This 20-Minute No-Bake Dessert Is Snowy Perfection—Just Whip Cheese and Cream
No oven, all indulgence: the no-bake cake with velvety cream and a crunchy crust is fast becoming the season’s breakout dessert.
If you want a dessert that looks like you fussed but takes about as much effort as making a sandwich, this one is it. No oven. Minimal drama. A crisp, nutty shortbread base, a cloud of cool cream on top, and a snow of white chocolate and coconut to finish. Flavor-wise, it leans old-school ice cream (think plombir vibes), with a texture that lands somewhere between mousse and soufflé. Dressy enough for a celebration, easy enough for a Tuesday.
What you need
For the base: shortbread cookies 300 g, unsalted butter 100 g, walnuts 50 g.
For the cream: cream cheese 500 g (or 30% sour cream if that is your style), heavy cream 33% 300 ml, powdered sugar 100 g, vanilla extract 1 tsp.
For the top: white chocolate shavings, coconut flakes.
How to make it
- Blitz the shortbread and walnuts into fine crumbs. Melt the butter and mix it through the crumbs until evenly moistened.
- Press the mixture into a pan or cake form, pack it down firmly, and chill for 15 minutes.
- Whip the chilled 33% cream with the powdered sugar to stiff peaks. Cold cream makes all the difference here.
- In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese with the vanilla until smooth. (If using 30% sour cream, whip until thick and silky.)
- Gently fold the two mixtures together with a spatula, moving from bottom to top so you keep the air in.
- Spoon the cream onto the base and smooth the top. Shower with white chocolate shavings and coconut.
- Chill for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight. Serve cold and accept the compliments like you planned this all week.