One of the very few desserts that my husband actually craves is cheesecake. It’s been a while since I may mini cheesecakes, so I thought it would be fun to make mini cheesecakes this year for him but with an Easter twist. This yummy mini egg cheesecake recipe is the perfect Easter dessert and a fun way to use up those bags of mini Cadbury eggs I know you all are hoarding! Use any others you have leftover in these fun Easter egg hunts or put them inside of these DIY surprise eggs (so fun for Easter!).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Cute – the little nests on top of these cheesecakes make these just adorable for Easter or as an addition to any of these spring party ideas! Shortbread crust – one of the most unique things about these cheesecakes is the shortbread crust instead of your typical graham cracker crust. Fluffy filling – the actual cheesecake part is soft, fluffy, and super flavorful. I like them with the nest topping but they’re also good just eaten plain or with this homemade raspberry sauce. Single servings – since these are mini cheesecakes, they’re perfect to serve as individual serving desserts, just like you would these banana pudding cupcakes.
Ingredients
The photo above shows everything you need to make the actual mini cheesecake. To turn these into mini egg cheesecake, you’ll also need:
Instant cheesecake pudding filling – you want this to be dry, not already mixed together. Heavy whipping cream – make sure this is cold, straight out of the fridge, for the best consistency. Green sprinkles – jimmies are going to be your best best for this to make it look more like a nest. Powdered sugar – also known as confectioners sugar
Ingredient Notes
Just a few things to note about the ingredients for the cheesecake:
Shortbread cookies – any shortbread cookies will do. I’ve used Lorna Doone, the Girl Scout shortbread cookies, and other shortbread cookies.Cream cheese – this needs to be at room temperature so that you don’t end up with lumps in your cheesecake. I recommend taking it out about an hour before you’re ready to start making your filling! Heavy cream – you could also just use regular whipped cream in place of the filling recipe included in this post. Instant cheesecake pudding mix – can also substitute this with vanilla instant pudding mix, it just won’t have the same distinct cheesecake filling.
Instructions
Okay so this recipe takes a bit of time but it’s well worth it! And none of it is easy, it just takes some time for the baking + finishing steps!
The first thing you need to do is preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tins with cupcake liners.
The oven will need to be left open for about an hour after baking so keep that in mind if you have a floor level oven, young kids, or anything that having an open oven might imact.
I for one have a floor level oven and a curious toddler, so I had to make these when he was napping so I didn’t end up with a toddler opening the oven and burning himself AND ruining the cheesecakes in the process
Then it’s time to make your crust. Melt your butter. While the butter is melting, pulse the shortbread cookies in a food processor until they’ve turned into fine crumbs.
Add the butter and pulse again until fully combined to get your crust mixture. Since the cookies are already sweetened, you won’t need to add more sugar like you would with the graham cracker crust in striped delight.
Fill each cupcake liner with 1 TBS of the shortbread crust, pressing down lightly with the back of the tablespoon so the crust sticks together.
Next you’re going to make the filling.
Cream together the cream cheese and sugar with a paddle attachment in a stand mixer until smooth.
Add the sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and eggs to the mixture and combine until smooth, typically just a minute or two.
Scoop just about 1/4 cup of the mixture into each of the cupcake liners on top of the crust. You want about 1/4 inch left in each of the cups from the top to add your topping.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Once you hit 25 minutes, turn the oven off, crack the oven door, and leave in the oven for another hour to allow the cheesecakes to set.
Remove the cheesecakes from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Then transfer to the fridge to chill for about an hour.
Last but not least, you’re going to top the cheesecakes. Since you’re topping them with a cheesecake whipped cream, you’ll want to top them right before serving so it doesn’t go flat.
Just before serving, whip the heavy cream, instant cheesecake mix, and powdered sugar together until fluffy, typically just a few minutes.
Pipe a dollop of the topping onto each of the cheesecakes. You can either do this with just a spoon or if you want it to all look even, add the topping to a piping bag and pipe with a tip OR add to a plastic bag and just add a bit through a cut off corner.
Once you’ve added your dollops, add green sprinkles to make your nest. You can either cover the dollop completely or just focus more on the outside since the eggs will go in the middle.
Lastly, top with mini Cadbury eggs to finish off each mini egg cheesecake! I found that three mini Cadbury eggs fit best.
Serve immediately. These make a great Easter dessert, spring baby shower treat, or even just a yummy and festive treat for any time you really need some mini Cadbury eggs!
Expert Tips
If you want to prepare ahead of time, make the cheesecakes and topping and refrigerate those. Add the Cadbury eggs right before serving and keep the piped cheesecakes in the fridge until serving (Cadbury eggs don’t hold up great in the fridge). Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. The crust will soften after being in the fridge for 24 hours. They’ll still taste fine, just know that the crust will be a bit softer after 24 hours. If you know you want to make them ahead of time and worried about a soft crust, you may want to do a graham cracker crust instead. If you want to make a full 24 cheesecakes (instead of the 18 it’s written for), put 2 tsp of crust into each cup and 2-3 TBS filling. They’ll be a little smaller but still have a good ratio of filling to crust.
More Easy Desserts
If you like this mini egg cheesecake recipe, you’ll love these other yummy desserts!
Andes Mint cookies – double chocolate chip cookies stuffed with an Andes Mint, these will be a new favorite favorite! Highly addicint and delicious! 7-layer bars – an old-fashioned classic that combines seven layers of delicious flavors all in one yummy bar! Chocolate dipped rice krispy treats – tips and tricks for delicious rice krispy treats PLUS a delicious chocolate dipped variety! Brownie Balls – chocolate brownies mixed with more chocolate then covered in chocolate, it’s the best way to get your brownie fix! Sugar cookie bites – a delicious cut out sugar cookie recipe that’s cut into small squares and sprinkled instead of decoration, kids love these!
