Cartoon Cheese Cheesecake
This is easily one of the funniest desserts I’ve ever baked. And fun fact, growing up I always avoided Cheesecake because this is what I thought it was…a cake made out of cheese. And I wasn’t thinking of cream cheese. I always wondered “who wants a cake made out of cheddar?”. So with this dessert I’m bringing my childhood nightmare to life in the most delicious way possible.
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- Soften the cream cheese. Beat until completely smooth—make sure there are no lumps in the cheesecake! We want a nice, smooth batter. If needed, microwave for 10 seconds at a time to help bring it to the right temperature.
- Add sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Mix until fully incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. The flavor of lemon won’t come through, but it’ll help stabilize the texture.
- Bloom the gelatin. Combine it with water and microwave for 30 seconds. Whisk and add to the cream cheese mixture along with a drop or two of yellow food coloring. You can also use a bit of orange food dye if that’s all you have. I recommend gel food dye but liquid can also work for this recipe.
- Whip the cream. Beat the heavy whipping cream until it’s fluffy and holds soft peaks.
- Fold and pipe. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake base, then transfer to a piping bag.
- Fill your molds. Use a silicone cheese wedge mold for the signature cartoon shape. Here is the link to the molds I used from Amazon, here!
- Freeze to set. Let the cheesecakes firm up in the freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Pop out and serve. Once fully set, remove from the mold and let soften in the fridge before serving.
Tips for Making No-Bake Cheesecake
- Room temperature cream cheese is key. Cold cream cheese leads to lumps that won’t blend out later.
- Don’t skip blooming the gelatin. This step ensures your cheesecake sets properly and holds its shape in the mold :)
- Use a gentle folding motion. This keeps your filling light and fluffy when adding the whipped cream.
- Avoid over-mixing. Over-mixing after adding whipped cream can deflate the batter.
- Freeze instead of refrigerating. Freezing ensures clean edges and perfect shape when removed from the mold!! Makes it so much easier!
How to Store Cartoon Cheese Cheesecake
- Once your cheesecakes are set and removed from the mold, you can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- If you want to make these ahead of time:
- Keep them frozen for up to 2 weeks.
- Defrost in the fridge for about 1–2 hours before serving.
- Avoid leaving them out at room temperature for long periods—since these are no-bake, they soften quickly!!
- Pro tip: Place parchment paper between layers if stacking to avoid sticking or smudging the design.
What Kind of Mold Is Best for This Recipe?
The cheese shaped mold I used for this recipe worked PERFECTLY! You can find the link to them on Amazon, here!
Cartoon Cheese Cheesecake
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Servings
12
servingsPrep time
20
minutesCooking time
0
minutes Cook Mode
Keep the screen of your device on.
Ingredients
16 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temeperature (2, 8 oz. blocks)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp. gelatin powder
2 Tbsp. water
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-2 drops yellow food dye
Directions
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the cream cheese until it’s nice and smooth. If there are lumps in your cheesecake, it is still too cold and will result in a lumpy batter. If this is the case, pop the cream cheese in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time, continuing to mix between each time until the cream cheese is nice and smooth and there are no lumps.
- Add the sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice to the cream cheese mixture. Mix on low speed to combine. Use a silicone spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is combining evenly. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together the gelatin powder and water. Whisk to combine. Pop this in the microwave for 30-seconds to bloom the gelatin. Be careful that this mixture doesn’t bubble over in the microwave.
- Add the gelatin mixture to the cream cheese mixture and continue to mix on low speed. Add the yellow food dye until it reaches your desired shade. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, use the electric mixer to mix the heavy cream until it reaches a thick, cool whip consistency.
- Once the heavy cream has reached a whipped cream consistency, use a silicone spatula to fold this into the cream cheese mixture.
- Once fully combined, transfer the batter to a piping bag. One at a time, fill the mold with the cheesecake batter to the top. You can find the molds I used on Amazon, here!
- Place the molds on a cookie sheet then transfer to the freezer to set for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
- Once the cheesecake is hardened and completely set, pop them out of the mold. Freezing the cheesecake in the molds makes it much easier to pop out without altering the shape. Let the cheesecakes sit in the fridge so that they soften and serve once they’re no longer frozen.
- Enjoy on its own or with nilla wafers as the “cracker”!
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