocolate. Serve!

Notes

1. Oreo cookies – You can also use plain chocolate biscuits instead, such as Arnott's Chocolate Ripple, but add 1 1/2 tbsp / 20g of butter. This is because Oreo cookies have a filling which is partly what helps bond the crust.

2. Gelatine – I use McKenzie's brand, widely available at grocery stores in Australia.

3. Cream cheese – You must use BLOCK cream cheese which is firmer than the tub form, which is designed to be spreadable.

Cream cheese in the UK: If my understanding is correct, the block sort of Philadelphia cream cheese isn't available in the UK. If this is true and you can only get spreadable, add an extra 1/2 tsp of gelatine in the blooming step to compensate for the softer cream cheese. I've done this for my classic no-bake cheesecake and it worked out practically the same!

4. Caster sugar (superfine sugar) is best for this recipe because they are finer granules so they dissolve more easily. Regular sugar (granulated sugar) should work fine too, but I recommend rubbing some of the mixture between your fingers to ensure the sugar has dissolved.

5. 70% chocolate (ie chocolate that is 70% cocoa) deepens the colour of the red to make it the dramatic burgundy colour. The red colour is not quite as deep ie it's a little brighter if using regular dark chocolate (semi-sweet chocolate), but it still looks terrific and if that's all I had I would absolutely still make this!

6. Red food colouring – You really do need 6 teaspoons to get this colour! Red gel is more intense, so start with a drop and add more as needed, beating it in before folding the cream in (which lightens it a touch). The colour won’t deepen as it sets, so whatever it is before you chill is what it will be at the end.

UK - Food colouring in the UK / some parts of EU are subject to stricter regulations so are not as effective adding colour into cakes, notorious problem with red velvet. It is best to use red gel colourings (like Sugarflair, Wilton, or ProGel).

7. Stabilised whipped cream holds its form and doesn't deflate or weep like regular cream, so you can put it on up to 3 days ahead. See here for how to stabilise whipped cream.

Leftovers will keep for 5 days though the base does soften with time. Also see note above about stabilised whipped cream for making ahead. Not suitable for freezing.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 12 slices and including the cream.

Nutrition