This creamy no-bake mini egg cheesecake is the perfect ending to your Easter meal! A simple recipe that combines the quintessential Easter candy, a graham cracker crust, and a whipped cream cheese filling.
I am an absolute sucker for these Easter treats, and I eagerly anticipate their arrival each spring. The good news is there are endless possibilities for incorporating these candy-coated eggs into your dessert repertoire. My easy no-bake cheesecake recipe gets an Easter makeover with the addition of mini eggs which are mixed into the filling and piled high for an over-the-top garnish. Let’s face it, you can never have too many mini eggs! This mini egg cheesecake is the perfect finale for your Easter feast.
Ingredient Notes
Graham cracker crumbs: Is it really cheesecake if there’s no graham cracker crust?? You do have other options of course – you could always crush digestive or shortbread cookies. But in this case, I think that classic is best. Buy graham crumbs ready to go or crush them yourself from whole crackers.
Cream cheese: This recipe was formulated using regular cream cheese, not light. If you use light cream cheese, there may be some issues with the cheesecake setting properly. Light cream cheese can be a bit softer than regular once beaten so stick with regular.
Whipping cream: A no-bake cheesecake gets most of its volume from whipped cream folded into the cream cheese. Beat the whipping cream in the mixer before creaming the cream cheese mixture.
Icing sugar: I prefer using icing sugar in the filling when making a no-bake cheesecake. The icing sugar dissolves instantly into the cream cheese mixture while granulated sugar can sometimes feel gritty if it hasn’t been completely incorporated.
Lemon juice: A splash of lemon juice in the cheesecake adds a much-needed balancing flavour against all those sweet ingredients!
Mini Eggs: The star ingredient! I prefer Cadbury mini eggs but there are other brands on the market that will work just fine. Chopped mini eggs are folded into the cheesecake and extra mini eggs are used as a gorgeous garnish on top.
How to Make Mini Egg Cheesecake
Prepare the graham cracker crust
Line an 8 or 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray. The cheesecake pictured here was made with a 9-inch springform pan. If you want a taller cheesecake then use an 8-inch pan.
In a mixing bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar and mix together. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of the springform pan and place in the fridge to set until the filling is ready.
Chop the mini eggs
Mini eggs are very hard and can be difficult to chop. The shell is quite hard and the knife can skid off the eggs creating a potentially dangerous situation. I chop each one individually, holding onto it with two fingers. I use a chef knife to cut down between my two fingers and cut the egg in half. Make sure you do not press too hard on the knife as it could cut you if it skids off with your fingers so close. A steady pressure will eventually cut the egg without you having to really force it.
Once cut in half put the halves cut side down on the board and then you don’t need to hold the eggs to cut them. At this point chop them once or twice more before pushing aside and cutting another one. It is a bit tedious to do it this way but it really is much safer.
For the mini eggs inside the cheesecake I chop them fairly fine. After you have chopped 1 cup for the filling you can chop a few more to add for the garnish on top. The mini eggs for garnish don’t need to be cut too small. Set the chopped mini eggs aside.
Prepare the filling
Begin by whipping the cream in a mixer using a whip attachment. Once the cream is whipped to stiff peaks, transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and set aside in the fridge for later. In the same mixer bowl, add the softened cream cheese. Beat on medium with a paddle attachment until the cream cheese is creamy and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed.
Add the icing sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice to the mixer. Beat on low just until the icing sugar has been incorporated. Scrape down the sides and then beat on medium until the cream cheese mixture is smooth. Remove bowl from the mixer.
Gently fold one third of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until fully combined. Repeat two more times with the rest of the whipped cream – take care not to whip the mixture too vigorously as it can deflate the whipped cream.
When all the cream has been added, fold in the chopped mini eggs. Scoop the cheesecake filling into the prepared springform pan. Spread the filling evenly in the pan. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
Serve the Mini Egg Cheesecake
To serve the mini egg cheesecake, remove the springform pan from the fridge. Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake and release the sides of the pan. If desired you can slide the cheesecake off the base of the pan and onto a cake plate. Run a thin, wide spatula under the parchment paper and gently slide the cheesecake off the base onto a cake plate. Garnish the cheesecake with a pile of mini eggs and enjoy!
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