5 Chefs Share Their Favourite No-Bake, Easy Desserts

No matter how tough the going gets, we all get by with a generous bite of something sinfully sweet! So, whether you are partial to a bar dark chocolate or would love to dig into a slice of cake drizzled with chocolate syrup - here is how to satiate your sweet tooth. 

Easy, fuss-free and requiring no-baking (YASSS!) - 5 chefs tell Cosmo their favourite desserts that can be whipped up with minimal efforts. Which one is your favourite? 

Avocado chocolate mousse by Mohit Bulchandani, Founder, Seeds of Life, Mumbai

Serves Approx 2.

● Avocado - 3
● Raw Cacao - 1/2 cup
● Maple syrup/ honey(if not vegan) - 1/3 cup
● Soy milk/ Almond milk - 1/2 cup
● Vanilla extract - 1/2 tbsp
● Pinch of salt

Method

Put all ingredients in a food processor/ blend till it smooth. Pour into serving glasses and refrigerate 

No-Bake Vegan Coffee Panacotta by Chef Guntas Sethi Bhasin

Serves: Approx 3

●    30 grams chopped Dark Chocolate 
●    400 ml Coconut Cream
●    55 grams of organic sugar/jaggery 
●    1 tsp Instant Coffee Powder 
●    40 grams Hot water 
●    1 tsp Agar Agar powder 

Method: 

In a saucepan on medium heat, add coconut cream and chopped dark chocolate and stir until the chocolate has melted.

Add the organic sugar and the coffee powder and bring just to a boil until sugar dissolves. 

Meanwhile, mix the gelatin in the hot water.

Stir in gelatin and immediately whisk. Stir constantly and let it come to a simmer and don't let the mixture boil.

Continue whisking for 3-4 minutes and then take it off the heat.

Pour cream into 3 individual serving dishes. Refrigerate for at least 2-4 hours, or until completely set.

Flip it over to a plate before serving and garnish with shaved chocolate.

Recipe by Monaz Irani, Founder & Chef at Plate & Pint

No-Bake Nutella Oreo & Chocolate Cheesecake by founder and chef at Plate & Pint

●    Cream cheese- 200g (Or Amul/Britannia Cream cheese spread)
●    Chocolate, melted- 60- 70g (preferably milk chocolate)
●    Biscuits -5 +2 for garnish
●    (Sub: any other biscuits that you may have available)
●    Butter, melted- 1 tablespoon
●    Condensed milk (Milkmaid)/ Castor sugar-1 tablespoon
●    Nutella- 2 tablespoons

Method:

Crush the biscuits till coarse. Add in the melted butter and compress evenly at the base of a
bowl/glass. Chill in the refrigerator.

Whisk the cream cheese till smooth.

Add in the condensed milk/ sugar and beat till mixed well.

Add in the melted chocolate and Nutella.

Spoon into the bowls. Garnish with an Oreo biscuit if you like and refrigerate till set.

Mango Mascarpone Cheesecake - deconstructed! by Jaydeep Mukherjee, Brand Head, Smoke House Deli 

Serves: 4 portions

●    Oreo cookies, crushed (+3 more to eat as you make the cheesecake!): 12 
●    Soft butter 3 tbs
●    Cream cheese, soft and cut into dices (makes it easier to cream) 60 gm
●    Mascarpone cheese 100 gm
●    Castor sugar 80 gm
●    Whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks 100 gm
●    Your favorite mango 5 
●    Heavy cream 80 ml
●    Soaked chia, to garnish 2 tbs
●    Mint sprigs, for garnish

Method: 

Gently toast the crushed Oreos on a low-medium heat in a non-stick pan till it is just warm to the touch. Remove into a bowl and mix in the butter with clean standstill it reaches a sand-like texture. Leave to cool. 

In a separate bowl, gently cream together the cream cheese, mascarpone and castor sugar to make a homogenous mixture, until the sugar has dissolved. Gently fold in the whipped cream into the cheese mix. This will make it lighter on the palate. Working quickly, put it in a piping bag with a star nozzle and place in the fridge to cool and firm up slightly.

Peel the mangoes and cut into dices. Puree half a mango and any trimming. Freeze about half the dices in a zip lock bag with the heavy cream till hard.

Blitz the rest of the mangoes in the mixer to make quick ice cream. Place back in the freezer till ready. This can be sweetened with some honey or maple syrup if required. Keep some of the puree separate in a squeeze bottle to garnish.

Chill all the ingredients until ready to plate.

For the mango mascarpone cheesecake pot 

Take a 200 gm jam jar or an old fashioned glass will do. Start by pouring the crumb at the bottom about a centimetre thick. Then gently pipe the cheese filling into the jar/glass, about half an inch thick. Top with the diced mangoes, a scoop of the mango ice cream, some of the mango puree, soaked chia seeds, and mint sprig for garnish. Serve chilled

For plating

On a clean plate, drizzle the mango puree in circles. Pipe out the cheese mix on 2 ends of the plate. Drizzle about a tsp of the oreo crumb near the cheesecake. Take a scoop of mango ice cream and place it in the centre. Place diced mangoes all around, garnish with chia seeds and the mint sprigs. 

Lemon meringue cheesecake (7inch) by Pastry Chef Husna Jumani

For the base

●    Digestive biscuits crushed -150gm 
●    Melted butter -20gm 

Method 

Mix the melted butter and biscuits and press into the bottom of a 7inch loose bottom tin. Freeze for 15mins 

No bake cheesecake 

●    Cream cheese - 250gm
●    Castor sugar - 65gm
●    Whipped cream- 150ml
●    Gelatine 1 ½ tsp soaked in 1 tbsp water 
●    Vanilla essence- 5gm

Method

Beat cream and set aside.In another bowl beat cream cheese and sugar.

Microwave gelatine for 20 secs till it melts , add to cream cheese and mix thoroughly.

Fold in rich cream. Pour into a crumbed mould and set in the refrigerator for 2 hours or freezer for 1 hour.

For lemon curd 

●    Unsalted butter - 125gm
●    Sugar - 90gm
●    Lemon juice - 4 no 
●    Lemon zest - 2no 
●    Gelatine powder - 2gm soaked 
●    Salt - ¼ tsp 
●    Yolk - 2no 

Method 

In a saucepan mix butter , lemon juice, zest , and salt. 

Mix yolk and sugar in another bowl  and whisk till it becomes pale . 

Warm the butter mixture and pour half into the yolk  mix and  whisk thoroughly. Add it back to the pan and whisk continuously on medium heat let it bubble gently and whisk  for 6 mins.

Take it off the heat and add gelatine, strain through a fine mesh strainer, let it cool at room temperature. Spread on top of cheesecake while it's in the tin. 

Meringue 

●    Egg white - 60gm
●    Sugar - 100gm

Method:

In a glass or metal bowl add sugar and egg white. Place over a double boiler and whisk till it's hot to touch  and beat with a hand beater till thick.

Put in a piping bag with a nozzle. 

Demould cheesecake on a cake board, pipe meringue on top and torch. Refrigerate till needed. Serve cold.