The internet’s best food inventions are the ones that require little to no effort. TikTok’s baked feta pasta is a weeknight warrior that’s in the regular dinner rotation for at least two of my colleagues at Food & Wine, and in the summer you’ll find me shaking up a deli container of Logan Moffitt’s famous cucumber salad almost weekly.
A trending new dish has stormed onto the scene in the past week, and after tasting it myself, it might be one of social media’s best creations yet. The viral two-ingredient Japanese cheesecake doesn’t require a recipe, detailed instructions, or any cooking at all. It also happens to be high-protein and easy to make ahead of time for breakfast or dessert.
This popular new treat only calls for two components: yogurt and Biscoff cookies. Although you’ll often see it described online as a “viral Japanese cheesecake” or “Japanese yogurt cheesecake,” it isn’t similar to the light, soufflé-style cheesecakes Japan is known for. Instead, the trend is named for its origin: the social media sensation began in Japan, where home cooks shared how they used sablé cookies to make a two-ingredient dish that tastes like cheesecake.
Americans have turned to the caramelized, spiced flavor of Biscoff cookies to really infuse the dish with cheesecake-like flavor. And after testing the trend, I can confirm it deserves the hype.
How to make the viral Japanese cheesecake
Making this dish at home is unbelievably easy, but the ingredients you choose matter. You can use any crispy, crumbly, and buttery cookie to make the trend — feel free to try the original version from Japan, which focused on sablé-style biscuits — but the browned butter and spice notes in Biscoff will come closest to recreating the flavor you expect from an American cheesecake crust.
If you can’t find classic Biscoff, you can substitute graham crackers or Biscoff sandwich cookies, which have layers of cookie butter stuffed inside. I used the latter to make my “cheesecake,” and they worked quite well; just note that you’ll have some firm chunks of cookie butter floating throughout the dish.
For the yogurt, select something on the thicker side, like Greek yogurt or Icelandic skyr. These are both particularly tangy, which helps produce a cream cheese-like flavor in the final product too. Either plain or flavored yogurt works; just make sure you select a flavor that pairs well with the Biscoff. For example, vanilla yogurt would be delicious. (Some creators have used blended cottage cheese instead of yogurt. I wouldn’t recommend this because it takes more effort — you have to blend the cheese — and cottage cheese contains a lot of salt.)
To make the two-ingredient cheesecake, insert as many Biscoff cookies as possible directly into the yogurt container. If the tub of yogurt is filled to the brim before you begin, it may be best to remove a few spoonfuls of the dairy, because the yogurt will rise as you add cookies to its volume.
Push the cookies in vertically, leaving just a little space between them. How many you add is up to you, but the flavor of the yogurt is fairly strong, so I recommend leaning on the Biscoff-heavy side to make sure you can taste the cookies. Cover the yogurt and Biscoff and leave them in the refrigerator overnight or for at least a few hours. As they sit, the biscuits will absorb moisture from the yogurt and become soft and spoonable, so you can easily scoop up bites for breakfast.
What does the Japanese yogurt cheesecake taste like?
Despite its name, Biscoff and yogurt together don’t taste identical to cheesecake. (Largely because this combo doesn’t include cream cheese, lots of sugar, and eggs.) This trend is, however, very good.
The cookies soften in the same way that Nilla wafers do in banana pudding or like Oreos dipped in milk. You can easily scoop up a bite of creamy, tangy yogurt with spiced, buttery Biscoff, and it comes close enough to a cheesecake that it’s undeniably delicious. I also recommend crushing some still-crisp Biscoff to sprinkle on top of the “cheesecake” right before serving, which will add a little textural contrast.
What really sets this apart from a cheesecake is the lack of sugar. This, plus the protein you get from yogurt, also makes it a more suitable option for breakfast. However, if you want to amp up the dessert-like flavor, try swirling some maple syrup into the yogurt before you add the cookies. If you need a dinner party dessert that takes five minutes of active effort, this might just do the trick.