Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake – Decorated as Pumpkins

Pumpkin cheesecake is one dessert I bake every fall. Without it, I feel like fall has never arrived. This year, I decided to make them in mini sizes and decorated them as pumpkins. They are easy to grub and fit in your belly even after all the holiday dinner.

The mini pumpkin cheesecake is dressed up with semi-sweet cream cheese frosting and a little pumpkin seed. The regular whipped cream would be perfectly fine taste-wise. But for decoration purposes, I added some cream cheese into whipped cream. When I was baking these mini pumpkin cheesecakes, they were for my Thanksgiving dinner party. I was afraid that the regular whipped cream might melt if the cheesecake had to sit in a warm room for a while. By adding some cream cheese into the whipped cream, I prevented it from melting too fast.

The pumpkin cheesecake recipe was adapted from Mommtevolution‘s Cheesecake Factory pumpkin cheesecake copycat recipe. This recipe has been my go-to for a long time and I absolutely love it 😉

WHAT TOOLS ARE NEEDED FOR THIS MINI PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE?

• Perforated tart ring (3” diameter)
• Electric mixer or Hand mixer
• Parchment paper or baking mat
• Silicone Molds (2.75 inches in diameter per dome)
• Roasting pan or 1inch deep sheet pan
• Piping bag or ziplock Bag
• Piping tip (I used Betty Crocker #21 tip)

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Ingredients

Crust (Makes about 12 round crusts – 3” diameter each)

• 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 8 sheets cinnamon graham cracker, crushed to crumbs (about 1 ½ cups)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt

Pumpkin Cheesecake

• 1 pound room temperature cream cheese (I used Philadelphia brand)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup sour cream
• 1/2 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 3 large room temperature, lightly beaten eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger, ground
• 1/8 teaspoon cloves, ground
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Semi-sweet Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 oz cream cheese
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup Powdered sugar*
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

*If you like fully sweet cream cheese frosting, add 1 cup of powdered sugar instead of 1/2 cup

Topping

• 12 Pumpkin seeds
• (Optional) Some Milk Chocolate

Instructions

For The Crust

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F with rack in the center position.
2. In a bowl, mix the butter with the cinnamon graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of sugar, and a pinch of salt.
3. On a baking sheet, place a baking mat or parchment paper. Place the perforated tart ring and press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the ring. Pack the crumb mixture tightly and evenly to the crust to be about ¼ inch thick. Remove the ring from the crust sheet. Repeat the process until all the crumb mixtures are gone (make about 12 round crust sheets).
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Let them cool.

For The Pumpkin Cheesecake

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F with rack in the center position.
2. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth using a mixer. Scrape down bowl sides and the mixer as needed. Do not overbeat till fluffy.
3. Add sour cream, pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, and spices. Mix until combined
4. Pour the cream cheese mixture into silicone molds.
5. Place the silicone molds into a roasting pan or 1inch deep sheet pan.
6. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil.
7. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan or the sheet pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the silicone mold. Place the pan in the oven.
8. Bake the cake for about 1 hour 30 minutes, or until the outside of the cheesecake sets but the center is still loose.
9. Turning off the oven. Open the door briefly to let out some heat. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour.
10. Carefully remove the springform pan from the roasting pan. Cool on a rack for at least an hour.
11. Cover the silicone molds with saran wrap and place them in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or even overnight.

For The Semi-sweet Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Place your mixing bowl in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before starting.
2. Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until cream cheese is smooth and free of lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
3. Slowly drizzle in the heavy whipping cream and continue beating until the cream cheese resembles a liquid mixture.
4. Continue to add the remaining heavy whipping cream and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.
5. Use immediately or keep refrigerated.

For Assembly

1. Place each round crust on a piece of parchment paper square (cut to about 4.5inch square) – This is optional, but doing so will make it easier to transport the individual cheesecakes later.
2. Take out the cheesecake domes from the silicone molds. Be careful not to push the top of the domes too hard. Place the cheesecake on top of the crust.
3. Put the cream cheese frosting into a piping bag with a piping tip (I used Betty crocker #21 Tip). Pipe it all around the cheesecake.
4. Place pumpkin seed on top of the cheesecake.
5. (Optional) Melt chocolate in a microwave or by a double boiler and place the melted chocolate in a piping bag. Cut the tip of the piping bag and start drawing cute faces!

If you like pumpkin dessert, check this out

• Pumpkin Dinner Rolls