Recipes › Simple bakes› No-bake cheesecake with summer berries
Simple bakes · Easy · Serves 10

No-bake cheesecake with summer berries

A creamy no-bake cheesecake in a cardamom graham crust, piled with macerated summer berries. No gelatin, no water bath, no oven. Just an honest overnight chill.

Anna Lind Harper
by Anna Lind Harper
Tested twice · Published 2026-07-12
A no-bake cheesecake on a ceramic cake stand piled with glossy macerated strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, with one slice lifted out to show the graham crust and creamy filling.
Prep
25 min
Cook
0 min
Serves
10
Difficulty
easy

There is a July law in my kitchen: the oven does not turn on. This cheesecake respects it. A cardamom graham crust, a filling of cream cheese and properly whipped cream, and a night in the fridge instead of an hour in a water bath.

It slices clean, it holds a small mountain of berries, and there is no gelatin anywhere in sight.

“No gelatin, no water bath, no oven. The fridge does all the work while you sleep.”
Why this one earns a weeknight

What you'll love about it

  • 01The oven stays off all July.
  • 02It wants to be made a day ahead, which makes dessert for guests strangely calm.
  • 03No gelatin, no water bath, nothing to temper.
  • 04The cardamom graham crust, quietly the best part.
Anna in a sage green cardigan folding whipped cream into cheesecake filling with a spatula in a large glass bowl at her marble kitchen island, with a springform pan of pressed graham crust and a squeezed lemon half beside her.
Fold in thirds and keep the air. The whipped cream is the only structure this filling gets, and it is all it needs.
Ingredients

For the crust

  • 2 cupsgraham cracker crumbs, from about 14 full sheets
  • 6 Tbspunsalted butter, melted
  • 2 Tbspgranulated sugar
  • ¾ tspground cardamom
  • a pinchfine salt

For the filling

  • 16 ozcream cheese, two blocks, at room temperature
  • ¾ cuppowdered sugar
  • 1 cupcold heavy cream
  • 2 tspvanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsplemon juice
  • 1 tspfinely grated lemon zest
  • a pinchfine salt

For the berries

  • 3 cupsmixed berries, strawberries halved, blueberries and raspberries left whole
  • 2 Tbspgranulated sugar
  • 1 tsplemon juice
Method

How I make it

  1. 01
    Press the crust.
    Stir the crumbs, melted butter, sugar, cardamom, and salt together until the texture of wet sand. Tip into a 9-inch springform pan and press firmly across the bottom and about an inch up the sides, tamping it down with the flat bottom of a measuring cup. Freeze while you make the filling.
    Hands tamping a graham cracker crumb crust into a springform pan with the flat bottom of a stainless measuring cup, the crust climbing the pan sides and a glass bowl of buttery crumbs waiting on the marble counter.
    The bottom of a measuring cup packs the crust tighter than fingers ever will, especially where the base meets the sides.
  2. 02
    Whip the cream.
    In a chilled bowl, whip the cold cream to stiff peaks. Cold cream whips; warm cream sulks. Park it in the fridge while you handle the cream cheese.
  3. 03
    Beat the cream cheese until completely smooth.
    In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese with the powdered sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, zest, and salt until silky, scraping the bowl down twice. Any lumps now are lumps forever, so take the extra minute.
  4. 04
    Fold, don't stir.
    Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese in three additions, folding gently with a spatula until no streaks remain. The air you keep here is the structure; there is no gelatin coming to the rescue.
  5. 05
    Fill and chill overnight.
    Scrape the filling into the crust, smooth the top, cover, and refrigerate at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. It slices cleanly only when it is thoroughly, boringly cold.
  6. 06
    Top with berries and serve.
    About 20 minutes before serving, toss the berries with the sugar and lemon juice and let them turn glossy. Run a thin knife around the edge, release the springform ring, pile the berries on top, and slice with a hot, dry knife.
Macro side profile of a slice of no-bake cheesecake on a speckled ceramic plate, showing the graham crust layer, tall creamy filling, and macerated berries with juice running down the cut face, a fork resting alongside.
A note from Anna

Two things make or break this: cream cheese at true room temperature, and cream whipped to genuinely stiff peaks. And respect the chill. At four hours it is a lovely spoonable dessert; after a full night in the fridge it slices like a bakery case.

What to serve with it

Round out the table.

  • ·01
    Strong coffee
    The Swedish way, even in summer.
  • ·02
    The leftover macerated berries
    Over skyr tomorrow morning. You planned it that way.
Storage & reheating

Keeping the leftovers good.

Fridge: Covered, up to 4 days. Add berries to slices as you serve rather than all at once, and the top stays neat.

Make ahead: It is make-ahead by design. Assemble on day one, serve on day two.

Freezer: Yes, actually. Freeze whole or in slices, well wrapped, up to a month. Thaw overnight in the fridge and top with berries after.

Recipe card

No-bake cheesecake with summer berries

A creamy no-bake cheesecake in a cardamom graham crust, piled with macerated summer berries. No gelatin, no water bath, no oven. Just an honest overnight chill.

Prep
25 min
Cook
0 min
Serves
10
Total
25 min
Ingredients
  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, from about 14 full sheets
  • 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • ¾ tsp ground cardamom
  • a pinch fine salt
  • 16 oz cream cheese, two blocks, at room temperature
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 cup cold heavy cream
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
  • a pinch fine salt
  • 3 cups mixed berries, strawberries halved, blueberries and raspberries left whole
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
Method (short version)
  1. 01Press the crust.
  2. 02Whip the cream.
  3. 03Beat the cream cheese until completely smooth.
  4. 04Fold, don't stir.
  5. 05Fill and chill overnight.
  6. 06Top with berries and serve.

Nutrition information is an estimate. See full nutrition disclaimer.

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