Description
These Easy Cheese Cake Cups are a delightful no-bake dessert featuring a creamy full-fat cream cheese filling atop a crunchy graham cracker crust. Perfectly portioned for individual servings, they offer versatility with customizable toppings and a quick preparation time, making them ideal for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Crust
- Graham cracker crumbs (2 tablespoons per 9 oz cup or 1 tablespoon per 4-6 oz cup)
Cheesecake Filling
- 16 oz full fat cream cheese (2 packages of 8 oz), room temperature
- 2 cups (473 ml) heavy whipping cream (1 pint)
- 1½ cups (169 g) powdered sugar, divided (1 cup and 1/2 cup)
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the Cups: Choose your cup size which will determine the amount of graham cracker crumb to use and the number of servings. For large 9 oz cups, plan to make 8 servings.
- Add Crust: Place 2 tablespoons of graham cracker crumbs at the bottom of each 9 oz cup. For smaller cups (4-6 oz), add 1 tablespoon of crumbs per cup to make 12-16 servings.
- Chill Mixing Bowl: Place a metal or glass mixing bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes to prepare it for whipping cream later.
- Mix Cream Cheese: In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese together with 1 cup powdered sugar using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
- Whip Cream: Remove the chilled bowl from the freezer. Add heavy whipping cream, ½ cup powdered sugar, fresh lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form, approximately 4-5 minutes.
- Combine Mixtures: Gently fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream on low speed for 1-2 minutes, blending until no visible cream cheese remains.
- Fill Cups: Transfer the cheesecake filling into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with a cut corner. Pipe the mixture into the prepared cups, filling each about three-quarters full.
- Chill: Refrigerate the cheesecake cups for 1-2 hours. For longer storage, cover the cups with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- Add Toppings: Before serving, top with your choice of cherry pie filling, blueberry pie filling, homemade strawberry sauce, chocolate ganache, Oreo crumbs, chopped candies, or any desired topping.
Notes
- Crust variations can include using a whole Nilla wafer, Oreo, or gingersnap cookie, or crushed versions of these cookies as the base instead of graham cracker crumbs.
- Topping ideas are versatile; fresh fruit, raspberry puree, lemon curd, sautéed apples, chocolate shavings, crushed candy bars, or mint chips all work wonderfully.
Keywords: cheesecake cups, no-bake cheesecake, easy dessert, individual cheesecakes, graham cracker crust, cream cheese dessert