I was brainstorming ideas for a NYC-themed cake (I used this amazing stencil to create this look) and was struggling to pick a flavor.

I even took a poll on Instagram, and got suggestions for everything from black and white cookies to an apple cake!

When I sat back and thought about what flavors I associated with NYC, cheesecake seemed like a clear winner.

But rather than make a cheesecake and sandwich it between two cake layers, I wanted to make a cheesecake filling for a cake!

While this might seem like a small difference, it makes a huge difference in the process of making and assembling this cake. Sometimes it’s nice to keep things simple.

Cheesecake Cake Filling vs. Making an Entire Cheesecake

If you’ve ever made (or attempted to make) a cheesecake before, you know it’s no easy feat.

There are all kinds of tricks out there to prevent cracking and different people swear by different methods.

Recipes will say things like, “turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside to cool.” The recipes will recommend turning the temperature down part way through, or even cooling the cheesecake on the counter with a bowl over it.

It’s a lot to process and always seems like a hassle to me.

Maybe I’m just lazy, but if I’m already baking cake layers and making frosting from scratch, I just don’t want to bake a cheesecake too.

By using a simple, no-bake cheesecake filling for a cake, you get that delicious cheesecake flavor without a ton of additional effort or worry.

For me, not having to worry about this part of the cake process failing gives me so much peace of mind.

How This Cheesecake Cake Filling Differs from No-Bake Cheesecake

This cheesecake filling is similar to most no-bake cheesecake recipes, with one exception.

My recipe uses a lot less sweetened condensed milk. This does two things- it makes the filling a bit less sweet and gives the filling a thicker consistency.

Normally I use American buttercream to fill my cakes, which is rather sweet.

It’s a nice change of pace to have a filling that’s less sweet. This recipe allows the delicious tang of the cream cheese to really shine, which I love.

Using less sweetened condensed milk is also necessary for the consistency to be thick enough to fill a cake.

This amount allows the mixture to stay relatively stiff, and makes it easier to use between cake layers.

How To NOT Add This Filling to a Cake

Like I mentioned above, I added this filling to a New York-Themed Cake.

On my first attempt at assembling this cake, I tried to make cheesecake disks using this recipe, and it was a total bust!

I froze them in regular cake pans. I have no clue why I thought this would work, but I learned my lesson the hard way.

Even though I lined and sprayed the pans, I couldn’t get the disks of cheesecake out. I dipped the bottom of the pans under hot water to help them release, which gave me goopy, melty cheesecake discs that were hard to handle.

Long story short, don’t make disks with this recipe (unless you have springform pans…but even though, I’m not 100% sure it would work).

How to Properly Add This Filling to a Cake

I recommend piping a frosting ring or frosting dam when using this cheesecake filling.

I use this technique whenever I want to fill a cake with something that is soft or less thick than buttercream.

Below is a picture of my raspberry coconut cake from last summer. I filled this layer cake with raspberry preserves and needed to pipe a thick ring of stiff buttercream around them to keep the filling in place.

To use this technique, pipe a ring of buttercream around the edge of your cake layer, then spoon a generous amount of this cheesecake filling on the inside. Smooth with an offset spatula, then repeat.

Frost the outside of the cake with the frosting you used to pipe the frosting ring, and you’re all done!

Tips for Making This Cheesecake Cake Filling

• Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. It helps the filling mix together so much better.
• Use fresh lemon juice. It really helps balance the richness of the cream cheese.
• Place plastic wrap directly over the filling once it’s made to prevent a skin from forming
• When filling a cake with this cheesecake filling, pipe a ring of stiff frosting around the edge of the cake before adding it to help the filling stay in place.
• If you make this in advance, it keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days. Give it a good stir to smooth it out again before adding it to your cake.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this cheesecake cake filling, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.

And don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so that I can see your delicious creations!

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