Banoffee cheesecake
Banoffee cheesecake is the perfect dessert for any cheesecake loving banoffee fans. This no bake cheesecake is the ultimate make ahead dessert.
Banoffee cheesecake is the ultimate indulgent dessert for any fans of banoffee. Combining all the best bits of a banoffee pie, into a delicious light, and fluffy cheesecake if you love banoffee and love cheesecake this is the dessert for you.
Each of the layers is easy to make so it’s a great dessert for kids to help with. The caramel cheesecake mixture itself is smooth and light, and combines brilliantly with the bananas and the traditional biscuit base.
No bake cheesecakes are some of my favourite desserts. I like them more than baked cheesecakes, partly because I find them much easier to make. They’re also great for making with kids as there’s no need to use your oven. But you will still need a bit of patience waiting for it to set in the fridge
A banoffee cheesecake is the perfect dinner party dessert. It’s indulgent, rich and spectacular but also really easy to make so you can impress your friends or family without having to put in too much effort.
You can make it ahead of time which also makes this a great recipe to make if you’re entertaining. But don’t let its simplicity fool you, this cheesecake is delicious enough and spectacular enough for it to be a great go to dessert for special occasions.
How can kids help make this banoffee cheesecake?
All no bake cheesecakes are a great, easy desserts for kids to help make. There are plenty of really simple steps for them to get involved in. In fact, this recipe is so easy you could almost let your kids take over and make the whole thing themselves. Certainly, order children should be able to manage it.
Making the cheesecake base is a fun and easy job for kids. It’s so simple, young children and toddlers can even do it. Kids can measure the biscuits out as well as bashing them to form the crumb which is one of my kid’s favourite jobs. Alternatively, you can get your kids to blitz them in a food processor.
Once the biscuits have been crumbed and the butter melted and mixed together it’s a simple case of pressing them into the cake tin to form the base. There’s nothing your kids shouldn’t manage, although younger children might need help melting the butter.
The caramel cheesecake filling itself is also very easy to make. For us, the cream and mascarpone come in the perfect sized cartons so we can 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.
Children can also have a go of peeling and chopping the bananas. Bananas are a great fruit for kids to prepare – they’re really soft, so even young children can cut them into slices with a blunt knife.
And once you’ve made the filling and the base, your kids can help assemble the cheesecake, starting with arranging the bananas before adding and levelling the filling, and adding any decoration.
How long does a banoffee cheesecake keep?
This cheesecake will keep covered and refrigerated for a few days. As is it is full of cream, mascarpone and fresh bananas it won’t keep at room temperature.
Could 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. We use cream cheese in some of our other cheesecakes and find it a little stronger in flavour and tangier than mascarpone so you might like to add a little extra icing sugar to balance the flavours.
What can you use instead of Digestive biscuits to make the base?
Digestives work well and are our go to biscuit when making a cheesecake base, but if you don’t have any you could try a different plain or even a chocolate biscuit. Graham crackers, chocolate Digestives or Oreos would all work well as an alternative.
How do you stop the cheesecake sticking to the bottom of the tin?
To stop the base of the cheesecake from sticking, make sure you grease the base and sides of your cake tin well with butter. We also always line the bottom of the tin with a circle of baking, greaseproof or parchment paper.
If you use a loose bottomed tin, when you want to remove the cheesecake from the base, set it on top of a glass and carefully push down. The cheesecake should just pop out.
How long does it take to set?
No bake cheesecakes like this take at least 6 hours to set. If you have time, it’s best to make it the day ahead and leave it overnight to set, perhaps leaving the decoration until just before you serve it.
If it’s not set after 6 hours or you don’t have 6 hours to wait you can pop it in the freezer for around an hour before you serve it to firm it up.
Other cheesecake recipes you’ll love
If you liked this banoffee cheesecake, 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
After Eight cheesecake
Maltesers cheesecake
No bake key lime pie
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make this banoffee cheesecake
Digital scales
Freestanding mixer
Mixing bowl
Measuring cups
Cake tins
Serving plate
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Ingredients
For the base
250g Digestive biscuits ( or plain biscuits)
125g (½ cup) butter
For the filling
250g (1 cup) Mascarpone cheese
300ml (1 ¼ cup) double / whipping or heavy cream
150g caramel / dulce de leche (we used ½ a tin of Carnation caramel)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
50g icing (confectioners sugar)
2-3 bananas
To decorate
banana slices
150ml double or whipping cream (optional)
Caramel
How to make a banoffee cheesecake
Get your kids to grease the side and base of a round 8 inch (20cm) spring-form or loose bottomed cake tin and then line the base with a circle of baking or parchment paper.
Make the biscuit base
Get your kids to measure out the biscuits then put them in a large mixing bowl or a large zip lock / freezer bag. Using a rolling pin, or something similar, get your kids to bash them until they form a nice fine crumb.
We find crushing the biscuits in a bag saves a lot of mess and is a bit quicker so it can be a good option if your kids are in charge of this step! As well as bashing the biscuits, try rolling your rolling pin over them to crush them finely.
A third, and even quicker option, 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 out the butter and put it in a saucepan or microwavable bowl. Heat it gently on the hob or blast it in the microwave until it has fully melted.
Once the butter has melted, add the biscuit crumbs to your saucepan or bowl. Or, if you crushed the biscuits in a bowl, you could pour the butter into the bowl instead. Get your kids to stir it together until all the biscuit crumbs are well coated in butter.
Form the cheesecake base
The last step in making the base is to get your kids to tip or spoon the crushed biscuits into your prepared baking tin. Then, using the back of a metal spoon or a spatula press the base down firmly into the tin until it is all nice and level.
Make sure you keep pressing it down in the middle and at the sides until it is nice and flat and really firmly pressed in so that your base holds together and doesn’t end up crumbly later.
Put the cheesecake base in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes while you make the filling.
Make the caramel cheesecake filling
Whip the cream and mascarpone
Start by measuring out mascarpone cheese and double cream and add them both to a large mixing bowl or a free-standing mixer. Our cartons of cream and mascarpone are exactly the right size so it’s quite an easy job for kids as they just tip the whole thing in. If you need to measure yours out, the best and easiest way of doing it accurately is to use the ml setting on your digital scales if you have them, or measuring cups.
Using the whisk attachment of your free-standing mixer, or a hand held whisk, whip the mascarpone and double cream together until your mixture is nice and smooth and has formed soft peaks.
If you’re unsure what you’re looking for in soft peaks, you want 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.
Add the icing sugar, vanilla and caramel
Get your kids to measure out the icing sugar and vanilla and add it to your mixing bowl. If your kids are quite young, you may need to hold the measuring spoon while your kids pour in the vanilla or vice versa.
Spoon in the caramel.
Whisk everything into your mixture one last time so it is well combined and has thickened up. If you find it easier, you can use a spatula to get it all well mixed in. Make sure you stop mixing it when it’s well combined so it doesn’t end up over-mixed.
Prepare the bananas
Get you kids to peel and slice the bananas, then lay the banana pieces over the top of your biscuit base.
Make the banoffee cheesecake
Spoon or pour the caramel cheesecake mixture onto your prepared biscuit base over the top of the banana layer. Spread it out and level the top with a spatula, the back of a spoon or a small palette knife.
Cover the cheesecake with cling film / glad wrap and chill it for at least two hours, but preferably over night.
Decorate the banoffee cheesecake
Start by carefully removing the cheesecake from the tin and put it on a serving plate. If you have a loose bottomed tin, set it on top of a cup and gently press down until the base comes away. Slip it onto a serving plate, removing the baking parchment from underneath.
To decorate the cheesecake, get your kids to top them with slices of banana. Finally, drizzle a little more of the caramel over the top.
If you like you can also whip any leftover double/whipping cream until it forms soft peeks. Add it to a piping bag and pipe on a few swirls.
Serve and enjoy.
Banoffee cheesecake
Equipment
- Digital scales
- Freestanding mixer
- Mixing bowl
- Measuring cups
- Cake tins
- Serving plate
Ingredients
For the base
- 250 g Digestive biscuits or plain biscuits
- 125 g ½ cup butter
For the filling
- 250 g (1 cup) Mascarpone cheese
- 300 ml (1 ¼ cup) double / whipping or heavy cream
- 150 g caramel / dulce de leche we used ½ a tin of Carnation caramel
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 50 g (½ cup) icing / confectioners sugar
- 2-3 bananas
To decorate
- banana slices
- 150ml double or whipping cream
- Caramel to drizzle
Instructions
- Grease the side and base of a round 8 inch (20cm) spring-form or loose bottomed cake tin and then line the base with a circle of baking or parchment paper.
Make the biscuit base
- Measure out the biscuits then put them in a large mixing bowl or a large zip lock / freezer bag. Using a rolling pin, or something similar, bash them until they form a nice fine crumb.Alternatively pop them in a food processor if you have one. It will blitz the biscuits into a fine crumb in seconds for you.
- Measure out the butter and put it in a saucepan or microwavable bowl. Heat it gently on the hob or blast it in the microwave until it has fully melted.
- Once the butter has melted, add the biscuit crumbs to your saucepan or bowl. Or, if you crushed the biscuits in a bowl, you could pour the butter into the bowl instead. Stir it together until all the biscuit crumbs are well coated in butter.
Form the cheesecake base
- The last step in making the base is to tip or spoon the crushed biscuits into your prepared baking tin. Then, using the back of a metal spoon or a spatula press the base down firmly into the tin until it is all nice and level.Make sure you keep pressing it down in the middle and at the sides until it is nice and flat and really firmly pressed in so that your base holds together and doesn't end up crumbly later.
- Put the cheesecake base in the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes while you make the filling.
Make the caramel cheesecake filling
- Start by measuring out mascarpone cheese and double cream and add them both to a large mixing bowl or a free-standing mixer. Using the whisk attachment of your free-standing mixer, or a hand held whisk, whip the mascarpone and double cream together until your mixture is nice and smooth and has formed soft peaks.
Add the icing sugar, vanilla and caramel
- Measure out the icing sugar and vanilla and add it to your mixing bowl.Spoon in the caramel.Whisk everything into your mixture one last time so it is well combined and has thickened up. If you find it easier, you can use a spatula to get it all well mixed in. Make sure you stop mixing it when it's well combined so it doesn't end up over-mixed.
Prepare the bananas
- Peel and slice the bananas, then lay the banana pieces over the top of your biscuit base.
Make the banoffee cheesecake
- Spoon or pour the caramel cheesecake mixture onto your prepared biscuit base over the top of the banana layer. Spread it out and level the top with a spatula, the back of a spoon or a small palette knife.Cover the cheesecake with cling film / glad wrap and chill it for at least two hours, but preferably over night.
Decorate the banoffee cheesecake
- Start by carefully removing the cheesecake from the tin and put it on a serving plate. If you have a loose bottomed tin, set it on top of a cup and gently press down until the base comes away.
- To decorate the cheesecake, whip the double/whipping cream until it forms soft peeks. Add it to a piping bag and pipe on a few swirls. Top them with slices of banana.
- Finally, drizzle a little more of the caramel over the top, serve and enjoy.
Notes
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I love making banoffee cheesecake with my kids – it’s a lot of fun and I’m always so proud of how it turns out. It’s the perfect dessert to make together and the end result is really tasty and satisfying.