Easy Raspberry Swirl Mini Cheesecakes
Made from fresh raspberries and cream cheese, these easy raspberry swirl mini cheesecakes are so creamy with the perfect amount of raspberry flavor. Since they’re served in an individual size (like cupcakes), they’re ideal for serving at parties.
These mini raspberry cheesecakes are one of my favorite desserts.
They’re made from a super easy cheesecake batter, homemade raspberry sauce that doesn’t require cooking, and a vanilla wafer crust that doesn’t involve any work at all.
Plus, they’re bite-sized so they’re easy to serve and they have a gluten-free option.
How can you not like such an easy and versatile recipe?
I always include them in my 4th of July cookout menu. (Cupcakes are so much easier to serve than a full cheesecake!)
But they would also be perfect for a wedding or baby shower. Or any other party where a little fruity cheesecake would be appreciated.
Note: These mini raspberry cheesecakes are adapted from this Martha Stewart recipe.
Ingredients
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This recipe makes 24 mini cheesecakes.
Here is your shopping list:
- Crust – 24 vanilla wafers. This is much easier than making the crust from scratch.
- Fresh fruit – 6 ounces of fresh raspberries, plus some extra for garnish
- Sugar – You will need sugar for both the syrup and the cheesecake filling (a total of about 1¾ cups).
- Dairy – 4 8-ounce packages (or 2 pounds) of full-fat cream cheese. Don’t be tempted to cut calories by going with the low-fat kind. You won’t get the same creaminess, and the cheesecake may turn out a little runny.
- Eggs – you will need 4 large eggs at room temperature.
- Flavoring – 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Salt
Substitutions
- To make the mini cheesecakes gluten-free, use gluten-free vanilla wafers. Or omit the crust altogether.
- You can also make a traditional crust if you prefer. To do this:
- Mix 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs, 3 Tablespoons of melted butter, and 3 Tablespoons of sugar in a bowl.
- Press one tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner.
- Bake in the muffin tin for 5 minutes at 325ºF.
- Cool completely before topping with cheesecake batter.
- Substitute frozen raspberries for the fresh ones if that’s what you have. Make sure to thaw them and drain any extra liquid before using.
- Replace the raspberries with strawberries if you prefer.
How to make raspberry Mini Cheesecakes
Prep work
First, pull the cream cheese and eggs out of the refrigerator a couple of hours ahead of time.
The cream cheese is much easier to beat if it softened. And a lot of beating can create air bubbles in the batter which will cause the middle to sink after it is baked.
Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
Wash the raspberries.
Line 2 muffin pans with paper cupcake liners.
Make the raspberry puree
In a blender or food processor, blend the raspberries until smooth.
Place a sieve or fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.
Then strain the seeds and pulp out by pouring the puree into the sieve.
Press down on the raspberry mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula so that the juice flows through into the bowl.
Discard the solids that are left in the sieve.
Stir 2 Tablespoons sugar into the raspberry juice. Set aside.
Make the cheesecake filling
In a mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Turn the mixer down to low.
Slowly pour in 1½ cups sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Beat until combined.
One at a time, add the eggs. Beat just until combined after each addition. Don’t mix too long since this adds more air to the batter that will cause the cheesecake to fall in the middle after they are baked.
Put the mini cheesecakes together
Place one vanilla wafer in the bottom each cupcake liner.
This will be the crust.
Spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the vanilla wafers.
Add dots of raspberry sauce to the top of each of the cheesecake cupcakes.
Use a toothpick or skewer to create a swirl in the cream cheese filling.
Bake
Place the muffin tin into the roasting pan.
Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan around the muffin tin to come ¾ of the way up the sides of the muffin cups. This helps the cheesecakes to bake evenly and prevents the tops from cracking.
Finally, bake in the preheated oven for about 22 minutes or until cheesecake is set.
If you only have one oven, only bake one tin of mini cheesecakes at a time. Otherwise, they will cook unevenly.
Carefully, remove the muffin tin from the water bath and allow it to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Once the muffin tin is cool, cover and chill in the refrigerator (in the tins) for at least 4 hours or until ready to serve.
They will be much easier to get out of the tin after they have been chilled.
Serve
Serve these delicious cheesecakes with fresh raspberries on top or drizzle with more raspberry sauce. So delightful!
Storing mini raspberry cheesecakes
Since raspberry cheesecake contains dairy, it must be stored in the refrigerator.
You can keep them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
These raspberry cheesecake bites can be frozen if you want to save them for longer than 5 days.
To do so, put them in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature for an hour or two, or overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
To keep cheesecake from sinking, avoid overmixing the cheesecake filling. If the batter is overmixed, too much air gets into it which causes the middle to fall after baking. However, it doesn’t affect the taste. So you can always add a couple of raspberries on top to cover up the hole.
Baking the cheesecakes in the water bath promotes even heating and keeps enough moisture circulating that it prevents the tops from cracking.
More cheesecake recipes you’ll enjoy
- Baked raspberry cheesecake
- Mini Oreo cheesecakes
- Mini cherry cheesecakes
- Mincement cheesecake tarts
- Strawberry cheesecake stuffed waffles
Or browse all of our cake and cupcake recipes.
Raspberry Swirl Mini Cheesecakes
Equipment
- 2 12-cup muffin tins
- 24 cupcake liners
- measuring cups and spoons
- food processor
- Sieve
- Small bowl
- electric mixer and mixing bowl
- toothpick or wooden skewer
- roasting pan
- wire cooling racks
Ingredients
- 24 vanilla wafers or gluten-free vanilla wafers
Raspberry syrup
- 1 6-ounce container raspberries plus more for serving
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
Mini cheesecakes
- 4 8-ounce packages (2 pounds) cream cheese at room temperature
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
Instructions
Raspberry syrup
- Process the raspberries in a food processor until smooth.
- Place a sieve over a small bowl.
- Pour the raspberry puree into the sieve. Use a spatula or spoon to push the raspberry juice through it into the bowl. Discard the solids that are left in the sieve.
- Stir 2 Tablespoons of sugar into the raspberry juice in the bowl. Set aside.
Mini cheesecakes
- Pre-heat the oven to 325°F.
- Line the muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Place one vanilla wafer in the bottom of each of the cupcake liners.
- Put the cream cheese into an electric mixer and beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Turn the mixer speed down to low.
- Slowly pour in 1½ cups sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla and a pinch of salt. Beat until combined well.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, beating just until combined between each addition.
- Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the vanilla wafers in the muffin tins.
- Add 3 dots of raspberry syrup to the top of each cupcake.
- Use a toothpick or wooden skewer create swirls of raspberry syrup in the cream cheese filling.
- Place the first muffin tin into a roasting pan.
- Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan around the muffin tin to come ¾ of the way up the sides of the muffin cups.
- Bake for about 22 minutes or until the cheesecake is set.
- Remove the muffin tin from the roasting pan water bath and move to a wire rack to let cool completely.
- Bake the cupcakes in the other muffin tin using the same process.
- Once cool, cover and refrigerate in the tins for at least 4 hours.
Notes
- If you have more roasting pans, muffin tins and more than one oven, you can bake multiple tins of cupcakes at once. However, do not cook them on multiple racks in the same oven as they won’t bake evenly.
- Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days
- Substitute a graham cracker crust for the vanilla wafers if you prefer:
- Mix 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs, 3 Tablespoons butter (melted) and 3 Tablespoons of sugar in a bowl.
- Press about 1 Tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner.
- Bake at 325ºF for 5 minutes.
- Let cool on wire racks. Make sure the crusts are completely cool before adding the cheesecake mixture.
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
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This post was originally published on April 20, 2021 but was updated with new content on July 30, 2023.