I’m currently on a one-woman mission to eat all the Snickers bars in a five-mile radius. I did manage to stop myself from eating just five of them, which is conveniently exactly the right amount you’re going to need to make this gorgeous no bake Snickers Cheesecake.
I’m obsessed 😍😍😍
Where do I even start with how good this baby is? It’s got a peanut butter Oreo base, creamy chocolate and peanut butter cheesecake batters, five Snickers bars, and a generous helping of caramel sauce to give it that extra Snickersy taste. Basically, it’s the most delicious/unhealthy/perfect dessert around.
Let’s start with the base. Ideally you are going to want to use peanut butter Oreos, but if you can’t track them down, then regular Oreos will work just as well. This is the same basic buttery biscuit base that we’ve seen countless times before (remember my Creme Egg Cheesecake?) and it as simple as blitzing the Oreos in a food processor or blender, and then mixing together with a bit of melted butter. Press it into your springform tin, and pop in the freezer to chill whilst you’re making the rest.
Next up, we’ve got two different flavours of cheesecake batter – because why not? I like to use a mixture of cream cheese and mascarpone when making a no bake cheesecake. Why? Because although mascarpone doesn’t taste as ‘cheesey’ as cream cheese, I find that it doesn’t firm-up as much as cream cheese in the fridge. Using a ratio of one third mascarpone and two thirds cream cheese always seems to work well for me.
You are going to make the two different cheesecake batters in two separate bowls, although their recipes are essentially the same, apart from the addition of some melted milk chocolate in one, and smooth peanut butter in the other. As you will see in the recipe below, my no bake cheesecake batter isn’t hard to make at all – just beat the ingredients together, add some whipped cream, and you’re done. No gelatin, and no worries about it not setting.
I marbled the peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake batters together, by spooning tablespoons of the mixture on top of the biscuit base and then swirling round a little. The top is always going to swirl more than you want it to, as you’ve got to try and get it as smooth and level as possible, but that’s okay.
If you don’t want to marble, you can put all the peanut butter batter on first, smooth it out, and then add the chocolate batter on top. It’s totally your call.
You will find that the cheesecake batter won’t spread out to fill any holes that you leave, so make sure to press the batter down and spread it to the edges as you are putting it in. Sometimes this still isn’t enough, and you end up with a not-so-smooth edge around your cheesecake when you take it out of the tin. If this is the case, then just use a palette knife or other non-serrated knife to wipe around the edges, keeping the knife vertical at all times. Imagine you are smoothing out buttercream on a layer cake. This will give you a perfectly smooth edge to your Snickers cheesecake.
I don’t know about you, but I always seem to feel that cheesecakes look, well, a bit ugly when they first come out of the tin. I think it’s the slightly uneven top and the lack of height to a no bake cheesecake that makes me a bit sad. But as soon as you add some roughly chopped Snickers pieces and a tonne of caramel sauce (salted or otherwise) then this Snickers cheesecake will be transformed into something that finally looks as good as it tastes.
- 300g (10.5oz) peanut butter or regular Oreo cookies - about 30 cookies
- 115g (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 125g (4.4 oz) milk (or semi-sweet) chocolate - I used Galaxy
- 240g (1 cup) mascarpone cheese
- 360g (1½ cups) cream cheese (I used full fat Philadelphia)
- 150g (1½ cups) icing sugar (US confectioner's sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 75g (1/3 cup) peanut butter (smooth)
- 300ml (1¼ cups) double or heavy cream
- 60ml (¼ cup) caramel sauce
- 5 full sized snickers, roughly chopped
- Grease and line the bottom of a 20cm (8 inch) springform tin. Crush the Oreo cookies into fine crumbs. The easiest way to do this is in a food processor, but you can also crush them by placing them in a sturdy plastic bag and bashing them with a rolling pin. Place the Oreo crumbs into a bowl, and add the melted butter. Stir together until the crumbs are evenly coated with the butter, and then spoon into the pre-prepared tin. Press the Oreo mixture right up to the edges of the tin using the back of a spoon, and level out the top, pressing down to make sure it is nice and compact. Place the tin in the freezer to set whilst you make the topping.
- Break the chocolate into cubes, and melt either in the microwave (stirring every 20 seconds) or in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Once melted, pop in the fridge to cool whilst you make the cheesecake.
- To make the cheesecake topping, you are going to need two bowls. In each of the bowls place 120g (½ cup) of mascarpone cheese, 180g (¾ cup) of cream cheese, 75g (¾ cup) of icing sugar, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and mix each well. To the first bowl, add the cooled melted chocolate and the cocoa powder and mix well. To the second bowl, add the peanut butter and mix well. Set both these bowls aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the cream until stiff peaks are just about formed. Add about half the cream to each of the cheesecake bowls, and fold in gently to avoid knocking the air out of the whipped cream, until both bowls have an even colour and all the cream has been incorporated.
- Remove the tin with the biscuit base from the freezer, and spoon tablespoons of the cheesecake mixes onto it, alternating between chocolate and peanut butter. Once you have covered the base in one layer of cheesecake, use a palette knife or the back of a spoon to press the cheesecake layer down to ensure there are no air bubbles, and that it has gone right to the edges of the tin. Continue with another layer of cheesecake as before, until you have used all the batter. Smooth out the top and place in the fridge until set. This will take at least four hours, but overnight is preferable.
- Once set, carefully remove from the tin and place on a serving plate or board. If necessary, neaten up the edges with a palette knife. Roughly chop the Snickers bars into chunks and sprinkle on top of the cheesecake. Drizzle generously with caramel sauce just before serving.
- Don't leave the cheesecake at room temperature for more than an hour or so, as cream cheese will spoil quickly. Make sure to keep in the fridge when not serving, and it should stay fresh for at least three to four days.
Look. I’m going to level with you. This was delicious. Peanut, yes. Creaminess, yes. Crumbly baseiness, yes.
However…
Imagine that you are on a long boat trip with your beautiful wife. You’re feeling a bit peckish. But it’s okay, because she has a snickers bar and she says that she will share it with you. Heart eyes! Twu wuv! But when you enquire after the Snickersy goodness a bit later, IT HAS MIRACULOUSLY DISAPPEARED. Heart ache! Despair!
And that is the tale of Snickers:: the bar of betrayal.
Top notch cheesecake though x