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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.
They’re no-bake, creamy, and ideal for parties, hosting, or as an alternative to the traditional Christmas pud. 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.
Table of Contents
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 more children too.
- A perfect festive treat – the little “Santa” topping brings some festive fun (like my Xmas pretzel crack).
Ingredients:
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
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.
Caster sugar: caster sugar gives the best texture, but you can also use granulated sugar if that is what you have in your larder.
Double cream – also known as ‘heavy’ cream.
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.
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 flavour.
- Use chocolate digestives for extra chocolate.
- Ginger nuts are wonderfully warming (which I use in this white chocolate and passionfruit cheesecake).
- Lotus biscoff biscuits are ideal for a hint of caramelised biscuit flavour (like in my salted caramel cheesecake).
- Hobnobs are great too, they give extra ‘oatiness’.
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 flavour than cream cheese. By all means, swap the full amount, but bear in mind the cheesecake will taste very indulgent.
Here’s how to make easy Christmas cheesecakes:
Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.
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 tray with muffin cases. Fill each case with a spoon of the biscuits and pack it down well. Leave to chill.
THREE: Put the cream cheese into a large bowl and sift in the icing sugar. Add the vanilla extract and whisk using an electric whisk until smooth.
FOUR: Pour in the double cream.
FIVE: Continue to whisk until you have a lovely and thick cheesecake mix.
SIX: Spoon 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 cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours (ideally overnight) or until set.
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.
EIGHT: Top with a strawberry. Then pipe a little bit of cream on top of the strawberry to look like a Santa hat.
Troubleshooting & 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 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 the washing up), 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.
- Next, tip into a large mixing bowl and mix in the melted butter until you have the desired crumbly consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
It could be that you didn’t whip the cream cheese and double cream properly. It needs to be very thick, which is why I recommend using an electric whisk if you have one. However, be mindful not to overwhip or you will have a dense Christmas 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.
A mini Christmas cake cheesecake is better if it is 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 cake 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 & cheese pithivier. For another pudding idea, try my creamy Italian custard pudding.
Easy Dessert Recipes
Mini Egg Cheesecake
Puddings
Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
Easy Dessert Recipes
The Best Salted Caramel Cheesecake
Puddings
Apple Crumble Cheesecake
If you tried this recipe for Christmas Cake Cheesecake or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Easy Christmas Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the biscuit base:
- 150 g digestives
- 50 g unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake filling:
- 300 g full-fat soft cream cheese
- 50 g icing sugar
- About 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150 ml double cream
For the topping:
- 150 ml double cream
- 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 tray with muffin cases. Fill each case with a spoon 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 whilst you make the filling.
- For the cheesecake filling: put the cream cheese into a large bowl and sift in the icing sugar. Add the vanilla extract and whisk using an electric whisk until smooth. You can also do this using a stand mixer.
- Pour in the 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 through (I find the same bowl method saves on the washing up!). Taste and add a little more vanilla extract, if desired.
- Spoon 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 cling film 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.
- The video below will help with this recipe.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love these mini Christmas cake cheesecakes for easy entertaining. They are so simple but they look like adorable Santa hats, perfect for a crowd.