Mini Red Velvet Cheesecake
This Mini Red Velvet Cheesecake is rich and creamy. An easy recipe perfect for your Valentine day celebrations and dinners.
I think it’s time we go all red velvet, pink and red hearts around here as Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and you need to start thinking of what to make. YES you do!! This mini red velvet cheesecake is a great place to start because after all you want to try the recipe before making it for your Valentine!
We love cheesecake in our house, especially my husband. He loves a rich, decadent cheesecake and I decided it was time to give him a red velvet version since that’s our Valentine’s Day tradition. Every year since I started baking, he gets a red velvet treat for Valentine’s Day. There were these classic red velvet cupcakes, mini red velvet bundt cakes and now these mini red velvet cheesecakes. Can you tell he LOVES red velvet?
This cheesecake is rich. I am going to put that out there again. It’s based off my favorite cheesecake recipe. To make it red velvet, I used buttermilk, added cocoa powder and apple cider vinegar to the base. I also used vanilla wafer cookies for the crust instead of Oreo cookies. Given the creamy, rich and delicious cheesecake, I didn’t want to bug it down further with chocolate (YES, I know that sounds ridiculous as I say it out loud). The vanilla crust is perfect here for it! But of course, feel free to use Oreo cookies if you want some chocolate.
I hope you will give this red velvet cheesecake a try! Whether it’s for your Valentine or a dinner party, it will be a great hit!
Mini Red Velvet Cheesecake
Ingredients
For Crust:
- • 15-20 Vanilla Wafer Cookies
- • a pinch of salt
- • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
For Filling:
- • 2 8-ounce cream cheese blocks, softened at room temperature
- • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- • 3 tablespoon buttermilk
- • 1 ½ tablespoon all-purpose flour
- • 1 ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- • a pinch of salt
- • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- • 2 large eggs, room temperature
- • 2 teaspoon red food coloring (or drops of red gel color paste)
Instructions
To make Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the outside of 4 mini springform pans with two foil sheets.
- Using a food processor, pulse the cookies into a fine crumb. Add salt and melted butter and process until combined.
- Transfer the crumbs to the prepared pans and evenly spread them. Press down on the crust with a flat bottom cup to create an even layer.
- Bake crusts for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool while you prepare the filing.
To make Filling:
- Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and mix until combined, another minute, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Add cocoa powder, buttermilk, flour, apple cider vinegar, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix well on medium-low speed. Reduce speed to low and add the eggs one at a time, mixing each time until combined. Add in the red food coloring. Mix filling until smooth for an additional minute.
- Divide the filling into the prepared springform pans with crust. Place the mini springform pans into a much larger baking pan. Add hot water to the larger baking pan to reach halfway up the side of your springform pans.
- Bake cheesecake at 325 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until the center of the cheesecake slightly jiggles. Then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecakes in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven and allow to cool at room temperature for at least an hour before chilling. Chill for 6 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, remove cheesecakes from the pan and top with whipped cream.
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It appears that the red food colouring is missing from the directions. I presume it is added before the eggs?
yes, it is added after the eggs.
Can this recipe make a regular size cheesecake as well? The minis are adorable but I haven’t found any mini pans yet !
Hi Bianca, yes it can! You can bake all the batter in a regular size cheesecake pan. Just be sure to adjust your baking times as your quantity has increased.
Such a cute little cheesecake! Looks perfect for sharing with a loved one 🙂
That looks heavenly! What a perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day!
I’m so all about this beautiful red velvet cheesecake – the color is perfect and the size is just right for sharing 🙂
This is just too pretty! I’ve never had a red velvet cheesecake before (gasp!), but this one is seriously calling my name!
So pretty! Perfect for Valentine’s Day or any day.
Definitely love that you used vanilla for the base instead of chocolate. Since red velvet isn’t too chocolately to begin with sometimes a chocolate base can overpower the subtle chocolate flavor of the red velvet! And mini cheesecakes are my favorite kind of cheesecake. I definitely make more minis than I do regular size!
I love red velvet and I love cheesecake, so I’m loving this! Gorgeous red color and I’ve got to get my hands on those mini springform pans!
Red velvet cheesecake? Now THAT is a brilliant creation. It looks so beautiful – almost too pretty to eat! (almost!)