Now that it’s officially holiday season (no, I don’t have Christmas decorations up yet, but yes, my Halloween decorations are down), that means holiday vacation is almost here. Last year we made our first trip with Isabelle to Hong Kong for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately this holiday we’re staying in town, so Asia will have to wait until next year.

Since that means no Hong Kong pastries for me in the near future, I’ll have to make do at home. Noosa Yoghurt asked me to make a dessert inspired by either my local culture or my heritage. Although I grew up in the Bay Area, I’ve been lucky enough to visit Hong Kong numerous times in my life and connect with my extended family there and indulge in the glorious kaleidoscope of Hong Kong cuisine, from dim sum to street food to British high tea. I’m particularly missing the east-meets-west pastries they do so well there, which led me to make this tropical flavored cheesecake.

The cheesecakes I’ve had in Hong Kong are usually lighter, fluffier, and less tart than the popular New York style cheesecake in the US. That dovetailed perfectly this cheesecake recipe, which uses yogurt to lighten it up.

Noosa is Australian style yogurt, which is creamy and full-bodied, similar to Greek yogurt, and sweetened with honey. The honey makes it sweeter and less tangy than traditional yogurts (most of the Noosa flavors also have fruit added, which also ups the sweetness level), and its rich, full texture that makes it a useful ingredient in baking. In this recipe, the yogurt makes the cheesecake very creamy and velvety, yet lighter than traditional cheesecakes. Since there are no eggs and this cheesecake isn’t baked, there is a touch of gelatin added in to help hold it together. No-bake also means this cheesecake is super easy to put together; it just needs an overnight chill in the refrigerator to set.

The base is made of crushed digestive biscuits, sort of the British version of butter cookies or graham crackers. Thanks to the UK’s influence on Hong Kong cuisine, I’ve seen digestive biscuits used in many of their pastries. They provide a lovely, buttery background for the cheesecake. You can find digestive biscuits in most grocery stores, but if yours doesn’t carry them, graham crackers work perfectly fine as well.

Any flavor of yogurt will work, but I chose Noosa’s coconut: Hong Kong always make me think of hot summer days and indeed, the desserts I have when I’m there often lean towards the tropical: coconut, mango, pineapple, guava. I topped the cheesecake with another staple of the Hong Kong patisseries: a mango mirror glaze. Mango and coconut is one of my very favorite pairings (and I believe my parents’ as well: I recall mango-coconut being one of the ice cream flavors my mom would usually pick, if she could find it at the ice cream parlor).

The first thought I had when I took a bite of this was that I wished my mom was here to try some. It’s simple and clean, not overly sweet but just sweet enough, the way most desserts are in Hong Kong. So I’ll tuck this recipe away to make again when my mom comes to visit, and in the meantime as the days grow shorter and colder I’ll enjoy this little piece of sunshine and let it take me home.

Disclosure: I was provided product samples by Noosa for recipe development, however the idea for this recipe and all opinions in this post are my own.