Creamy No Bake Hot Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

Creamy No Bake Hot Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

Why You Should Give This Recipe a Try

No bake cheesecake is the super easy alternative to the somewhat finicky traditional cheesecake. With no baking, a smooth but firm filling, and no eggs, you can be sure that this cheesecake will be perfect every time. It is rich, creamy, and has the same tang as a regular cheesecake. And I have discovered, through my many, many experiments, that you can make a seemingly endless variety of delicious flavors. This Creamy No Bake Hot Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust is the result of my most recent tests in the kitchen. It is creamy, smooth, tangy, and a chocolate lover’s dream. Best of all, it is super simple to make and totally without the risk of cutting into an underbaked cheesecake with a liquid center.

With hot chocolate mix and cocoa powder, the chocolate flavor is no joke! Top with a little whipped cream (go ahead and use the canned stuff; don’t make it hard on yourself) and it is like an incredible slice of hot chocolate on a plate. Did someone say Oreos? Oreos are my all-time favorite store bought cookies, so smashing up their chocolatey goodness for a crust? Yes, please! This super easy dessert is sure to become a favorite and is a great make-ahead dessert to serve the family or to bring to a dinner party. Just don’t eat too much of the filling straight out of the bowl – who would do such a thing? – or you won’t have enough for your cake.

Some of the best features of this recipe:

No baking! A no bake cheesecake means avoiding the pitfalls of baked cheesecake – like a totally liquid center or those cheesecake cracks that happen. It also means no water bath messiness. A win all around.

Decadent chocolate flavor. With a combination of hot cocoa mix and cocoa powder, this cheesecake is like one of those rich hot chocolate drinks that cost a fortune.

An easy to make, chocolate crust made with crushed Oreo crumbs and melted butter is a super easy way add a crunchy element to the creamy cheesecake base.

Mousse-like texture! I love chocolate mousse and this delicious recipe reminds me a lot of that same, smooth texture. If you want to give chocolate mousse a go, you can always try this Easy Creamy Dark Chocolate Mousse.

No eggs! Eggs are so expensive! And are also a little hard to find these days.

As with all my recipes, this Creamy No Bake Hot Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust is an easy recipe with no complex cooking techniques, no special equipment, and with simple ingredients you can easily find in any grocery store. 

Recipe Ingredients

28-30 Oreo cookies 

5 tbsp butter

1 cup heavy cream (very cold)

16 oz. full fat cream cheese (2×8 oz packages at room temperature)

1/2 cup + 3 tbsp powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)

1/2 cup hot chocolate mix

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup sour cream

Optional toppings:

Whipped cream

Mini chocolate chips

Helpful Tools

• 9-inch springform pan
• Parchment paper
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Food processor or rolling pin and large Ziploc bag
• Large mixing bowl
• Small heat resistant bowl or mug
• ​Wooden spoon
• Stand mixer with paddle attachment and whisk attachment or electric mixer
• ​Dry measuring cups
• Liquid measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Rubber spatula
• Offset spatula or tablespoon
• Plastic wrap

Ingredient Notes

Happily, there is no need to remove the cream from the Oreos. Smash them up in their entirety. 

Cheesecake is not the time to cut corners with low fat cream cheese. Make sure you are using the full fat cream cheese at room temperature.

The heavy cream must be very cold in order to whip up properly. I leave it in the fridge until I am just about to use it. Don’t worry about buying “heavy whipping cream.” Either one will work fine in this recipe.

I use Swiss Miss milk chocolate hot chocolate mix – definitely no marshmallows.

The cocoa powder is the kind you use in baking, unsweetened, 100% cacao. It does not refer to hot chocolate mix.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Trace the bottom of the springform pan on a sheet of parchment paper and cut out the circle.

2. Spray the sides and bottom of the springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the parchment paper in the bottom and spray that as well. Set aside.

3. Smash the Oreos into small crumbs. You can do this with a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, place the Oreos into a ziplock bag (gallon size is perfect). Seal the bag letting out the air and whack the cookies firmly with a rolling pin. Flip the bag over to be sure you crush all of the cookies.

4. Place the cookie crumbs in a large bowl. Make sure there aren’t any large pieces. You can place them back in the bag and crush them again, if necessary.

5. Cut the butter into tablespoon sized pieces (doesn’t have to be exact) and place in a small heatproof bowl or mug and melt in the microwave.

6. Stir the melted butter into the crushed Oreos.

7. Place the Oreo mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan and press down firmly. I like to use the bottom of a dry measuring cup to do this, but you can use the back of a spoon or your hands. Set aside.

8. Add the cream cheese and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until creamy and thoroughly combined. You can use an electric hand mixer if that is what you have available.

9. Mix in the hot chocolate mix and cocoa powder. Blend until combined. 

10. Add in the sour cream and mix until combined. Set aside.

11. If you have a second bowl for the mixer, you will use it now. Otherwise, transfer the contents of the mixing bowl to a large bowl and set aside.

12. Fit the whisk attachment onto the stand mixer.

13. Pour one cup of heavy cream into the bowl of the mixer and beat on medium high speed until stiff peaks form.

14. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate cream mixture. 

15. Pour the cheesecake mixture onto the prepared Oreo cookie crust.

16. Use an offset spatula or even the back of a spoon to make an even layer of filling.

17. Cover the pan in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours.

18. When you are ready to serve your cake, run a knife or an offset spatula around the inside of the springform pan to loosen the cake. Pop open the ring and gently lift it away from the cake.

19. Serve the cake as is or add a bit of whipped cream and a sprinkle of mini chocolate chips.

Check out the printable recipe card for Creamy No Bake Hot Chocolate Cheesecake, below, for step-by-step directions.

Storage

Store leftovers (although I don’t know why you would have any) in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. I actually reattach the ring of the springform pan and cover it with the plastic wrap I used when make the cake, storing it in the fridge.

Tips & Tricks

When pressing the Oreo cookie crumbs into the pan, use a medium pressure. Too hard and your crust will be impossible to cut, too gently and the crust will fall apart. I have definitely gone the too far route a couple of times, so learn from my mistake.

Always scrape down the sides of the bowl and up from the bottom with a rubber spatula when using your mixture. This helps ensure that all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated.

So stiff peaks, what is that all about? It means that when you remove the attachment from your mixture and hold it up, the end of the cream doesn’t flop over. There is a fine line, however, between stiff peaks and butter when whipping heavy cream, so be sure to check the progress. It should take about 3 minutes. If you find the cream starting to solidify too much, you can add a tiny bit more.

You can absolutely serve this no bake treat as is but I decorated my cake with fresh whipped cream since I had some leftover anyway. You can do this by mixing 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1 tablespoon powdered sugar to a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Once again, you are looking for stiff peaks. I then piped on little dollops of whipped cream and sprinkled them with mini chocolate chips. All of this were things I had on hand, so feel free to just use the canned whipped cream if you want to save time or you don’t already have the ingredients.

More No Bakes for You!

As I mentioned, I have done lots of experiments with no bake cheesecakes. I love this No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake and I find No Bake Baileys Cheesecake Jars to be a fun and delicious way of serving “cheesecake” – especially around St. Patrick’s Day.

Interestingly, the way I make no bake cheesecake is a lot like the way I make no churn ice cream. Some of my favorites are Nutella-Ferrero Rocher and Pumpkin Ice Cream.