After Eight cheesecake
An After Eight cheesecake is a delicious decadent dessert. A chocolatey biscuit base filled with a creamy mint cheesecake filling, then topped with a rich chocolate ganache. It’s the ultimate dessert for any dinner party or special occasion.
This After Eight cheesecake is a delicious no bake dessert. Made with a chocolate biscuit base and a creamy mint cheesecake filling, it’s packed with After Eights, and topped with a rich chocolate ganache. It’s the perfect indulgent dessert.
What I really love about no bake desserts like this After Eight cheesecake is how easy they are to make. It’s delicious, rich and creamy and looks spectacular so is sure to impress your friends and family at dinner parties, Christmas or other special occasions.
No bake cheesecakes like this are perfect for making with kids. I find them easier than baked cheesecakes to make. There’s obviously no hot ovens involved although you’ll still need a bit of patience waiting for it to set in the fridge.
It’s also a great recipe to make if you’re entertaining as you can make it ahead of time. But don’t let it’s simplicity deceive you. It’s certainly spectacular and delicious enough for it to feel special for any occasion.
How can kids help make this After Eight cheesecake?
No bake cheesecakes like this recipe are great desserts for kids to help make because they are so so easy.
Older children can probably make the whole cheesecake themselves, while younger children will still be able to help with a lot of the simple steps involved.
Making a cheesecake base is a really easy first step for children of all ages to get involved in. Kids can help to measure out the biscuits before bashing them to make a crumb. If you do it in a freezer bag or food processor rather than a bowl, it can save a bit of mess if you’re kids are in charge.
Once you’ve crushed the biscuits and coated them in the melted butter, your kids can help press them into the cake tin to form the cheesecake base. This is a pretty easy step, but you want to make sure your kids do it properly, so the base doesn’t crumble apart later.
The mint cheesecake filling is also really easy for kids to make. For us, the cream and mascarpone come in the perfect sized cartons so we were able to just pour the whole carton in. If yours come in a different size, your kids can help measure everything out before whipping it all together.
And once you’ve made the filling and the base, your kids can help assemble the cheesecake, before levelling the filling, adding the chocolate ganache, and leaving it to set.
Finally, we’ve deliberately left the decorating of the cheesecake very simple. Adding some After Eight pieces on top is a very easy job for children, but if you want to you could also add some swirls of whipped cream as well.
How long does an After Eight cheesecake keep?
No bake cheesecakes keep for a few days in the fridge. Cover it in cling film / glad wrap and refrigerate it. As it’s full of cream and mascarpone it won’t keep at room temperature.
Can I use cream cheese instead of mascarpone?
Yes, if you don’t have any mascarpone you can swap it for the same amount of cream cheese. Philadelphia is a good one to use. Cream cheese is a little stronger in flavour and adds a tanginess that mascarpone doesn’t have. If you want you can balance this tanginess with an extra bit of icing sugar.
What biscuits can you use to make the base?
We’ve used Chocolate Digestives because their chocolatey-ness makes a great base for the minty sandwich in the cheesecake. If you don’t have any chocolate digestives, you can any plain biscuit like plain Digestives or Graham crackers. Add 30g of cocoa powder to the melted butter if you still want a bit of a chocolate kick in the base.
How do you stop cheesecakes from sticking to the tin?
To stop your cheesecake from sticking to your tin, make sure you grease the base and sides with a little butter. You can also line the base of the tin with a circle of baking, greaseproof or parchment paper.
To remove the cheesecake from your cake tin, set it on top of a glass or a bowl and very gently and carefully push down or remove the springs at the side and let the side separate from the base. The cheesecake should just slowly pop out. Once you’ve done that, carefully remove the circle of baking parchment from the base before setting on your serving plate.
How long does it an After Eight cheesecake take to set?
No bake cheesecakes can take at least six hours to set properly. If you have time, you’re best to make the cheesecake the day before and leave it in your fridge overnight to set.
Remove the cheesecake from the fridge about half an hour before you want to serve it and decorate it.
If it’s not fully set after 6 hours or if you don’t have 6 hours to wait you can pop it in the freezer for around an hour to firm it up.
Other cheesecake recipes you’ll love
If you liked this After Eight, you might like some of our other cheesecake recipes:
Baked chocolate ripple cheesecake
No bake lemon cheesecake
Double chocolate cheesecake
White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake
No bake orange cheesecake
Biscoff cheesecake
No bake chocolate cheesecake
Millionaire’s cheesecake
Strawberry cheesecake
Banoffee cheesecake
Maltesers cheesecake
Mini Egg cheesecake
No bake key lime pie
Lemon meringue cheesecake
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make this After Eight cheesecake
Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Cake tins
Serving plate
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Ingredients
For the base
250g Chocolate digestives biscuits (or plain biscuits)
100g (½ cup) butter
For the After Eight cheesecake filling
250g (1 cup) mascarpone cheese
300ml (1 ¼ cup) double / whipping or heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 – 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
1 drop or two of green food colouring
50g icing (confectioners sugar)
180g After Eights
For the chocolate ganache topping
125g dark chocolate
150ml double cream
To decorate
After Eights
How to make an After Eight cheesecake
Get your kids to lightly grease the sides and base an 8 inch (20cm) round loose bottomed or spring-form cake tin, then line the base with a circle of baking or parchment paper.
Make the biscuit base
Get your kids to measure the biscuits out then pop them in a large zip lock / freezer bag or a large mixing bowl. Get your kids to bash the biscuits with a rolling pin (or something similar) until thet biscuits are crumbed. You want to make sure they are quite a fine crumb – if you have big chunks of biscuits left in the mixture, the base is more likely to crumble apart later.
You might find that crushing or bashing the biscuits in a freezer bag is a bit quicker and can certainly save a bit of mess so it’s a good way of doing it if your kids are in charge of this step (or even if they’re not!) If you do use a bag, you can roll your rolling pin over the biscuits as well as bashing them to crush them to a fine crumb.
Finally, another, even quicker alternative, is to use a food processor if you have one. It will blitz the biscuits into a fine crumb in seconds for you.
While your kids are crushing the biscuits, measure the butter and put it in a saucepan or microwavable bowl. Heat it gently on your cooker or blast it in the microwave until it has fully melted.
Once the butter has melted and the biscuits crumbed, mix them together either in your saucepan or bowl.
Get your kids to stir the biscuits and butter together until all the crumbs are well coated.
Form the cheesecake base
The final step in making the base is to simply spoon or pour the butter coated crushed biscuits into your prepared baking tin. Then use the back of a metal spoon or a spatula to press the biscuit crumb down to form the base. Press it down nice and firmly until it is all nice and compressed and level, with a little lip at the edge.
If you don’t press it well down your base is in danger of ending up more crumbly later so make sure your kids keep pressing it down in the middle and at the sides until it is nice and flat and really firmly pressed in.
Put the base in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes while you make the filling.
Make the mint cheesecake filling
Start by measuring out the double cream and mascarpone. Add them both to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer. If, like us, your cartons come in exactly the right sized portion this is an easy job for kids as they can just tip everything in.
If you need to measure your cream or cream cheese out, the best way of doing it is with the ml setting of some digital scales – this is by far the easiest and most accurate way of doing.
Get your kids to add the vanilla and peppermint extract. You might want to help them if they don’t have a steady enough hand so you don’t end up adding too much peppermint. Or add less than you think you need just now, as you can always add a little more later.
If you’re using green food colouring to turn your After Eight cheesecake filling green, add a few drops at this point so it can mix in well.
Using a hand held whisk, or the whisk attachment of your free-standing mixer whip the mascarpone and double cream together until your mixture has formed soft peaks and is nice and smooth.
If you’re not sure what ‘soft peaks’ are, you’re looking for the mixture to be thick enough to hold very briefly if you lift the whisk up before the cream then flops back down on itself again.
Taste your cheesecake mixture to check the level of mint. Add a little more peppermint extract if you want a stronger minty flavour. Likewise, add more green colour if you want a deeper green filling.
Add the After Eights and icing sugar
Get your kids to measure out the icing sugar, and add it to your mixing bowl.
Remove the After Eights from their packets, then get your kids to cut them up a little with a knife. You want to have a mixture of large and small pieces. Add the After Eights to the mixing bowl.
Give everything one final mix with a spatula or wooden spoon so it’s all well combined and the chunks of After Eights are evenly distributed. Make sure you stop mixing it once it’s mixed in so it doesn’t end up over-mixed and too thick.
Make the After Eight cheesecake
Spoon or pour the After Eight cheesecake mixture on top of the base in the cake tin. Spread it out to the edges and level the top with a spatula, the back of a spoon or a small offset palette knife.
Cover the cheesecake with cling film / glad wrap and chill it for at least two hours to set, but preferably over night.
Make the chocolate ganache topping
Pour the double cream into a heatproof bowl set on top of a pan of simmering water (a double boiler). Gently heat the cream while you chop the chocolate into small pieces. Add the chocolate to your bowl and continue heating it all, stirring it so it comes together in a glossy, chocolate mixture.
Remove the chocolate ganache from the heat and leave it to cool and thicken for at least 15 minutes.
Pour the ganache on top of your cheesecake and put it back in the fridge to set. Leave it for a few hours, or overnight.
Decorate the After Eight cheesecake
Once the cheesecake has set, carefully remove it from the cake tin and place it on your serving plate. If you have a loose bottomed tin, you can remove it by setting it on top of a cup or a bowl and gently press down until the base comes away.
Lay the cheesecake on your serving plate, removing the circle of parchment paper from underneath.
Scatter some whole or cut up After Eights on top. If you want you could also decorate it with some whipped cream or chocolate sauce.
Serve and enjoy.
After Eight cheesecake
Equipment
- Digital scales
- Freestanding mixer
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- Cake tins
- Serving plate
Ingredients
For the base
- 250 g Chocolate digestives biscuits or plain biscuits
- 100 g (½ cup) butter
For the filling
- 250 g (1 cup) mascarpone cheese
- 300 ml (1 ¼ cup) double / whipping or heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 1 drop or two of green food colouring
- 50 g (½ cup) icing / confectioners sugar
- 200 g After Eights
For the chocolate ganache topping
- 125 g (¾ cup) dark chocolate
- 150 ml (¾ cup) double cream
To decorate
- 100 g After Eights
Instructions
- Lightly grease the sides and base an 8 inch (20cm) round loose bottomed or spring-form cake tin, then line the base with a circle of baking or parchment paper.
Make the biscuit base
- Measure the biscuits out then pop them in a large zip lock / freezer bag or a large mixing bowl. Bash the biscuits with a rolling pin (or something similar) until the biscuits are crumbed. You want to make sure they are quite a fine crumb - if you have big chunks of biscuits left in the mixture, the base is more likely to crumble apart later.Another, even quicker alternative, is to use a food processor if you have one. It will blitz the biscuits into a fine crumb in seconds for you.
- While you are crushing the biscuits, measure the butter and put it in a saucepan or microwavable bowl. Heat it gently on your cooker or blast it in the microwave until it has fully melted.Once the butter has melted and the biscuits crumbed, mix them together either in your saucepan or bowl.
- Stir the biscuits and butter together until all the crumbs are well coated.
Form the cheesecake base
- The final step in making the base is to simply spoon or pour the butter coated crushed biscuits into your prepared baking tin. Then use the back of a metal spoon or a spatula to press the biscuit crumb down to form the base. Press it down nice and firmly until it is all nice and compressed and level, with a little lip at the edge.
- Put the base in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes while you make the filling.
Make the After Eight cheesecake filling
- Start by measuring out the double cream and mascarpone. Add them both to a large mixing bowl or free-standing mixer.
- Add the vanilla and peppermint extract. If you're using green food colouring to turn your After Eight cheesecake filling green, add a few drops at this point.
- Using a hand held whisk, or the whisk attachment of your free-standing mixer whip the mascarpone and double cream together until your mixture has formed soft peaks and is nice and smooth.If you're not sure what 'soft peaks' are, you're looking for the mixture to be thick enough to hold very briefly if you lift the whisk up before the cream then flops back down on itself again.
- Taste your cheesecake mixture to check the level of mint. Add a little more peppermint extract if you want a stronger minty flavour.
Add the After Eights and icing sugar,
- Measure out the icing sugar, and add it to your mixing bowl.
- Remove the After Eights from their packets, then break them up a little with a knife. You want to have a mixture of large and small pieces. Add the After Eights to the mixing bowl.
- Give everything one final mix with a spatula or wooden spoon so it's all well combined and the chunks of After Eights are evenly distributed. Make sure you stop mixing it once it's mixed in so it doesn't end up over-mixed and too thick.
Make the After Eight cheesecake
- Spoon or pour the After Eight cheesecake mixture on top of the base in the cake tin. Spread it out to the edges and level the top with a spatula, the back of a spoon or a small offset palette knife.
- Cover the cheesecake with cling film / glad wrap and chill it for at least two hours to set, but preferably over night.
Make the chocolate ganache topping
- Pour the double cream into a heatproof bowl set on top of a pan of simmering water (a double boiler). Gently heat the cream while you chop the chocolate into small pieces. Add the chocolate to your bowl and continue heating it all, stirring it so it comes together in a glossy, chocolate mixture.
- Remove the chocolate ganache from the heat and leave it to cool and thicken for at least 15 minutes.
- Pour the ganache on top of your cheesecake and put it back in the fridge to set. Leave it for a few hours, or overnight.
Decorate the After Eight cheesecake
- Once the cheesecake has set, carefully remove it from the cake tin and place it on your serving plate. If you have a loose bottomed tin, you can remove it by setting it on top of a cup or a bowl and gently press down until the base comes away.
- Lay the cheesecake on your serving plate, removing the circle of parchment paper from underneath.
- Arrange or scatter some whole or cut up After Eights on top. If you want you could also decorate it with some whipped cream or chocolate sauce.
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