Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes

By Rachel // January 25, 2013 // 81 comments // Share

Bite sized creamy mini red velvet cheesecakes with chocolate crust and fresh sweetened whipped cream.

I know. I jumped from Super Bowl snack food to this indulgent treat for Valentine’s Day. I can’t help it. I was seriously torn over what to share with you first because snacks are huge right now, given that the game is coming up and then soon after is Valentine’s Day. Normally it wouldn’t be such a rush to share a recipe with you but I want you to have time to get the right tools to make this. Thus, sharing this earlier than I might normally.

I’m honestly not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. It’s just fact. But I had this intense need to make something. More specifically, something special that I’d never tasted or made before. Something that in the end would dye my hands red, or at least a few fingertips accidentally. That being red velvet. Being a northern girl I think I’m automatically given a pass for having never tasted or made it. It’s like a southern girl having no idea what Boston cream pie is. Or something along those lines. Food with strong ties to a specific region.

It was actually Jessica Simpson who introduced me to red velvet cake. The first time I had ever heard about it was for her (first) wedding. I was kind of totally obsessed with that show, mostly for it’s comedic moments. ‘Is this chicken or fish? I know it’s tuna but it says chicken of the sea’ She’ll never live that one down.

But I still had no idea what red velvet really was.

Oooh it’s creamy (velvety) chocolate goodness dyed a totally unnatural bright red. Why is the red necessary, I’ll never know. BUT it’s fun and kind of festive, if you’re into that kind of thing.

These bite sized red velvet cheesecakes absolutely, positively, must be topped off with fresh sweetened whipped cream. Because I said so. And because it means you can enjoy the leftovers as you please. I might’ve taken a few whipped cream shots when I was done with these photos. SO good.

Print Recipe

Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes

Bite sized creamy red velvet cheesecakes with chocolate crust and fresh sweetened whipped cream.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Servings: 12

Ingredients

Crust ingredients:

• 10 original chocolate sandwich cookies
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Filling ingredients:

• 12 oz cream cheese softened
• 1 Tbsp sour cream
• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tsp red food color
• 1 large egg

Whipped cream ingredients:

• 1/2 C heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a mini cheesecake pan.
• In a food processor, blend cookies until only small pieces remain. Add butter to combine. Add 1 small cookie scoop of crumbs to each cheesecake cavity. Press down with a flat sided object, such as a small shot glass, to form an even crust. Bake for 5 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sour cream and sugar together until smooth. Add cocoa powder, mixing on low until combined. Add vanilla and red food color, followed by the egg.
• Fill each cheesecake cavity 3/4 full (roughly 1 and 1/4 medium scoop). Bake for 15-18 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before transferring to the refrigerator to chill overnight.
• When ready to eat, carefully remove cheesecakes from pan.
• Prepare whipped cream. Beating ingredients together in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Add a dollop to each mini cheesecake. Serve immediately.

Notes

An original recipe from Baked by Rachel

More mini cheesecake recipes:

• Mini lemon-lime cheesecakes
• Mini coffee cheesecakes with caramel whipped cream
• Mini pumpkin cheesecakes with gingersnap crust
• Mini eggnog cheesecakes

Items used in this recipe: 

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