No-Bake Ube Cheesecake

✏️ Recipe creation

I love ube, it’s such a popular Filipino flavour for desserts and sweet treats! I’ve always wanted to know how to make an ube cheesecake.

This no-bake purple yam cheesecake makes one of the best ube desserts. It uses ube extract for an easy cheesecake rather than faffing with real ube puree or mashing purple yams yourself. It’s also a gorgeous purple lilac colour and as a no-bake cheesecake, it’s light, soft and creamy too.

A homemade ube cheesecake is great served after a family dinner, brought to potlucks or served for parties and special occasions. As a no-bake dessert, it saves on oven space and can be made in advance and left in the fridge!

🥘 Ingredients

This ube cheesecake recipe calls for the following ingredients:

1. Base:

• Graham crackers (or digestive biscuits)
• Butter: use unsalted for a low-salt and sweeter base.
• Shredded coconut: use sweetened or unsweetened desiccated coconut.

2. Cheesecake Filling:

• Ube extract: this can be found online or from specialist Asian grocery stores.
• Cream cheese: must be full-fat cream cheese (I like Philadelphia for its low water content too). Use room temperature for ease of mixing.
• Powdered icing sugar: sieve your confectioners’ sugar for a smooth filling.
• Heavy cream (e.g. double cream): use cold cream straight from the fridge for whipping success.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Top tip: For accuracy, it’s best to weigh your ingredients rather than using cups.

♻️ Substitutions / Variations

Ingredient substitutions

You can use graham crackers or digestive biscuits for your cheesecake base. Alternatively, you can use coconut flavoured cookies (exclude the shredded coconut) or Oreos.

You can swap the powdered confectioners’ sugar for finely granulated white sugar (e.g. caster sugar).

Flavour options

For a stronger purple yam ube flavour, you can add 2 – 3 teaspoon ube powder to your ube cream cheese filling mixture.

Alternatively, swirl ube halaya (a.k.a. ube jam or halayang ube) into your cheesecake after you’ve poured it into your tin before you refrigerate it to set.

📖 Method

Base

Step 1: Place the cookies/biscuits into a food processor or blender and whizz until you get fine crumbs.

Step 2: In a medium heatproof bowl, melt the butter in a microwave.

Step 3: Stir the crushed cookies and shredded coconut into the melted butter until combined.

Step 4: Press the cookie mix into a lined tin (see tips), using the back of a spoon, spatula or measuring cup to help firmly press down. Put this in the freezer while making the cheesecake filling.

Cheesecake filling

Steps 5 - 6: In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and ube extract until smooth and fluffy, then sieve in the icing sugar, beating until combined.

Steps 7 - 8: Sieve in the icing sugar, beating until combined.

Step 9: Whip the cold cream for several minutes, using an electric mixer or stand mixer, until it forms soft peaks.

Step 10: Gently fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake mix until smooth (i.e. white streaks have disappeared).

Step 11: Spread the filling evenly over the chilled base, smoothing gently, then cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 3hrs or overnight.

Step 12: After this has set and is firm to the touch, remove your cheesecake from the tin, decorate it with shredded coconut then enjoy!

💭 Top tips

• Using a springform tin (or loose-bottom tin) is easier to get your cheesecake out after.
• Check out these springform pan lining tips to see how best to line your cheesecake tin.
• Instead of a food processor, you can crush your cookies by placing them into a plastic food bag and bashing them with a rolling pin.
• To help your cheesecake set, whip cold cream to soft peaks and fold it into your ube filling mixture gently.
• To prevent a soggy base, check whether your cookie base layer is completely cool before you add the filling. If not, pop it back into the fridge for another 10mins until cold.
• Where possible, make your ube cheesecake the day before serving. Setting it overnight means you can be sure it’s nice and firm.
• To remove your ube cheesecake from the springform pan, run a knife or spatula around the edge. Place the cheesecake on top of a mug or cup. Unclip the pan and slowly lower the sides of the pan down.
• Decorate your ube cheesecake with more shredded coconut like sprinkles, toasted coconut flakes or a generous helping of sweet macapuno.

❔ Recipe FAQs

🧁 Other goodies

Looking for some more easy desserts?

If you love ube, then you might like these chewy purple ube brownies and this easy ube layer cake with tasty ube buttercream a try. Or check out this collection of tasty purple ube treats recipe ideas.

If you’re a fan of Asian fusion desserts like this ube cheesecake, you might also like these tasty matcha green tea desserts:

• Gooey matcha brownies
• Oreo matcha no-bake cheesecake – another fusion take on an Uncle Tetsu classic!
• Matcha white chocolate cake
• Matcha white choc chip cookies
• Matcha green tea cupcakes - uses this tasty green tea frosting!

Check out these easy no-bake cheesecake recipes for more delicious dessert ideas for special occasions:

• White chocolate orange cheesecake
• Pumpkin pecan praline cheesecake
• Chocolate orange cheesecake

For more cheesecakes check out my full collection of the best cheesecake recipes.

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