As soon as I saw them lined up on the plate, with their red hats and snowy edge, I knew Christmas had officially started in my kitchen 🎄
These mini cheesecakes with Santa’s hat are made with a crunchy base of cookies and melted butter, a fresh and delicate cheese cream, and a simple yet striking decoration: a strawberry that becomes Santa’s hat, surrounded by whipped cream and a sprinkle of coconut for the snow effect.
The result? Mini scenic, super cute, and irresistible desserts, perfect for the Gastronomic Advent Calendar I’m preparing and will publish on December 1st, for a Christmas buffet, a Christmas snack with children, or as a dessert after the holiday lunch.
They are easy to prepare, don’t require strange ingredients, and always make a great impression: you can’t stop at just one, and they disappear from the tray in a flash.
Ideal if you want to impress with something original, but without complicating your life.
These mini CHRISTMAS CHEESECAKES can be prepared even 2 days in advance: keep them in the fridge well covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container and complete the decoration with strawberries and cream just before serving, so they remain fresh, beautiful, and perfect as if they were just made.
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I have started a recipe channel open to everyone and free on WhatsApp, no notifications and no sound, which you can join by clicking the link here https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaHbGIn9cDDig7Cw2x0F and every day you can read a sweet and a savory recipe!
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Still on the subject of Christmas dessert recipes, here are more ideas just below:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Portions: 6 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas
Ingredients
- 2.82 oz Digestive biscuits
- 1.41 oz butter (melted)
- 5.29 oz cream cheese
- 3.53 oz ricotta (very dry well drained or equal weight of thick Greek yogurt)
- 2.47 oz sugar
- 1 egg (medium)
- 1/2 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 strawberries
- 3.53 oz fresh whipping cream
- 1 tbsp shredded coconut
- 1/2 tsp powdered sugar
Tools
- Muffin Tins
- Pastry Bag
- Baking Cups
Steps
Blend the biscuits very finely with a food processor.
Melt the butter in a bain-marie or microwave and mix it with the crumbs, stirring well and binding the powder to the liquid.
Place 6 baking cups in the muffin tin.
Put a generous spoonful of mixture into each baking cup (honestly, I weighed the butter and biscuit mix and divided by 6).
Press well with a pestle or the bottom of a small glass (I used a shot glass).
Place in the fridge for 10 minutes to set.
While the base of the mini Christmas cheesecakes with Santa’s hat rests in the fridge, mix granulated sugar, cream cheese, ricotta, or Greek yogurt of choice in a bowl.
Then add the egg, cornstarch, vanilla extract and mix perfectly with a hand or electric whisk.
With a ladle or spoon, pour it until 1 cm from the edge in each baking cup.
Preheat the oven to 338°F (170°C) static and bake for about 25-30 minutes: they should be well cooked on the edges and more wobbly in the center!
After baking, let cool and then place the tray in the fridge for at least 2 hours: I did it overnight!
When ready to serve, wash and dry the strawberries, removing the stem.
Whip the cream with a little sugar and place it in the pastry bag.
Personally, I didn’t use a nozzle since I wanted a smooth decoration on Santa’s hat, but as always, do as you prefer!
Remove the Christmas cheesecakes from the baking cups and place them on the serving plate.
Pipe a ring of whipped cream around the Christmas treats and place a strawberry in the center.
A pinch of shredded coconut just on the cream and these delicious treats are ready to eat!
They are very, very good and I believe they are perfect not only for Christmas lunches but also for New Year’s Eve dinner!
Happy cooking! Annalisa
Still on the subject of Christmas desserts, I’ll leave you this collection ↓
https://blog.giallozafferano.it/asilannablu/le-ricette-dei-dolci-di-natale/
