Im allergic to digestives so I had a stab last weekend at making a cheesecake base using things I can eat: multigrain seeded crackers, panko breadcrumbs, butter and sugar. The flavour was lovely but the base was slightly powdery and didnt harden at all (it was in the fridge two hours in total). Is it that it needs more butter, longer in the fridge? Im going to have another go at it this afternoon. Any suggestions gratefully received…
What are you allergic to in the digestives? That way I won’t suggest something you can’t eat!
Palm fats, soya, diglycerides of fatty whotsits, E471, E472 Basically Im allergic to all pulses and their derivatives (which is an enormous pain in the backside!) and nuts.
I was really happy with the biscuits I used so dont want to switch those if I can avoid it. Its whatever I use to bind it thats the issue I think.
make sure youre using proper butter (not spreadable or baking block) because the latter wont harden properly. More butter might help too.
Yes, I only have proper butter as I cant eat lard/marg as theyre made using pulses
I wouldnt use the breadcrumbs. You need the butter to sit round your base items, not be absorbed into them. Id also not include any sugar – maybe some golden syrup if you feel like it really needs more sweetness in the base. Loads of butter and squash it down well
Graham crackers are basically digestives Have you tried just doing a nut base, made of walnuts/pecans and butter (if nuts are ok). They are delicious.
I would look at nice quality biscuits from an Italian deli – the ones I usually get just have flour, sugar, olive oil and almonds in. You can whizz those up with butter and they’d hold perfectly. Plus completely delicious! Brindisa do a lovely olive oil almond biscuit with no crap in it.
I use butter biscuits for cheesecake base, I find the supermarket ones dont have loads of weird additives and ultra-processing – theyre just wheat, butter and sugar. Ground up with a bit of soft butter in the food processor they make a really solid cheesecake base. Sometimes I add ground almonds and / or spices like ginger or cinnamon.
Im going to go with the suggestion of more butter. Thanks for the useful responses here.
Have you tried just doing a nut base, made of walnuts/pecans and butter (if nuts are ok). They are delicious. That was going to be my suggestion but op is allergic to nuts (2nd post) I’d definitely do as pp suggests and leave breadcrumbs out.
Id go for more butter – and I often pop mine into the freezer for 15 mins to really get the set going on it.
Yes, I only have proper butter as I cant eat lard/marg as theyre made using pulses
@FayCarew Ooh this is useful to know. Im sure the one time I looked at the ingredients on a block of lard that it had other stuff in it but Ive just looked online and can see its just pork. Oh hang on, and tocopherols which can be derived from nuts and pulses. This is the problem with all these additives. They might be fine for me or might not depending on the source and the only way I can find out is trial and error. With the tiny very refined amounts of nuts/pulses in additives its obviously not going to be a severe allergic reaction but they do affect me enough not to be worth it.
The butter is the glue, so if it wasnt sticking then definitely try more. Melted butter will make the breadcrumbs go soggy, so unless you are then toasting them, its best to avoid.
Thanks @ThreadExterminator , I have a friend with a peanut allergy. I would not have known. I wouldnt use lard but thats not the point. If its in lard its probably in other things.
I would try baking the base as you made it then cooling & chilling before adding the topping
Have you located any chocolates you can eat? I find a small amount of melted chocolate helps with sticking everything together.
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox! Email address
I would look at nice quality biscuits from an Italian deli – the ones I usually get just have flour, sugar, olive oil and almonds in. You can whizz those up with butter and they’d hold perfectly. Thats an expensive way to buy ground almonds and sugar. Perhaps bake your own biscuits with ingredients you can eat, and make the base from those? Then youll have biscuits too.
I make ordinary digestive bases but I always bake for about 10 mins which melts the fats in the biscuits as well as the butter so it sticks together better, if the alternatives you are using have any fat then try baking it for a short time.
Digestives are one of the easier biscuits to make. Why not make them yourself and use those? I always make loads and use stale homemade biscuits for cheesecake This recipe’s pretty good – https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/homemade-digestive-biscuits/
Mumsnet carries some affiliate marketing links, so if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale (more details here)
I’d say it’s too much liquid in the cheesecake batter and it didn’t set fast enough and the liquid and moisture got into the base. Baking the base would help, but I guess if you need to bake it then there’s no point to make a no bake cheesecake.
I just cooked my first cheesecake and cooked it in a water bath. I put foil over the springform pan as Thomas Keller describes in his Ad Hoc cookbook, but somehow water snuck in. My crust looks pretty soggy. I really dont have time to make another cake; its for a party tonight. Is there anything I can do at this point to make it less soggy? Will it still taste decent? Thanks!
Palm fats, soya, diglycerides of fatty whotsits, E471, E472 Basically Im allergic to all pulses and their derivatives (which is an enormous pain in the backside!) and nuts.
Id go for more butter – and I often pop mine into the freezer for 15 mins to really get the set going on it.
Yes, I only have proper butter as I cant eat lard/marg as theyre made using pulses
What are you allergic to in the digestives? That way I won’t suggest something you can’t eat!
I wouldnt use the breadcrumbs. You need the butter to sit round your base items, not be absorbed into them. Id also not include any sugar – maybe some golden syrup if you feel like it really needs more sweetness in the base. Loads of butter and squash it down well
Amazing No Bake Cheesecake Recipe
FAQ
Why is my cheesecake base wet?
Why is my no-bake cheesecake not firm?
How do you fix a soggy bottom cheesecake?
How do you keep a biscuit base from getting soggy?
Why is my cheesecake crust soggy?
Only to discover that your cheesecake crust has gone soggy. What on earth happened, and can it be fixed? A soggy cheesecake crust could be due to a broken springform pan, lack of foil or a problem with the foil. The springform pan must always be properly sealed. Water splashing into the pan or an overfilled bain-marie could also be the problem.
Is cheesecake a healthy food?
Vegan cheesecake has healthy ingredients and can be adjusted according to food preferences. A recipe with rice milk and seeds is a great suggestion.
What are the most common no-bake cheesecake mistakes?
No-bake cheesecake is one of those crazy-easy desserts with just a handful of ingredients, but as is often true with things that are easy, small mistakes can ruin the cheesecake entirely. Common no-bake cheesecake mistakes include baking the crust and using cold cream cheese. Here’s a full list of mistakes and suggestions on how to avoid them. 1.
What happens if you put cheesecake crust on a cake?
Not only does it heighten the risk of splitting the surface of the cake and damaging the sides, but it can also ruin the crust. Cheesecake crust is even more delicate than pie crust due to its high butter content and coarse cookie crumbs, and it can easily crumble.