Unicorn Mini Cheesecakes

Light and creamy mini no-bake strawberry cheesecakes in a Lemon Oreo cookie crust, topped with a colorful swirl of whipped cream and an Oreo crown!

It’s week three of unicorn month, and not surprisingly, I’ve really enjoyed making all of these unicorn-themed desserts! It sure makes this wet, chilly, and miserable season much more bearable seeing as I get to play with so many bright colors and sparkly sprinkles every week! 

It’s impossible not to be happy when you’re creating such magical little treats! Well, unless if you hate unicorns. Then you have no soul.

However, if you’re like all the rest of us cool and unbelievably beautiful unicorn-lovers, then you’ll go absolutely wild for these Unicorn Mini Cheesecakes.

Not only are they super adorbs, but they are super DUPER easy to make thanks to the fact that there’s no oven involved. While I’m definitely a fan of baked cheesecakes because of their dense richness, sometimes you just feel like something a little lighter that won’t weigh you down, ya know? And these little mini cheesecakes are just that! Light, creamy, fluffy, and the perfect size for those who have set new 2018 lifestyle goals for themselves. 

My new lifestyle goal is to not eat as many sweets. So, instead of eating ten of these mini cheesecakes, I only ate nine. 

Instead of the usual graham cracker crust, I went with a lemon Oreo cookie crust. It was either lemon or golden Oreos, but I figured the lemony sweetness would pair perfectly with the strawberry filling. 

Speaking of the filling, since strawberries aren’t exactly in season this time of year (at least where I live), I used homemade strawberry jam instead. I’m sure store-bought jam would also work.

The jam gives these mini cheesecakes that wonderfully fresh sweetness of real strawberries without the need to rinse and puree not-so-ripe strawberries. And as you might have guessed, I added a few drops of pink food coloring to brighten the color of the filling up a bit. Feel free to skip this step, however, if you prefer a more subtle, natural color.

These pink cheesecakes wouldn’t be complete without an additional dash of color, so I topped them off with a swirl of brightly colored whipped cream. To swirl the colors together, I divided some freshly whipped cream among three bowls and dyed each separately. I used purple, blue, and yellow. To swirl them together, all I did was use a spatula to spoon the whipped cream into separate sections of a piping bag that was fitted with a star tip (Wilton’s #2D). For picture instructions, check out my Homemade Funfetti Cake recipe where I did the same thing with buttercream frosting.

Finally, to finish these lovely little cheesecakes off, I crowned each of them with a Lemon Oreo and a magical dusting of golden sprinkles.

Now, don’t let the size of these mini cheesecakes fool you. Their sweet and dainty demeanor (can cheesecakes even have demeanors?) have the power to persuade ANYone into falling down an endless rabbit hole of cheesecake consumption. In other words, it’s impossible to just eat one mini cheesecake without consuming the entire batch.

You’ve been warned…

Unicorn Mini Cheesecakes

Light and creamy mini no-bake strawberry cheesecakes in a Lemon Oreo cookie crust, topped with a colorful swirl of whipped cream and an Oreo crown!

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Prep Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Refrigeration Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 13 Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients

  

Crust:

• 12 Lemon Oreos crushed
• 2 Tablespoons butter melted

Filling:

• 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• ¼ cup water
• ¾ cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup strawberry jam
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Pink Food Coloring

Whipped Cream:

• 1 ¼ cup whipping cream
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• Food Coloring (purple, yellow, and blue)

For Assembly:

• 12-13 Lemon Oreos
• Gold sprinkles

Instructions

 

Make the Crust:

• Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. In a bowl, combine the Oreo crumbs with the butter using a fork. Divide the mixture evenly among the cupcake liners and press down firmly.

Make the Filling:

• In a small bowl, stir gelatin into the water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Heat in the microwave until mixture is smooth and dissolved, about 30-45 seconds; set aside but do not allow it to set up.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream to another bowl. Return mixing bowl to mixer and switch whisk attachment with paddle attachment.
• Beat the cream cheese and sugar on high until creamy. Add the jam, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and beat on medium-high speed until well-incorporated.
• With mixer set to low speed, slowly stream in the gelatin liquid. Once all gelatin has been added, add food coloring and turn mixer up to medium speed, beating for another minute. Using a spatula fold in the whipped cream. Scoop batter into the cupcake wells, filling all the way to the top of the liner. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until cheesecakes are firm and set.

Make the Whipped Cream:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Divide the whipped cream among 3 bowls and dye each separately with desired colors. Using a spoon or spatula, spoon whipped cream into sections in a pastry bag that’s fitted with a large star tip.

To Assemble:

• Pipe whipped cream onto the mini cheesecakes. Top each with an Oreo and sprinkles. Serve and enjoy!