These minty individual No Bake Christmas Cheesecakes make the perfect dessert (plus they're flavoured with candy canes!!)
For me, Christmas is a really, really good excuse to eat cheesecake. It's my must-have Christmas dessert. And yep, I'm one of those people who keeps going back to the fridge for DAYS afterwards just having another little teensy slice here and there. And so, with my love of cheesecakes in mind, I have a really delicious recipe for no-bake Christmas cheesecakes just for you. Seriously yum!
These Christmas cheesecakes get their minty flavour from crushed candy canes and a tiny bit of peppermint extract. They have quite a subtle peppermint flavour, so if you're a HUGE peppermint fan, then just add in some extra crushed candy canes or peppermint extract.
There's no doubt that I really do love an individual dessert - obviously there's no sharing involved, plus they look extra cute. And that's clearly very important! As with all cheesecakes, these babies are very rich, so you only need a small serve. Oh who am I kidding? You need a big, BIG serve. It is cheesecake, right!!!
I don't like to be boring, but I do have to tell you a little trick for when you're making cheesecakes. If you want your cheesecakes to be perfectly smooth and creamy (umm... yes!), then it's super duper important to have all of your ingredients at room temperature. This will stop the gelatine from going lumpy - which you definitely don't want. Trust me on this one!!
Ooh and I have another little tip too! These Christmas cheesecakes look seriously pretty decorated with some extra crushed candy canes on top. BUT you really need to pop the candy cane decorations on just before serving for 2 reasons. 1) Sometimes the food colouring on the candy canes runs when it's put in the fridge... it still tastes yum, but doesn't look quite so lovely! 2) The crushed candy canes will set together quite quickly - whereas you want a nice, crumbly candy cane topping. So, my suggestion is set aside 100g of candy canes and crush them just before serving and sprinkle them over the top. Or you can simply pop a whole candy cane into each glass just before serving - that looks great too! Easy peasy!
These No Bake Christmas Cheesecakes will need to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours, but I always prefer to make my cheesecakes the day before you need them. That way, you don't need to worry about whether they'll have set in time - and you can just kick back and relax on the day!
So tell me - what are you making for Christmas dessert this year? Will you be scoffing down cheesecake for days like me?
PS - If you prefer a baked cheesecake, I have the BEST, most fool-proof Classic New York Baked Cheesecake recipe for you. It's easy and everyone will love it!
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No Bake Christmas Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the base
- 125 g plain sweet biscuits like Arnott’s Marie
- 80 g butter melted
For the filling
- 375 g cream cheese room temp
- ¼ cup caster sugar
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 tsp gelatine powder
- 2 tbs boiled water
- 180 g white chocolate
- 300 ml thickened cream lightly whipped
- 300 g candy canes reserve 100g for decoration, crushed
Instructions
Conventional Method
- Set 6 serving glasses or individual bowls aside.
- Use a food processor to finely crush the biscuits. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. Divide the mixture amongst the 6 glasses and place into the fridge.
- Beat the cream cheese, caster sugar and peppermint extract in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.
- Place 2 tablespoons of boiled water into a cup. Sprinkle over the gelatin powder and stir until completely dissolved. When the mixture has cooled, add it to the cream cheese mixture and beat until combined.
- Add 200g crushed candy canes (reserving 100g for decoration), melted white chocolate and whipped cream to the bowl and fold through.
- Divide the mixture equally between the glass jars, top with the reserved crushed candy canes and place into the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours to set (preferably overnight).
Thermomix Method
- Set 6 serving glasses or individual bowls aside.
- Crush the candy canes by pressing Turbo 5-10 times - depending on how chunky or fine you would like them. Set aside.
- Place the butter into the TM bowl and melt on 100 degrees, 2 minutes, Speed 2. Add the biscuits and crush on Turbo for 10 seconds (or until they resemble fine crumbs). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat until completely combined.
- Divide the mixture amongst the 6 glasses and place into the fridge.
- Place the cream into the TM bowl and beat on Speed 3.5 until peaks are just starting to form (this can be anywhere between 10 seconds and nearly 2 minutes - depending on the freshness of your cream). Set the cream aside in a separate bowl.
- Place the cream cheese, caster sugar and peppermint extract into the TM bowl and mix on Speed 5 for 20 seconds.
- Place 2 tablespoons of boiled water into a cup. Sprinkle over the gelatin powder and stir until completely dissolved. When the mixture has cooled, add it to the cream cheese mixture and mix on Speed 5 for a further 20 seconds.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals until just melted (stirring each time with a dry metal spoon). * Please note that you can melt the chocolate in the TM, however, for this recipe I find it quicker to do it in the microwave.
- Add 200g of the crushed candy canes (reserving 100g for decoration), the melted white chocolate and whipped cream to the bowl and mix on Speed 5 for 45 seconds or until smooth.
- Divide the mixture equally between the glass jars, top with the reserved crushed candy canes and place into the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours to set (preferably overnight).
Cindy@Your Kids OT
Popping this onto the Christmas menu now!
Bake Play Smile
Thanks!
Bianca
If I wish to make as 1 large one would the recipe be OK for that also I have a large family
Thanks they look so good.
Bake Play Smile
Absolutely!
Renee
These look amazing!
Can you recommend any other flavours to add to these though instead of peppermint perhaps?
Bake Play Smile
You could add caramel sauce instead, or chopped up honeycomb or Cherry Ripes! YUM!