No-Bake Pistachio Cheesecake Cups
This is a no-bake recipe meaning you don’t need an oven to create this dessert. All you need is a few minutes to blend the ingredients and a couple of minutes to assemble the dessert cups. Overall making it the perfect make-ahead dessert for any occasion.
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What you’ll need for this recipe
Digestive Biscuits: They aren’t overly sweet which is perfect for balancing out the sweetness in the cream.
Butter: I used unsalted butter. If you don’t have unsalted butter you could also use salted butter instead. It won’t make too much of a difference in this recipe.
Pistachio Cream: This is the main ingredient for creating the pistachio flavour. You could also make your homemade pistachio paste by removing the skins from the unsalted pistachios and blending them with a few teaspoons of water until it makes a smooth paste (the consistency might differ slightly, but it should still work if made correctly.
The pistachio cream I use has a very similar consistency and taste to Nutella.
Double cream/Heavy Cream: Make sure the cream is cold. I usually leave it in the fridge until I am ready to use it.
Icing Sugar/Powdered Sugar: This will dissolve in the mixture and help sweeten the cheesecake filling.
Soft Cream Cheese: When you first open a pack of cream cheese there is usually a small amount of liquid which sits on top. Make sure you pour off any excess liquid as this will help your cheesecakes set properly.
Vanilla Extract: The pistachio cream isn’t very sweet on its own, so I like to add a teaspoon of vanilla to help sweeten the flavour.
Pistachios: For the decorations, I roughly chopped up some pistachios. Which I sprinkled on top of the whipped cream.
Edible rose petals: This is optional if you don’t like rose-flavoured desserts you can skip this part. It’s mostly for decorations purposes, once the roses have rested on the whipped cream it will infuse a light rose flavour.
Recommended Equipment and Ingredients
Questions & Answers
Where can I buy the pistachio cream from?
I purchased mine from Costco. You can also purchase pistachio cream online from Amazon as well. I’ll put the link on my amazon storefront so you can easily find the one I used in this recipe.
How long does the cheesecake take to set?
This will vary depending on the size of the cups you are using. If you're using the same 3oz dessert cups as me. They will take roughly 3-4 hours to fully set.
How to make whipped cream?
Making whipped cream is very simple. Add the cold double cream to a bowl. Then add in the vanilla and icing sugar. Using an electric whisk, mix until the cream starts to stiffen and form soft peaks.
Avoid over-mixing the cream as this will cause the cream to separate and turn yellowish.
Can I make the pistachio cream from scratch?
Yes, you can, but it won’t be the exact consistency and taste. It will be more of a pistachio paste, but it will still work and taste like pistachios.
To make the pistachio paste from scratch…
1. Remove Shells
Start removing the shells on the pistachios, until you have 1 cup full. Use unsalted ones for this recipe.
2. Soak Pistachios
Then in a saucepan with boiling water add the pistachio and leave them to soak for 2 minutes. Drain the water and pour the pistachios on one side of the towel.
3. Remove the skin
Fold the towel over and scrub the pistachios, this will remove the extra skin layer leaving you with bright green pistachios. If there are any remaining skins, you can peel them off by hand.
4. Blend to make a paste
Using a food processor blend the pistachios with a teaspoon of water. Add a little more water each time until you have a smooth paste. The paste should be a thick spreadable consistency so avoid more water than necessary. You can store the paste in the fridge for up to a week.
Delicious No-bake Pistachio cheesecake cups. They’re light, creamy and smooth with a beautifully buttery digestive biscuit base and fragrant dried rose petals.
- 180 grams Digestive Biscuits (12 Biscuits)
- 40 grams Melted Butter (1/4 Cup)
- 400 milliliters Double Cream (2 Cups)
- 200 grams Cream Cheese (1 Cup)
- 70 grams Icing sugar (1/2 Cup)
- 125 grams Pistachio Cream (1/2 Cup)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 150 grams Double cream (3/4 Cup)
- 30 grams Icing Sugar (1/4 Cup)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Pistachios (Roughly chopped)
- Edible Rose Petals
Start by crushing the digestive biscuit into fine crumbs using a food processor or rolling pin.
Pour in the melted butter and mix thoroughly until the biscuits resemble a wet sand consistency.
Add around 3 teaspoons of the biscuit mixture to each dessert cup. This recipe makes 16 dessert cups. Then using another dessert cup press the biscuits flat to create an even base.
For the cheesecake filling use an electric whisk to whisk together the cream cheese, pistachio cream, icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
Then pour the double cream into the bowl and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens and holds its shape.
Add the cheesecake mixture to a large piping bag and pipe it into each dessert cup, leaving room for decorations. Once equally filled, tap the cups on a flat surface to push out any large air bubbles.
Place the cheesecakes in the fridge while you prepare the whipped cream. For the whipped cream add cream, icing sugar and vanilla to a bowl. Using an electric whisk, whisk until soft peaks begin to form.
Add the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a piping nozzle of your choice. I used a sultan nozzle however, I did remove the centre using pliers.
Decorate the cheesecakes however you like. I used extra melted pistachio paste and then piped a dollop of whipped cream on top. Then sprinkled on some pistachios and rose petals.
Once decorated serve and enjoy.
Store any leftovers in the fridge and consume them within 2-3 days.
