No-Bake Crumb Cheesecake

I don't know anyone who doesn't love crumb cheesecake. I recently made a classic one with a small twist: a thin caramel layer at the bottom that goes beautifully with the tang of the cheese. It's a creamy, indulgent cake with no gelatin, and the crumbs are made from tea biscuits and butter, which cuts the prep time in half.

Ingredients for crumb cheesecake (9½-inch / 24 cm round pan)

For the base and crumbs

• 200 g petit beurre tea biscuits.
• 100 g melted butter.

For the caramel layer

• 90 g sugar (½ cup minus 1 tablespoon).
• 90 ml heavy cream.
• 30 g butter.

For the cake

• 450 ml heavy cream.
• 225 g cream cheese (I used a 25% fat cream cheese; brick cream cheese such as Philadelphia works well).
• 200 g sour cream.
• 50 g sugar (5 tablespoons).
• 40 g instant vanilla pudding mix, such as Jell-O (4 tablespoons).

Instructions

1. Start with the caramel: warm the cream in the microwave for about 30 seconds and set aside until needed.
2. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the sugar until it turns amber.
3. Carefully add the cream and stir (even if small lumps of caramel form, keep stirring until they melt back in).
4. Turn off the heat, add the butter and stir. Transfer the caramel to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
5. Make the base: in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, grind the biscuits into a powder. Transfer to a wide bowl, add the melted butter and mix into a crumbly mixture.
6. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, pour in half of the biscuit mixture and press it into an even layer (the other half is for the crumbs).
7. Put the pan in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
8. Take the caramel out of the fridge, stir it and transfer it to a piping bag.
9. Pipe it over the biscuit base and spread it with an offset spatula.
10. Make the cream: in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream and sugar for a few minutes, until you have soft whipped cream.
11. Stop the mixer and add the cream cheese, sour cream and vanilla pudding mix. Keep whipping for a few more minutes, until the mixture is stable and thick.
12. Pour the cream into the pan and spread it with an offset spatula.
13. Sprinkle the crumbs you set aside over the top, cover the cake and refrigerate for at least about 4 hours, preferably overnight.

Good to know

• You can of course skip the caramel layer and keep the cake classic.
• I don't recommend using low-fat cheeses, because there's no gelatin in the cake.
• On hot days, it's best not to leave the cake out of the fridge for too long.