No Bake Mini Carrot Cake Cheesecakes
Share(Almost) no-bake mini carrot cake cheesecakes with cream cheese frosting and a dusting of cinnamon. The perfect mini dessert for Spring!
Mini vacations and hanging out with friends are awesome, but the return to real life is tough. There’s the usual… laundry, readjusting to alarms and schedules. I really enjoy sleeping in and not being on a set schedule. But then there’s the weather. I left Winter weather behind to enjoy some gorgeous early Spring-like weather in Virginia… hello sun, 60 degrees and no jackets! But then I returned to frigid temps. I was hoping it would be gone, maybe the warmth would head north, but there was no such luck. I’m talking windchill back in the teens kind of frigid. A true shock to the system.
Dear Mother Nature, please…pretty please even, bring Spring weather to New England STAT. We’re all begging for warmer weather, and no more snow.
I’m going to declare today that I’m head over heels in love with all things carrot cake flavored. It’s too good to pass up. So, don’t be surprised if lots of carrot cake recipes start popping up, this year or in the future. I’m obsessed.
These are the absolute perfect bite sized cheesecakes that taste just like your favorite carrot cake and are topped off with a dollop of cream cheese frosting, then finished off with a dusting of cinnamon!
These mini cheesecakes are the perfect fun treat for all of your Spring celebrations… or for any day of the week. They’re super easy to whip up and taste delicious, making these an absolute must make!!
No Bake Mini Carrot Cake Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3/4 C graham cracker crumbs roughly 6 sheets
- 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
Filling:
- 12 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 C light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- Pinch cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 C carrots finely grated
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
- 2 Tbsp water
Frosting:
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 2 C powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2-2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a mini cheesecake pan with baking spray.
- In a food processor, blend graham crackers into fine crumbs. Add sugar and butter, processing until combined and ingredients are moist. Divide mixture between prepared cheesecake cavities, adding a small cookie scoop per cavity. Press down to create a firm and even layer. Bake for 5 minutes. Allow crust to cool.
- Meanwhile, dissolve gelatin in hot water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Mix in brown sugar, salt and spices. Microwave gelatin for 15-20 seconds to soften, if necessary. Then, add gelatin and carrots to batter, mixing until combined well. Scrape bowl as needed. Mix until ingredients are just combined and no streaks remain. Divide filling evenly between cheesecake cavities using a pastry bag or medium cookie scoop.
- Transfer pan to regrigerator to chill for 6-12 hours or overnight.
- Prepare cream cheese frosting when ready to proceed. Beat together cream cheese with butter and vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Finally add enough milk for desired piping consistency.
- Carefully remove cheesecakes from pan, removing pan disc from the crust. Top off with prepared cream cheese frosting, using a spoon or piping bag fit with desired tip. Dust with cinnamon.
- Store cheesecakes in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
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I am the same – anything carrot cake inspired is the best! I am loving these cheesecakes and could go for one for breakfast! ;)
Thanks Deborah!
All of the carrot cake. What a perfect dessert after a long week of work!
Agreed! Thanks Erin :)
this looks amazing! I adore carrot cake and cheesecake! yum!!
Thanks Angelyn!!
Those mini cheesecakes are so cute, and I love the carrot cake flavour! We can’t wait for spring here either, but just got another huge dump of snow on the weekend. Hopefully soon! :)
Ugh the snow just needs to stop! Hopefully we’re both seeing green grass before too long!
Love this! That dollop of frosting on top is calling my name! :)
Thanks so much!
I’ll take a dozen please!
Wish I could offer you some! :)
I love how cute these mini cheesecakes look, and carrot cake is one of my all time favourites!
Thanks so much!
What a great idea! And they look so pretty and cute!
Thanks Stephanie!
Going from warm weather to frigid temps is always hard! So much fun this weekend :) I love the almost no-bake idea for these cute desserts! Perfect for Easter!
It’s still so cold! Send some of your nicer weather north please?! :)
I love your mini cheesecake recipes and have made several of them successfully but I made these last night and found the recipe a little confusing, especially the gelatin step. I followed the instructions but I let the gelatin sit for too long and when I put it in the cheesecake mix, it was a hard gelatinous blob. Was it supposed to be liquid? I think it would help make the recipe clearer if the instructions were to beat the cream cheese and while it’s beating to put the gelatin in the hot water. Then it will be ready to go in with the carrots and won’t solidify.
As you noticed, if it sits too long it will firm up quite a bit. In the future, if that happens, microwave briefly to soften prior to adding to the mixture.
quesrion? Aren’t the carrots a little chewy is this isn’t baked? Would puréed work?
Linda
If you finely shred them and chop after that, you’ll be fine. Coarse shredding is not recommended.
These mini carrot cake cheesecakes look perfect! I can only imagine their taste is just as delicious as their appearance too.
What are the dimensions of the mini pans that you use? The cakes looks small like the size of a cup cake, and you are correct about the size on top not being the same as the bottom. I have the wilton mini cheese cake pan which seems to large, it is 10.1 cm x 4.4 cm and I also have cylinders that are 7.5 cm x 8.5 cm.
The pan cavities are roughly 2 x 1 1/2 inches. Size wise, they are in between a regular and mini muffin pan. Much smaller than a regular cupcake and larger than a mini one. Hope that helps!
Can this recipe be made using a 12″ springform pan instead of mini pans?
Not with major adjustments to both the ingredient amounts and cooking time. This recipe is specifically written for mini cheesecakes.
I need to make 24 of these but my pan only makes 12 at a time. How far ahead can you make these and how would you store them once baked? In the fridge? Thanks for any advice!
BTW, I’ve made these previously and they are DELICIOUS!
You can easily make these several days ahead or more. They keep quite well in the fridge. Good luck! :)