Perfect for a Valentine's Day treat, these wonderfully rich mini cheesecakes are topped with a strawberry compote and finished in a silky smooth cream cheese frosting. Incredibly easy to make, with a quick cooking time, this decadent Valentine's dessert is perfect to share with the ones you love.
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These delicious mini cheesecakes are so perfect for Valentine's Day, but honestly, they can be enjoyed anytime of the year. If I could have one everyday, I most definitely would!
Made with condensed milk, these individual cheesecakes are deliciously rich and creamy, without being overly sweet. The strawberry compote adds a fresh fruitiness and the cream cheese frosting balances it out with tasty tanginess.
Decorated with a pink and white two-toned rose and heart sprinkles, this eye catching dessert is sure to impress!
Much simpler to make than you think, with a very quick cooking time, even a novice baker will be able to master these!
Be sure to try my Valentine's Day Chocolate Bark and Heart Shaped Ravioli too!
Why you will love this recipe!
- Simple ingredients: You don't need a long list of ingredients for this recipe, and they are all easy to source.
- Make ahead: These mini cheesecakes can be made several days in advance and are freezer friendly too.
- Easy to make your own: These are so fun to decorate and they are great to get older kids involved with too! Experiment with different toppings and decorations to serve at any occasion!
- So pretty! The ombre cream cheese frosting on these cupcakes is so perfect for Valentine's Day and it's so easy to get that professional look!
- Dietary info: This Valentine's dessert is vegetarian.
Ingredients
- Marie Biscuits: For the cheesecake base. They have a light flavor and are similar to English rich tea biscuits.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter at room temperature.
- Cream Cheese: Use a full fat cream cheese like Philadelphia. This should be at room temperature.
- Egg: At room temperature.
- Vanilla Extract: For flavor and sweetness.
- Condensed Milk: This is the secret ingredient to making your mini cheesecakes
- Powdered sugar: Also known as icing sugar or confectioners sugar. This super fine sugar is perfect for making the super smooth cream cheese frosting.
- Food coloring and sprinkles
- For the fruit compote: Strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and cornstarch.
How to make mini cheesecakes
- Break up the biscuits and mix with butter. Press into liners and place in a muffin tin (photo 1).
- Mix together the ingredients for the cheesecake (photo 2).
- Pour the cheesecake mix on to of the biscuit bae (photo 3).
- Bake until set and let cool (photo 4).
- Mix together the ingredients for the cream cheese frosting (photo 5).
- Decorate with fruit compote, cream cheese frosting and sprinkles, if using (photo 6).
Recipe Variations
These mini cheesecakes are so wonderfully rich and creamy, I don't recommend changing anything with the main recipe, you can however mix up the toppings for different variations. These are decorated in red, pink and white for Valentine's Day, but for sure you can have fun with the colors to suit other occasions!
Be sure to give some of these other toppings a try:
- The strawberry compote can be made with other fruits. Blueberry, raspberry or mango all work amazingly well!
- Use jam instead of compote for a sweeter taste.
- Not a fruit fan? Skip the compote and use Nutella or Biscoff.
- Use different colors and sprinkles for the frosting for other occasions.
- You can leave off the cream cheese frosting if you prefer, or use whipped cream, buttercream, or your favorite frosting recipe.
Make Ahead and Storage
This Valentine's dessert recipe has a great shelf life. Once made, they will keep well in the fridge for around 5 days, so you can make a batch and enjoy them throughout the week.
You can easily make up the cheesecakes a few days ahead of time and then decorate closer to serving.
You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. If you do this, make sure that they are fully cooled, and wrap them well in plastic and foil to protect them from freezer burn. I would recommend that you don't decorate them if you plan to freeze them. Thaw them in the fridge overnight and decorate to serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
These mini cheesecakes are decorated with a two-tone rose, and honestly it's so easy to get that top tier bakery look at home! Simply add food coloring to half of your frosting, then spoon some of each mixture into a piping bag. Use a 1M tip to pipe the roses.
You can find a more detailed two-tone frosting tutorial here.
These mini cheesecakes are great to serve as a sit down dessert, but equally you can enjoy them on the go, so they are great to serve up as a party dessert.
The biscuit base has more butter than other cheesecake recipes, so it holds together and doesn't crumble and the cheese mixture is perfectly firm so you can easily eat them as a finger food dessert.
Mini cheesecakes are much more stable than a regular sized cheesecake, so there is no need to bake them with a water bath. The baking process is much more straight forward, and a lot quicker!
Recipe Notes and Tips
- All ingredients should be at room temperature.
- Stir the cheese mixture well to get rid of any large bubbles that can pop during baking. Once the mixture is poured, you can use a toothpick to get rid of bubbles and gently bang the tray on your countertop, with a cloth underneath. Don't worry, if you do have bubbles that pop, you can easily cover them up with the decoration!
- Leave a space at the top of the cupcake liner when you pour the cheese mix in. This will be to hold your strawberry compote (or other topping) in place.
- Your oven should be fully preheated before you bake the cheesecakes.
- Measurements for this recipe are in grams, not cups, to ensure accuracy. Use an digital kitchen scale for the best results.
- Let the cheesecakes cool fully before decorating them. For best results, let them cool, add the compote (or other topping), then place in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour before frosting them.
These decadent mini cheesecakes with cream cheese frosting are the perfect sweet treat for this Valentine's Day. So impressive to serve, and wonderfully rich, you'll be sure to win some hearts with this recipe!
More Sweet Treats to Try!
- Chocolate Dipped Petit Fours Cookies
- Baked Cranberry Orange Cheesecake
- Dark Chocolate Cherry Cookies
- Chocolate Pots with Pretzel Topping
Recipe Created by Aliaa Aly
Aliaa was born and raised in Cairo where she studied medicine and worked as a professor of audiology in Cairo university.
When she left her professional life to join her husband who was working in Europe, she found her love for cooking and baking, searching for, and recreating the food she grew up with.
Aliaa's mother was her inspiration for everything delicious and her cooking was the deepest, purest act of love. She loves sharing her traditional recipes and show stopping bakes with her friends whenever she gets a chance!
Aliaa lives in Quebec with her husband and 3 children.
Mini Cheesecakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
For the cheesecakes
- 60 grams Marie Biscuits (10 biscuits)
- 40 grams unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 150 grams cream cheese (room temperature)
- 1 egg (room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 132 grams condensed milk
For the strawberry compote
- 125 grams strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 30 grams sugar
- 1½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
For the cream cheese frosting
- 40 grams unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 32 grams powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125 grams cream cheese (room temperature)
- red food colouring
Instructions
To make the cheesecakes
- Preheat the oven to 168c / 334F.
- Place 8 cupcake liners into a muffin pan.
- Place the biscuits in a food processor and process into a fine crumb.60 grams Marie Biscuits
- Melt the butter and stir it into the biscuit crumbs ensuring that they are well coated.40 grams unsalted butter
- Spoon the biscuit mixture evenly into the cupcake liners. Press down firmly with the back of a spoon. Set to one side.
- Place the cream cheese, egg and vanilla extract into a large bowl. Use a hand mixer to whip everything together. This will take a couple of minutes.150 grams cream cheese, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Add in the condensed milk, and mix again with the hand mixer til everything is incorporated. Stir the mixture by hand to pop any large bubbles.132 grams condensed milk
- Gently pour the cheese mixture on top of the biscuit base in the cupcake liners. Leave a good sized gap at the top to hold your topping. Pop any large bubbles using a toothpick.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. The cheesecakes are done when the middles have risen and they are slightly darker in color. When you move the tin, they should have a slight wobble to them, but be firm on top.
- Set to the side to let cool completely.
- While the cheesecakes are cooling, you can make the compote and cream cheese frosting.
To make the strawberry compote
- Place the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small pan and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes.125 grams strawberries, 30 grams sugar, 1½ teaspoon lemon juice
- Mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of water in a small bowl.1 teaspoon cornstarch
- Mix in the cornstarch slurry to the strawberries, and take the pan off of the heat. Place the compote into a bowl and let it cool. This can be placed in the fridge once cooled.
To make the cream cheese frosting
- Use a hand blender to whip the butter in a large bowl til light and fluffy.40 grams unsalted butter
- Add in the powdered sugar and whip together til well mixed.32 grams powdered sugar
- Add in the vanilla extract and mix again.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add in the cream cheese and mix. Do not over mix at this stage, it should just be combined.125 grams cream cheese
- Remove half of the frosting into a smaller bowl and color with red food coloring. Keep to one side til ready to decorate.red food colouring
To decorate
- Keep the cheesecakes in their cupcake wrappers.
- Spoon the compote over the top of each cheesecake and smooth flat with the back of a spoon. Place in the fridge for30 minutes to an hour to let the compote set.
- Place the two color of frosting into a piping bag and attach a 1M tip.
- Pipe the two tone roses on top of the compote.
- Store in the fridge and remove the wrappers to serve.
Notes
-
- All ingredients should be at room temperature.
- Stir the cheese mixture well to get rid of any large bubbles that can pop during baking. Once the mixture is poured, you can use a toothpick to get rid of bubbles and gently bang the tray on your countertop, with a cloth underneath. Don't worry, if you do have bubbles that pop, you can easily cover them up with the decoration!
-
- Leave a space at the top of the cupcake liner when you pour the cheese mix in. This will be to hold your strawberry compote (or other topping) in place.
-
- Your oven should be fully preheated before you bake the cheesecakes.
-
- Measurements for this recipe are in grams, not cups, to ensure accuracy. Use an digital kitchen scale for the best results.
-
- Let the cheesecakes cool fully before decorating them. For best results, let them cool, add the compote (or other topping), then place in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour before frosting them.
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