After the success of my No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake, I decided to make a new, lighter version of this cheesecake. The secret to it is Quark, a German type of “cheese” one could say, and it is very low in fat and calories. Using quark makes this cheesecake a little lighter/healthier than usual without losing the taste of a delicious lemon cheesecake!
So here is my recipe for a “Lighter” Lemon Cheesecake made with Quark!
What is Quark?
Quark looks a bit like cream cheese, but doesn´t really taste like it… It´s like a cross-over between yoghurt and cream cheese if that makes sense? That´s the best explanation I can give, check out the Wikipedia page if you want to hear their definition!
It´s quite commonly used in Germany and is used for baking as well as savoury meals (have it on bread, with baked potatoes, etc…). Luckily, you can now also buy it in the UK! I know, for example, that Lidl and Morrisons have it.
I also use Quark to make my Traditional German Baked Cheesecake (“Käsekuchen”), if you want to check that recipe out!
It´s so easy to make this No-Bake “Lighter” Lemon Cheesecake
This “Lighter” Lemon Cheesecake is extremely quick and easy to make! It requires no baking, all you need to do is crush some biscuits, make the filling, and then chill it in the fridge until you are ready to eat it! Very straightforward and perfect for preparing in advance!
Variations of this “Lighter” Lemon Cheesecake
To make the biscuit base, you could use a variety of other biscuits you may have to hand! Some crushed hobnobs or even ginger biscuits would go really well with this recipe, too (I use Gingernut biscuits for my other No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake).
To decorate, I made some candied lemon peel using the BBC goodfood recipe. Alternatively, you could also top this “Lighter” Lemon Cheesecake with some fresh summer berries, like blueberries or raspberries!
More Dessert Recipes
For more dessert recipes, check out my other No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake, that is made with Gingernut biscuits and topped with some fresh summer fruits!
Make sure to also check out my 6 Crowd-Pleasing Dessert Recipes, which include a Classic British Trifle, Lighter Tiramisu, and a Strawberry Meringue Roulade!
My lemon-based recipes are some of the most popular posts on this blog, so why not also check out my recipes for Mini Lemon Fairycakes, Lemon and Poppy Seed Bundt Cake, Mary Berry´s Lemon Drizzle Cake, Lemon Meringue Pie or my Lemon Yoghurt Cake!
“Lighter” Lemon Cheesecake with Quark | No-Bake Dessert
Recipe
Ingredients:
FOR THE LEMON CHEESECAKE:
- 120g digestives
- 60g butter, melted
- 500g quark
- 200g low-fat soft cheese
- 200g icing sugar
- 3 lemons
- 3 sheets gelatine (I used Dr Oetker´s leaf gelatine)
- Candied lemon peel, to serve (optional)
YOU WILL ALSO NEED:
- 20cm round spring-clip tin
Method:
- Put the digestive biscuits into a freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin to make fine biscuit crumbs.
- Melt the butter in the microwave and then add in the crushed biscuits. Mix into a paste and transfer it to the bottom of a round 20cm baking tin. Use the back of a spoon to press down the mix evenly to create the biscuit base. Chill in the fridge whilst you prepare the filling.
- Finely grate the zest of the three lemons and then squeeze out the juice into a small saucepan.
- For the cheesecake filling, put the quark, cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and mix until well combined and smooth.
- In the meantime, soak the gelatine sheets in some cold water for a few minutes until soft. Then pour away the water and squeeze out as much of the water from the gelatine sheets as you can.
- Gently heat the lemon juice in the saucepan. Once hot, dissolve the gelatine in the lemon juice.
- Pour into the quark cheesecake mixture and stir until completely incorporated.
- Spoon the cheesecake filling on top of the prepared biscuit base and level the surface. Cover with clingfilm (so that the clingfilm is directly on top of the filling, this will prevent any skin from forming) and then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or until the filling has set.
- So serve, use a sharp knife to run around the edges of the tin before loosening the spring clip and removing the edges of the tin. Carefully transfer the cheesecake onto a plate and decorate with some candied lemon peel before slicing (optional).
