Step by step photos teach you how to make these mini chocolate cheesecakes. Creamy chocolate cheesecakes are baked on a Speculoos cookie crust topped with fresh whipped cream and fresh berries.
I love chocolate, I also love cheesecake but I was never really one for chocolate cheesecake. Until mothers day this year. At the restaurant, I run we chose a chocolate cheesecake to go on the Mother's Day Menu. And since we are serving it to paying customers it's only right I taste test it for approval? So I did. And it was amazing. And I was in love. And I hit my self for resisting chocolate cheesecake for all these years. Truly stupid decision on my part. Well, Mother's Day came and went and unfortunately so did that cheesecake. So I had to make my own.
I am excited about the show Mistresses on ABC- I just can't get over Desperate Housewives is still not on 🙁 But you know what I am so HAPPY about? Last week my sister and two of my best friends and I booked our summer trip.....a cruise around the Mediterranean! WOOOO freaking HOOO! Starting in England and ending in England so I can spend time with all my fam bam and then the cruise starts in Barcelona and ends in Venice. Basically, life is good. And I am so happy and blessed!! Are you doing anything fun this summer?
Oh, and by the way do yourself a favor make these gorgeous mini chocolate cheesecakes.
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Ingredients
For the crust you will need Biscoff Cookies or Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookies along with some sugar and butter. You could most certainly swap out the Biscoff biscuits for Oreos. For the chocolate cheesecake filling you'll need:
- Full Fat Cream Cheese. The cream cheese needs to be at room temperature so it creams together nicely with no lumps.
- Granulated Sugar. The sugar will sweeten the cheesecake along with the chocolate.
- Dutch Process Cocoa Powder. I love using Dutch process cocoa since it packs a stronger, smoother chocolate flavor as opposed to natural cocoa powder.
- Vanilla Extract. Vanilla enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Good Quality Chocolate. Your chocolate needs to be melted and slightly cooled. You can use chocolate chips but since they have emulsifiers in them I prefer to use straight chocolate. I like to use semi-sweet chocolate for the batter.
- Sour Cream. This moisture bomb adds a nice tang to the batter. Make sure the sour cream is at room temperature.
- Large Eggs. Eggs add structure and richness to the cheesecake. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature.
- Chocolate Chips. I prefer to use good quality chocolate. I use the Callebaut chocolate callets. But you could use chocolate chips.
To top the mini chocolate cheesecakes I like to add some Homemade Whipped Cream or Store Bought Whipped Cream on top with some Fresh Berries for garnish. A drizzle of caramel sauce would be delicious too!
For ingredient quantities please reference the recipe card below. On the recipe card there is a button for US or M (Metric) measurements.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Use a food processor or a plastic bag and rolling pin to crush the Speculoos cookies into fine crumbs. Put crumbs in a medium bowl, add melted butter, sugar, and mix until fully combined. Press one heaping tablespoon of crumbs into the muffin liners and use the top of a spice jar to pack in tightly. Bake for 5 minutes and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with electric handheld mixer beat cream cheese for 2 minutes on low speed, there should be no lumps. Add in sugar and mix until full combined.
Mix in the cocoa powder, vanilla extract, melted chocolate, and sour cream. Make sure everything is fully combined and there are no streaks.
Mix in the eggs until fully combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl so everything is evenly combined. Gently fold chocolate chips in.
Pour cheesecake batter on top of the crust into ⅔ full. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until the cheesecakes are not jiggling, if the cheesecakes crack they are beginning to overbake.
Turn the oven off and open the door and let the cheesecakes cool inside the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer the cheesecake pan to a wire rack to cool for thirty minutes then cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Scoop or pipe a small dollop of whipped cream on top of mini cheesecake and top with a fresh berry. Store leftover cheesecakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
If you wanted even more chocolate you could make the chocolate ganache I make for my chocolate cheesecake recipe and put a spoonful on top of each mini chocolate cheesecake.
FAQ and Tips for Success
Yes you can use a mini muffin pan to make mini cheesecakes. You will get 2.5X-3X the number of cupcake size cheesecakes. They will bake much quicker.
Placing the cream cheese in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes to soften it, be careful not to leave it too long you don't want runny cream cheese! This is my preferred method of choice. Or you can cut the blocks of cream cheese into smaller cubes and let them sit on the counter for about an hour or so, depending on how warm or cold your kitchen is.
Cheesecakes are an excellent candidate for freezing but I suggest you freeze them with no toppings. Cool and chill the cheesecakes as the recipe instructs then place the cheesecakes in the freezer uncovered to flash freeze for a few hours. Once frozen wrap each cheesecake in plastic wrap, tightly, twice. Then transfer all of them to a freezer safe container. All of the wrapping helps ensure no freezer burn. Freeze for up to three months.
To thaw the cheesecakes place in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight.
- Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature to avoid a lumpy cheescake
- Don't over mix the batter, adding too many air bubbles will cause the cheesecakes to sink and crack
- Let the cheesecakes cool completely before chilling. And ensure they have enough time to chill.
Check out all my cheesecake baking tips here.
More Cheesecake Recipes
- Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake
- Chocolate Cheesecake
- Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
- Maple Apple Cheesecake Bars
- This coconut cheesecake Ashley makes looks gorgeous!
★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!
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PrintRecipe Card
Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes
Creamy chocolate cheesecakes are baked on Speculoos cookie crust topped with fresh whipped cream and a strawberry slice. These cheesecakes are easy to make, you will love them!
- Total Time: 5 Hours 35 Minutes
- Yield: 12 Mini Cheesecakes 1x
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup Speculoos Cookies, crushed
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Butter, melted
Cheesecake
- 16oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature
- 100 grams (½ Cup) Granulated Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 120 grams (¾ Cup) Good Quality Chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
- 2oz (¼ Cup) Sour Cream, at room temperature
- 2 Large Eggs, at room temperature
- 60 grams (½ Cup) Chocolate Chips
Topping
- Homemade Whipped Cream or Store Bought Whipped Cream
- Fresh Berries for garnish
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line a muffin pan with liners.
- Use a food processor or a plastic bag and rolling pin to crush the Speculoos cookies into crumbs. Put crumbs in a medium bowl, add melted butter, sugar and mix until fully combined. Press one heaping tablespoon of crumbs into the muffin liners and use the top of a spice jar to pack in tightly. Bake for 5 minutes and set aside.
Cheesecake
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with electric handheld mixer beat cream cheese for 2 minutes on low speed, there should be no lumps. Add in sugar and mix until full combined. Mix in the cocoa powder, vanilla extract, melted chocolate, and sour cream. Make sure everything is fully combined and there are no streaks. Mix in the eggs until fully combined. Gently fold chocolate chips in.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture on top of the crust into ⅔ full. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until the cheesecakes are not jiggling, if the cheesecakes crack they are beginning to overbake. Turn the oven off and open the door and let the cheesecakes cool inside the oven for 30 minutes. Transfer the cheesecake pan to a wire rack to cool for thirty minutes then cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Topping
- Scoop a small dollop of whipped cream on top of mini cheesecake and top with a fresh berry. Store leftover cheesecakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Equipment
Callebaut Milk Chocolate Callets
Buy Now →Notes
Freezing: Cheesecakes are an excellent candidate for freezing but I suggest you freeze them with no toppings. Cool and chill the cheesecakes as the recipe instructs then place the cheesecakes in the freezer uncovered to flash freeze for a few hours. Once frozen wrap each cheesecake in plastic wrap, tightly, twice. Then transfer all of them to a freezer safe container. All of the wrapping helps ensure no freezer burn. Freeze for up to three months. To thaw the cheesecakes place in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Chill Time: 5 Hours
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
tanya says
How lucky you couldn't find lemons, because these are wonderful! And that cookie crust is brilliant!
Elizabeth says
Yes sometimes bad things happen so better/tastier things can happen! LOL
Ashley says
These sound absolutely amazing! I've actually never had a chocolate cheesecake before ... I think I need to fix that asap!
Elizabeth says
Fix it sister, you will not regret it!
Liz says
These sound delicious! Love chocolate cheesecake! 🙂
Elizabeth says
thanks Liz 🙂
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
I loooove this recipe! That crust. OMG!
Elizabeth says
Yes Dorothy! OMG! 🙂
Elaine @ Cooking to Perfection says
Don't you love when you make something unexpected and it turns out so well?! These sound so much better than just regular lemon cheesecake! I'm loving the crust too. Yummm, yum, yum. Hopefully your sister was happy that you veered from her suggestion and made these instead. 🙂
Elizabeth says
She was pleased- except I took most to work so she only got 1.. oops!
Miss Messy says
I adore chocolate cheesecake 🙂 These look perfect.
Elizabeth says
Thank you 🙂
Wendy says
These look luscious! I love little dessert bites. Easy to eat and easier not to over eat. 🙂 I also happen to have an open package of TJ's speculoos cookies in my kitchen looking for a good use. They are not as spiced as Biscoff cookies (a disappointment) but I think that would make them even better as a crust in a chocolate cheesecake. Meant to be. Thanks!
Elizabeth says
Yes not quite spot on to Biscoff but close enough 🙂 They were a fabulous crust!! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel says
Yes please! I don't think I've ever had chocolate cheesecake which must make me some kind of deranged.
Elizabeth says
Well gosh darn it come to so cal and I'll make ya some 🙂