Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake (Eggless & No Bake)

Posted on by Anushruti
Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake (Eggless & No Bake)

For Ro’s birthday this year on the 6th of May, I wanted to make something different from the cakes that I usually make. I always surprise him with a lovely cake and this year had to be no different.

The excellent mascarpone cheese from the cheese shoot lying in my refrigerator had to be put to good use too. And I thought that if I combined the mascarpone and chocolate to make a beautiful cheesecake, there would be no better end to the smooth and creamy cheese!

It took me an entire day with the endless Hari breaks that I took in between to make calculations and write the recipe in my note book, a recipe which had a fair chance of succeeding without any eggs or gelatine in it. I wrote, scratched and re wrote the proportions and the ingredients until I was finally satisfied.

Our home is studded with beautiful flowers during the last week of April and the first week of May as mine and Ro’s birthday and our wedding anniversary too happens in a short span of these two weeks. And there are always cakes and desserts to celebrate these occasions giving the food writer and the food photographer in me great creative delights.

I was taking a chance by making this on the eve of a birthday since it was untested in my kitchen before and so I unravelled it with a fair amount of trepidation, simultaneously making back up plans, just in case the experiment went kaput!

Fortunately it was a success and if I had not left it outside for too long in the warm and humid temperatures of Mumbai before photographing it, you would have seen a more firmly set cheesecake.

The crumb from the base is the perfect foil to this smooth, creamy and chocolaty cheesecake. And of course the birthday boy loved it! But you know who liked it even more than him? We were thrilled to the bones when we saw little Hari reaching for a slice from the table and trying to eat, relishing every bit as we watched with excitement as he took bite after bite, smearing his mouth along the way, delighting us with his expressions and making me heave a sigh of relief and leaving me revelling in the fact that both my men relished it!

 

Watch how to make this wonderful cheesecake here-

Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake (Eggless & No Bake) Recipe

You can either make this in a deep dish 8" springform pan or a 9" regular pan. Garnishing is optional and you could leave it plain, sprinkle some grated chocolate over it or make some pretty decorations.

Ingredients:

For the base:
125 gm (8 large or 10 regular) digestive biscuits
1 tbsp cocoa powder
60 gm (1/4 cup) butter at room temperature

For the cake filling:
5 gm  agar agar or chinagrass
250 ml (1 cup) water
500 gm (2 cups) mascarpone cheese
160 gm (1 cup) icing sugar or confectioners sugar
200 gm (3/4 cup) thick yogurt
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
250 gm dark chocolate (1 1/2 cups) chopped or semi sweet chocolate chips + 2 tbsp butter

Method:

Prepare the base:
Place the biscuits in a zip loc pouch, seal and with the help of a rolling pin, crush the biscuits to a fine powder. Alternatively, process the biscuits in a food processor until they turn into a fine powder.

Put the biscuit powder in a mixing bowl, add the cocoa powder and the room temperature butter and mix with your finger tips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs and the butter is well mixed into the biscuit powder. Alternatively, make this in a food processor.

Press this mixture over a the base of a deep 8” (20 cm) or regular 9” (23 cm)  springform pan or a pan with a detachable base.

Refrigerate for half an hour or place in the deep freezer for 10 min.

Prepare the filling:

If the china grass is in bars, process it into flakes in a blender. Place the chinagrass in a bowl of water (1 cup, 250 ml) and allow it to soak while you prepare the other ingredients for the filling.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer if using one,  beat the mascarpone, sugar & yogurt until smooth and creamy, with a wire whisk or a hand blender or the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer. Stir in the vanilla, mix well and keep aside.

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a double boiler. Allow to cool slightly and then slowly stir it into the mascarpone mixture and mix well.
Place the chinagrass with the water and allow it to melt, stirring all the while, over a low flame. Once it melts completely pour it over a strainer into the cheese-chocolate mixture, stirring the cheese mixture all the while. It is important to keep stirring the cheese mixture as china grass sets very fast and we need to prevent the formation of tiny lumps.

Immediately pour the prepared mixture into the prepared crust.

Allow to set in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Garnish with grated chocolate if desired.

Makes one deep 8” or  regular 9” cheesecake.

*For a gluten free version, use gluten free cookies!

For hints and tips of cooking with chinagrass or agar agar, look here.

 

 

 

 

 

Related Recipes/Posts

To receive recipes, tips and inspiration that feeds your body, mind and soul subscribe to Divine Taste newsletter

101 thoughts on “Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake (Eggless & No Bake)”

  1. Super dooper lovely cake Anushruti.. It's a treat to try out your foolproof recipes. Always love the flowers in your pictures..they look so fresh and wow.

  4. Looks fantastic! So creamy, chocolatey, and delish. I like that you added yogurt – I bet it gives a nice tangy flavor.
    Great blog. Your photography is beautiful.
    -Erin

  6. Hello Anushruti,

    I recently discovered your blog and have been hooked since then. Your posts and recipes are awesome and have such a feel-good factor to them :). I have been trying to learn to bake but so far my cakes have all been disasters. I want to try this tonight. I have all the ingredients except the cheese and Agar-Agar so I am going out to buy them today evening and make it tonight.

    I have a couple of questions – what is mascarpone cheese and where do you usually get it? I am in Bangalore so I know I cannot visit the same place but I am wondering if you get it in places like Spar, Hypercity etc so I can try in the same kind of places here. Also, when you say "thick yogurt" do you mean yogurt with all the water squeezed out (like you mentioned in mango cheese cake recipe?) or do you simply mean yogurt that is thick?

    Would be very grateful for a response.

    Love
    Poornima

  7. Raji: Glad you like the flowers too. Love fresh flowers!

    Thank you everybody else, if you have the ingredients on hand, this is very easy to make!

    Poornima: Thanks for your appreciation. Mascarpone is a creamy soft Italian cheese used in making the famous Tiramisu. You might find it in Hypercity. You can substitute it with cream cheese if you can't find it.

    I havent drained the yogurt here. I have used thick yogurt straight from the can leaving the water out. All the best!

  10. your photographs are so delightful. Makes me drool and drives me into my kicthen to try the recipe out. Very soon I am going to try this. Anything eggless and so chocolatey must be tried!

  11. That looks decadent! I've made your eggless golden yellow cake with great success on several occasions, and this one is calling out to me as well. Best wishes for all your special days!

  12. LOVE it!! I feel like making it right away!! Too bad I do not have mascarpone cheese on hand and even If I wish to make it from scratch at home, won't be ready to use till tomorrow morning!!But will try for sure!! Great work!

  17. Hi Anushruthi,

    First time here and I am very greatful to know your site. its just amazing and i love to browse thru the recipes and the great shots.

    The cake looks yummy. I no baker. I havent baked a cake but only cookies. lilttle apprenhisve when it comes to baking for reasons unknown. But this is no bake cake and I think i shud give it try 🙂

    thanks for sharing

  18. Hi,

    Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe. This time the outcome was so perfect and yummy.

    Last time when I made the cheese mango cake the problem surely was that I used less of agar agar. This time I ensured I use the correct prop. and everyone at home just loved it as it was so so yummy. Thanks dear!!!

  20. @rijit: Unfortunately, at this point in time I can't give you any substitute for agar agar. Try looking for it in general stores. Its also known as china grass. Look more, you might me able to find it.

  21. Hi, awesome blog with really organised recipes! Love your photos too 🙂
    If I want to do a strawberry version of this recipe, just substitute the chocolate and butter with strawberry puree right?

  22. Hi,

    Tried your recipe with strawberry puree. Turned out yummy. Thank you.

    Question: Can we bake this cake to make it more sturdy?

  23. Hi Anushruti,

    This dessert is a killer! And your photos are an inspiration.

    Which digestive biscuits did you use? I used McVites original and the consistency was powdery in the end. It kept coming off while we eat. Should it be little coarse?

  24. Sun: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I used Mcvities too and mine was fine. They should be ground not too coarse and not too fine. Maybe you need a little extra fat to hold it together so that it holds its shape.

  25. Hi Anushruti,

    I had left a message a few days back asking you for clarifications on this cake and you very kindly provided them to me. I am back here to very happily report that I finally managed to get it right today after 3 attempts 🙂 The first time, I could not find mascerpone cheese and I tried making it at home. The result was yummy but a bit too runny and did not set properly. The second time, I used cream cheese but miscalculated the quantity of agar-agar and it was completely liquid. This time, I followed the recipe to the T and now it looks (and hopefully tastes) exactly the same as your pics. It is awesome and everyone loved it. I meant to post a picture but the entire thing was polished off in a couple of hours:). Thank you very much for your wonderful work. This is going to be a staple dessert in our house now.

    Poornima
    P.S – Btw, for people in Bangalore – you can get cream cheese in nambhoodri farm fresh outlets and agar-agar in smaller stores like homeneeds. Just in case someone's searching 🙂

  27. Hi

    I read that 5 gms of Agar equals 5 tbsp of agar. Do you use flakes or powder. If we using flakes what would be the quantity in tsps or tbsps that equals 5 gms. I am trying to make this cake and getting stuck with the conversion for flakes.

  28. Sri Ramesh: Yes, 5 gms of agar agar = 5 tbsp agar agar. We get agar agar in bars so I process them in a blender until they become flakes. You can use powder or flakes with the same results.

  29. Hi… just one clarification. When we dissolve 5 grms of agar agar in a cup of water, we boil that very mixture till the agar agar dissolves and put an entire cup of agar agar solution into the mixture?

    Thanks

  31. hi, the pics look lovely – have decided to try it – just wanted to know – i found milk jelly china grass in the supermarket – have got a choclate flavoured one – can i use it or should I look for unflavoured one? can you tell me where i will get normal china grass..thanks – will post feedback once i have tried it.

  32. deli: Unflavoured is better! You can find chinagrass in old style supermarkets (kirana stores). Ask a few people around and you will find it! Its a little difficult to source agar agar in these modern day supermarkets in India.

  33. Lovely and tempting cake…I just need to make it.

    I've been unable to find agar-agar here(in Lagos), can I use gelatin instead? and how much?

  35. Hi there! Greetings from Singapore.. I made this cheesecake recipe and I used gelatine about 1 and half teaspoon. It turned out great and I added some grated lemon strips as topping.. I love tangy tastes with chocolate 🙂
    Will be making it again soon.
    Thanks for the recipe!

  36. Hi Anushruti, this is Rajeev from Bangkok . Cooking is a hobby and passion for me and I do like ur blog. One question regarding agar agar. For this recipe if I am using powdered agar agar how much is needed. Thanks

  38. You mean 5 grams of agar agar powder right. As I know that equals to 2.5 tsp . Please let me know if I understan right

  40. Hi Anushruti,

    The cake looks absolutely delicious… Cant wait to try it.

    Can I use gelatin instead of agar agar?

    Thanks

  42. Hi i tried this recipe and was delicious! I kind of substituted some ingredients though eg cream cheese for mascarpone and used oreo cookies for the base and it turned out really great. just wanted to ask if i could bake this cake? a friend of mine is getting engaged and wants a vegetarian cheesecake so i cant just freeze the cake right? please really need your expert opinion on this 🙂

  43. Lovely blog! And great photos too! I have recently started cooking desserts at home, and your recipes inspired me.
    I am from Pune and for the last few days I am trying to buy agar-agar, but many stores here don't have it (including Reliance, Big bazzar). Do you know ant brands/chains which would have them?

  45. Hi Anu,

    I tried this recipe sustituting Chinagrass with Gelatin.Turned out great..POsting it in my blog..Thanks a lot for sharing.. 🙂 Your clicks are too good..

  48. Hi Anu,
    Thanks for getting back to me. I tried baking a chocolate cheesecake using your baked strawberry cheesecake and it turned out pretty good!but of course i used the oreo biscuits for the base( oreoholic!-if there is such a word).Just wanted to ask if you have tried using the agar-agar for baked cheesecake? I am living in malaysia and most off the cheesecake recipes here use gelatin so i am very,very glad to have found your website! keep up the good work 🙂

  50. Love this! I am not really a cheesecake fan, but the mascapone makes this the best cheesecake I have ever eaten! I made it for the first time and brought it to a pot luck dinner party. People raved! I was a bit nervous since I had not made it before, but it really was SO easy and the idea that you didn't have to guard an oven was heaven. I substituted gelatin per comments, and all was fine (sorry to the pure vegetarians . . ). I just could not easily get the chinagrass or agar agar.

    I gleefully encourage all to try this. You and all fortunate enough to join you will be glad you DID!

  51. Hi Anu,
    Really glad to have found this site – actually my daughter told me about it. Though she is very recently married, she loves cooking and tries her hand a lot at baking, and was I glad to have found a veg. baking site!!!!!!!!!One question Anu, since I stay in Mysore, where neither cream cheese nor mascarpone is available, can you suggest an alternative – I don't mind making the alternative at home, if it can give me the same result. I too love trying out new dishes, and esp cakes, but have always been uncomfortable about using eggs. Thanks once again

  54. Thanks a lot Anu, I'm surely going to try out the cheesecake for a very special occasion next week. It's good knowing that these exotic deserts can very much be prepared right here – things which I hesitated to try out because of the unavailability of ingredients.

  55. Hi Anushruti,
    Can I use milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate?
    And 5gm agar agar = 5tbps ? I think they are not equal.

  56. Hi again,
    Want to try the recipes, but for want of agar-agar, even the kirana stores don't have it! I am just waiting. Can you help me with any specific brand, or name of the company so that I can get some further lead please? Thanks.

  60. Hi… Once again this is a great recipe… It turned out great I mean… However, I tried the 5tbsp agar agar powder in 250 ml water and it was extremely thick to pass through the strainer… I weighed 1 tsp of agar agar powder and it will give you 2grams. So for 5 grams you need 2 1/2 teaspoon… Other than that, you are super gifted and and great fantastic recipe… Create more so I can bake them.. we have lots of Indians who live in Jakarta (Indonesia) and more often than not they are vegetarians.. they do not eat eggs.. So I will encourage to share your creativity and ideas with us… Thank you so much… I look forward to your new desserts and cakes…

  61. Malti: Acutally it is quite tricky to write recipes with agar agar as the quality differs from variety to variety. The agar agar that we get here in India is as stated above 1 gm = 1 tsp

  62. Yeah definitely you have a point… like many other ingredients it could vary from country to country… But its great that we can counter check with each other like this… We just need to try out the recipe and see what works best for us. I look forward to your new sweet treats…

  63. Hi,

    I really liked the recipe.. plan to make it for a friend's birthday.. After its all done and removed from the refrigerator, how long will I be able to keep it outside without the consistency or form being affected?

  64. I made this beauty for the first time last year. Since then, I have been HOOKED on cheese cake with many variations since then. I had no idea how easy a vegetarian cheesecake would be until I fell in love with this blog!

    My question is – has anyone ever tried baking this amazing cheesecake?
    I always wonder how it would taste…

  65. Vandita: Unfortunately, you can't leave this outside for too long as the consistency begins to change. This is best eaten straight from the fridge or maybe a few minutes after removing it from the refrigerator.

  66. Hi Anushruti,

    Love your blog. I am newly married and your blog gives me excellent ideas for my saturday cooking 🙂

    I tried this recepie. Unfortunately, the china grass did not melt in water and i realized it when i strained it over the chocolate mixture.

    So I was left with no choice but freeze the mixture into an ice-cream. And trust me it was the most delicious creamy home-made ice-cream I have ever tasted.

    I am going to try the mango cheese cake soon. Thanks a lot once again 🙂

  67. Ruchi: Great to hear from you! Try soaking the china grass for atleast an hour before cooking it so that it dissolves completely. You need to have a clear solution when it dissolves. Then you won't have a problem.

  68. wow…
    this seems like an easy recipe 🙂
    am sure to try it, just one question, could i use curd instead of yogurt?
    (curd as in what we make at home)
    silly question i know, but i dont want anything to go wrong…specially after so many people praising it ! 🙂
    thanks
    PS: your photos are really amazing..nice clicks ! 😉

  69. shell: You could use curd but it is better to use store bought yogurt for this recipe because of the consistency, creaminess and thickness required for the cheesecake to be a success!

  70. Hey Anu,

    I used the China Grass in the powdered form (the Blue Bird variety)…but as per the back of the pack recepie, it should be mixed with milk to make well set China Grass…so should i continue as stated in this recepie…dissolve it in water?

    Also, it didnt seem to set easily rather dissolved in seconds so should the quantity of powdered china grass be higher?

    Warm Regards,
    Bhavana

  71. Hi Anushruti,

    I had a doubt, in your receipe you have mentioned that tha Agar Agar has to be dissolved in water on low flame and after it is dissolved it needs to be added in the chocolate mixture through the strainer. can you tell me if we can add the mixture warm/hot in the mixture?

    Thanks,
    Shruti

  72. Bhavana: You can't make this using Blue bird pack. You need proper china grass or agar agar for the recipe to be a success.

    Shruti: You need to add the agar agar mixture immediately into the prepared ingredients in the bowl as if you allow it to cool a bit it starts to set and will give you unpleasant bits in the mouth.

  73. Hi Anushruti

    I plan to try this for a special occasion.
    I had a doubt about the consistency of the thick yoghurt..mine is a bit runny . Is that ok or should I go for quark?

    thanks
    Shruti

  75. Anushruti, can you please tell me this portion for how many people or how many pieces and instead of yoghurt can we use philadelphia soft cheese

    thanks

  76. Hi Anushruti,

    Great job on your wonderful blog and super tasty recipes. I had a question regarding the agar-agar measurement…it has been discussed a lot in your comments section and have been getting confused more and more. i got agar agar powder and its seems 5 tblsp measures around 30 gms. Since your recipe says 5gms=1 tblsp i dont know whether i should go by gms or tblsp measurement. MY gut feeling is that i should go by 5 gms whch is equal to 2.5 tsp. Please let me know what you think.

  78. Hi Anu,

    My name is Preeti and have just moved to Mumbai.Prior to this was living outside India so had access to a lot of stuff for baking, but after moving in here am struggling to find stuff. Recently came across your blog and must say it is wonderful and want to try out some recepies. Since you too are from Mumbai can you please let me know exact store names and brands where I could get stuff like cream cheese, mascropone,cream white butter and most of the stuff required for baking.I did see you have links for making cheese at home but am not too keen.Do not mind travelling some distance to pick up stuff in bulk.Please do let me know soon!!!!!!!!

  79. Hi Anushruti,

    I tried this recipe and i must say that this is the best eggless cheesecake recipe. I took 2.5 tsp as agar-agar powder and gives a wonderful consistency. i have tried multiple times and it is a huge hit, i must say!

    Thanks,
    Shailly

  80. Hi Bhagyashree,

    Thanks for providing the address to buy Agar-Agar. I an looking for dry agar-agar to make petri dishes for tissue culture analysis of various plants. Please could you tell whether it is in dry form and what is minimum quantity and price.

    Thanks!!

  82. Hey Anushruti,

    This seems to be delicious. But I live in a very small town in Rajasthan where I cant get yoghurt or cream cheese. Can you please let me know the best substitutes that can be used.

    I desperately want to try this out, as it appears mouth- watering. Also, can we use Britania digestive biscuits??

  83. Hi,

    What is Vanilla paste and how do we make it at home?
    Also i have a few vanilla pods which i purchased out of curiosity buy never knew how to use it the right way. Always ended up using the ready made vanilla essence.
    It would be great if you could share the recipe of making pure vanilla extract at home.

    Awaiting your kind reply.
    Thank you.

  84. Hi,

    I tried with gelatine as I dint have china grass at home. The moment I added it the mixture curdled. Any idea why ? It was perhaps luke warm but not sure if that could be the cause. One more thing – I used cream cheese and not mascarpone.

  87. Hi Anushruti,

    I am planning to make this dessert this weekend, is it possible to substitute yoghurt in this recipe? probably with whipped cream or ricotta cheese? and if substituted would the agar agar quantity change?

    Look forward to your reply! Thanks!!

    -Pushpa

  88. pushpa: Sorry for the delay in responding. I havent tested this recipe without yogurt, so I cant vouch for the substitution.

  89. Hi Anushrutiji,

    I've tried your vanilla cupcakes ,it came out really good.thanks.
    I had a query regarding eggless..gelatin free chocolate cheese cake .instead of mascarpone cheese ,can i use paneer n what proportion i can use.other ingredients will change or not ?
    can you provide proper recipe for the same please ?

  91. Hi Anushruti,

    What brand of Mascarpone cheese did you use while preparing?

    I saw the youtube video and was unable to figure the brand.

  96. hi i wanted to knw if i am using agar agar powder. should i use same quantity as china grass.
    do i ve to soak it in water and use it.

  97. Hi Anushruti,

    I tried the chocolate cheesecake recipe and it turned out awesome. .. thank you do much….I actually made this for my husband's birthday and he loved it…. I did add a couple of ganaches for the topping for an extravagance feel…. really, thank you very very much….I have also tried the mango cheesecake but I guess chocolate has an extra edge over mangoes….;)

  99. The recipe says agar agar or China grass…but the recipe instructions only indicate China grass method. I have agar agar. Do I soak that in water??

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *