Easy Mini Christmas Cheesecakes

These Mini Christmas Cheesecakes are the perfect festive treat – a classic creamy cheesecake, dressed up for the season with sweet little strawberry Santa hats. Think buttery digestive base, silky vanilla cheesecake filling, and a whipped-cream swirl topped with a juicy strawberry as a tiny Santa hat. They’re as cute as they are delicious.

These little cheesecakes are no-bake, creamy, and ideal for parties, hosting, or as an alternative to the traditional Christmas pudding. If you love festive baking (and no-baking), these are about to become your new tradition (you will also love my Nutella Pull-Apart Star). For more bakes, you might want to try my Chocolate Marshmallow S’mores Cake or Upside-Down Pear Fudge Cake.

Why you will love this recipe

These are no-bake cheesecakes – simple and stress-free.
Make-ahead friendly. You can prepare the day before you plan to serve.
Adorable individual portions, perfect for sharing, bringing to parties, or for children too.
A perfect festive treat – the little “Santa” topping brings some festive fun (like my Xmas pretzel crack).

Cross section of Christmas cheesecake with strawberries on plate.

Ingredients

Cream cheese – Always opt for a full-fat version and drain off any excess liquid before using. Low-fat varieties won’t set properly. I like to use Philadelphia.
Confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar) – Powdered sugar gives the best texture, but you can also use granulated sugar if that is what you have on hand.
Heavy cream (double cream) – Helps create the silky, creamy filling. Avoid light cream in this recipe.
Strawberries – I know they won’t be in season around Christmas, but I make a little exception here as they just look so cute. Of course, you can make these in summer too when strawberries are at their best and just decorate with a strawberry without any relation to a Christmas hat.
Digestives – Blended into fine crumbs, choose your favorite digestive biscuits for the crust (see below for suggestions).

Substitutions and variations

Gluten-free version: Swap digestives for gluten-free biscuits. Check the labels of the rest of your ingredients.

Biscuits: Digestive biscuits are a classic all-rounder for a buttery biscuit base. However, you can swap for all sorts of biscuits to switch up the flavor.

Use chocolate digestives for extra chocolate.
Ginger nuts (or ginger snaps) are wonderfully warming (which I use in this White Chocolate and Passionfruit Cheesecake).
Lotus Biscoff biscuits are ideal for a hint of caramelized biscuit flavor (like in my Salted Caramel Cheesecake).
Hobnobs are great too; they give extra ‘oatiness’.
In the US, graham crackers are a great alternative.

Bear in mind you may need to adjust the quantity of butter to get the correct consistency (some biscuits are drier than others). You can just add more. Go slowly and add melted butter slowly until you get the ‘wet sand’ consistency.

Mascarpone: You can swap some of the cream cheese for mascarpone if you like. It has a slightly sweeter, richer flavor than cream cheese. By all means, swap the full amount, but bear in mind the cheesecake will taste very indulgent.

How to make easy Christmas cheesecakes

Here’s a quick visual guide — the full recipe with exact measurements is below.

Pouring melted butter into the biscuit crumb.

ONE: Tip the digestive biscuits into a food processor and blitz into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and whizz again.

TWO: Line a muffin pan with liners. Fill each case with a spoon of the biscuits and pack it down well. Leave to chill.

Mixing cream cheese and sugar with hand mixer.

THREE: Put the cream cheese into a large bowl and sift in the confectioners’ (icing) sugar. Add the vanilla extract and whisk using an electric mixer until smooth.

FOUR: Pour in the cream.

FIVE: Continue to whisk until you have a lovely and thick cheesecake mix.

SIX: Spoon the cheesecake mix onto the chilled biscuit bases and use the back of a spoon, spatula, or palette knife to spread in a smooth, even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight) or until set.

Piping cream onto Christmas cheesecakes.

SEVEN: Once the cheesecake has set, remove from the cases and set onto a flat plate. Gently spoon and swirl the whipped cream on top.

Topping Christmas cheesecakes with Santa hat decoration.

EIGHT: Top with a strawberry. Then pipe a little bit of cream on top of the strawberry to look like a Santa hat.

Troubleshooting and tips

Problem	Why it happens	Quick fix
Filling too soft	Cream not whipped enough	Whisk to medium peaks and chill for longer
Crumbly base	Not enough butter / not compressed	Add 1-2 tsp more melted butter and press firmly
Watery topping	Strawberry juice is running	Pat the strawberries dry before topping.

How to make a buttery biscuit base without a food processor

If you don’t have a food processor (or don’t want to clean one), you can still make this delicious Christmas cheesecake.

Simply, place the biscuits into a sandwich bag and bash with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs.
Tip the crumbs into a large mixing bowl and mix in the melted butter until you have the desired crumbly consistency.

Frequently asked questions

How long will mini Christmas cheesecakes last in the fridge?

Christmas cheesecakes, undecorated, will last up to 3 days in an airtight container. Whip the cream fresh and add the strawberries closer to serving for the best results.

Why did my Christmas cheesecakes not set?

It could be that you didn’t whip the cream cheese and heavy (double) cream properly. It needs to be very thick, which is why I recommend using an electric mixer if you have one. However, be mindful not to over-whip, or you will have a dense cheesecake. It could also be that you haven’t given it enough time to set. Try to let it chill ideally overnight if you can.

Can I make this Christmas cheesecake in advance?

A mini Christmas cheesecake is better when left to chill overnight. I like to prep ahead the day before and then just decorate the morning of. It will keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days, like my Chocolate Orange Mini Cheesecakes.

Other recipes you might enjoy

If you like this Christmas Cheesecake recipe, you will like my other Christmas recipes too, such as my Nutella Puff Pastry Tree, Pesto and Cheese Puff Pastry Sun, or my Ham and Cheese Pithivier. For another pudding idea, try my Creamy Italian Custard Pudding.

Easy Dessert Recipes

Mini Egg Cheesecake

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Crème Brûlée Cheesecake

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The Best Salted Caramel Cheesecake

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Apple Crumble Cheesecake

If you tried this recipe for Mini Christmas Cheesecakes or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!

Easy Mini Christmas Cheesecakes

By: Margie Nomura

These Mini Christmas Cheesecakes look like cute little Santa hats, perfect for the holiday season. They are simple to make and can easily be made in advance for fuss-free entertaining.

Prep: 30 mins
Chilling Time: 4 hrs
Total: 4 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

For the biscuit base:

5.25 oz digestive biscuits , about 1 1/2 cups fine crumbs; or graham crackers
1.75 oz unsalted butter , about 3 1/2 tbsp; melted

For the cheesecake filling:

10.5 oz full-fat soft cream cheese , about 1 1/3 cups
1.75 oz confectioners' sugar (icing sugar) , about scant 1/2 cup
About 1 tsp vanilla extract
5 fl oz heavy cream (double cream) , about scant 2/3 cup

For the topping:

5 fl oz heavy cream (double cream) , about scant 2/3 cup
Strawberries , to top

–

Instructions

For the biscuit base:

Tip the digestive biscuits into a food processor and blitz into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and whizz again until you have the desired crumbly consistency. It should resemble damp sand.
Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each case with a spoonful of the biscuits and pack it down well. I like to use the bottom of a small glass or the back of a spoon. Cover and chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

For the cheesecake filling:

Put the cream cheese into a large bowl and sift in the confectioners' (icing) sugar. Add the vanilla extract and whisk using an electric mixer until smooth. You can also do this using a stand mixer.
Pour in the heavy (double) cream and continue to whisk until you have a lovely and thick cheesecake mix. Alternatively, you can whisk the cream to medium peaks separately, then gently fold it through (I find the same bowl method saves on the washing up!). Taste and add a little more vanilla extract, if desired.

Build the mini cheesecakes:

Spoon the cheesecake mix onto the chilled biscuit bases and use the back of a spoon, spatula, or palette knife to spread in a smooth, even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight) or until set.
Once the cheesecake has set, remove from the cases and set onto a flat plate. Gently spoon and swirl the whipped cream on top, and top with a strawberry. Then pipe a little bit of cream on top of the strawberry to look like a Santa hat.

Video

Notes

Make-ahead and storage

To store: Once made, these cheesecakes will last for up to 3 days in the fridge. Keep them covered. The longer they sit, the more the strawberry juices risk running onto the cheesecakes. To freeze: You can pop the undecorated cheesecakes in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just make sure they are well wrapped in plastic wrap. Defrost in the fridge. Decorate when ready to serve. Make ahead: Undecorated Christmas cheesecakes are the perfect make-ahead dessert. They actually benefit from setting up overnight, then just decorate before serving (or the morning of) with the whipped cream and strawberries. Once made, they will last for up to 3 days, covered in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 273 kcal
, Carbohydrates: 16 g
, Protein: 3 g
, Fat: 22 g
, Saturated Fat: 13 g
, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g
, Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g
, Trans Fat: 0.1 g
, Cholesterol: 63 mg
, Sodium: 150 mg
, Potassium: 79 mg
, Fiber: 0.4 g
, Sugar: 9 g
, Vitamin A: 810 IU
, Vitamin C: 0.2 mg
, Calcium: 52 mg
, Iron: 1 mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.