This Valentine's Day tell your sweethearts how you feel by adding personalized messages to brightly colored, rich, and creamy, Conversation Heart Cheesecakes. This fun twist on a holiday classic is sure to win the hearts of your loved ones. See the new Video Tutorial at the end of this post.
I've heard people, including my husband, say, "I've never met a cheesecake I didn't like." Well, I can't say the same.
I've been known to pay upwards of $10 for a slice of cheesecake take one bite and shove it aside.
To me, cheesecake should be lusciously creamy and smooth with a bit of crunch from the graham cracker crust. I love it when it just melts on my tongue. It should taste delicately rich with just a hint of tang from the cream cheese. I won't settle for dense, spongy, crumbly, and or sour cheesecake; it better be good if I'm going to indulge. If it's not perfection, I don't want it.
Do you feel the same?
I have the perfect cheesecake recipe for you.
Many years ago, after many failed attempts at finding a cheesecake with just the right texture and taste, I discoveredΒ Tyler Florence's Ultimate Cheesecake. It is the best I've ever tried. I've perfected the recipe and shared tips and tricks for making it creamy and smooth. You can see my Classic Cheesecake Recipe, here.
I've used his cheesecake recipe dozens of times and my family and friends all rave about it.
You can imagine how they reacted when I turned that wonderful dessert into cute Conversation Heart Cheesecakes for Valentine's Day.
Video
Be sure to watch the video in this post to see how to make these cute Valentine's Day desserts.
Each sweet little dessert was brightly colored and personalized with a special message printed on the top just like the candy conversation hearts.
The cheesecake hearts made for the perfect ending to a lovely Valentine's Day meal.
Graham Cracker Crust
graham crackers - You need 1 cup of crumbs. If you crush about 15 graham cracker squares, you'll get about 1 cup of crumbs.
butter - Use salted or unsalted butter to make your cookie crust. Either will work fine.
cinnamon - I like adding a small sprinkling of cinnamon to the crust. It's optional, though.
Cheesecake Filling
cream cheese - Use full-fat cream cheese for the best texture and flavor. I recommend using Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I think it tastes best! Soften your cream cheese at room temperature for at least 3 hours if not more.
sour cream - Adding this to the cheesecake will add a nice tangy flavor and will give your cheesecakes a super smooth and creamy texture. Set the sour cream out an hour before you mix the filling.
eggs - Use room-temperature eggs.
vanilla - Pure vanilla extract adds a nice vanilla flavor but artificial extract will work too.
sugar - Use granulated sugar to add sweetness and structure to the cheesecakes.
Supplies
To make these heart-shaped cheesecakes, you will need three Heart-Shaped Silicone Molds. The molds are the perfect size to make an individual serving of cheesecake.
I only had 2 of the molds at the time I made these hearts and ended up using the extra cheesecake filling to make some mini cheesecake hearts. The bite-sized treats were cute, but I would have preferred having 3 of the larger hearts in each of the six colors.
Items I used to create this project are available on Amazon.com (commission earned for sales).
stand mixer or a mixing bowl and handheld mixer
rubber spatula
3 Heart-Shaped Silicone Molds
fine tip paintbrush (new or food-only brush)
roasting pan big enough to fit your heart-shaped molds
You will need a water bath to bake your cheesecakes, so either set your roasting pan in the oven filled with enough water to go halfway up the sides of your heart molds and allow the water to heat along with the oven or bring some water to a boil in a teapot or the microwave then pour it in the bottom of the pan.
My roasting pan has a flat rack that fits inside. I set two heart molds on the rack, filled them, then used the handles to help me lower the molds into the hot water.
After the cheesecakes bake it's so easy to lift them out and cool them on the rack.
Instructions
Make the mini cheesecake crusts in a heart mold.
- Once you have your molds ready to fill, equally divide a mixture of graham cracker crumbs, butter, and cinnamon in the bottom of the heart-shaped cavities.
- You'll use about a tablespoon of crumb mixture in each heart cavity. Press the crumbs down making an even crust. Refrigerate until ready to fill with the cheesecake mixture.
- You can bake this crust for 8-10 minutes if you want it to be a bit crisper. Either way works fine.
Make the cheesecake filling.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-high until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Be sure to scrape the cream cheese out of the mixing blade as well. You don't want lumps in your cheesecake.
- Add sugar and beat for one minute.
- Add eggs and beat until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl once.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix just to combine.
Color the cheesecake filling.
- Equally divide the filling among 6 bowls.
- Add food coloring to create the colors you'd like.
- The colors will intensify a bit once baked, so make them a little less bright than you want them. I was not happy with how intense the blue cheesecakes turned out. I would only a few drops of blue.
Fill the silicone heart mold with the colored filling.
- Pour the colored cheesecake filling into the heart-shaped cavities in your Wilton silicone molds.
- If you are using 3 heart molds and making 18 cheesecakes, equally divide each color among 3 hearts.
- The cavities will be a little over ΒΎ full.
- I filled mine completely, as I only made 12 of this size. I then used the remaining batter to make some mini hearts (see the image below.)
Bake in a water bath.
- Bake the cheesecakes in a water bath for 18-22 minutes.
- When baked thoroughly, the cheesecakes should still jiggle, but not look wet
- Use a roasting pan with a removable rack to make it easier to remove cheesecakes.
- You can set your heart molds in your roasting pan, then carefully pour boiling water around the heart molds.
- If baking tiny cheesecakes, bake for 10-14 minutes.
- If you bake one large heart-shaped cheesecake, it should take between 42-50 minutes.
Cool then freeze the heart-shaped cheesecakes.
- Remove your baked cheesecakes from the oven and water bath and allow them to cool at room temperature for an hour.
- Then cover the mold with a piece of paper towel and wrap it in plastic wrap.
- Freeze for at least 2 hours or up to several weeks.
- It's easiest to remove the cheesecakes if they are frozen solid.
Un-mold the heart-shaped cheesecakes.
- Remove from the freezer, uncover, then push on the underside of each heart mold, releasing the cheesecakes.
- Carefully lift them out of the mold. If they don't pop right out, you need to freeze them longer.
Personalize the conversation heart cheesecakes.
- To add the conversation heart phrases, squeeze a few drops of red food coloring into a small bowl.
- Use a fine-tip paintbrush to paint the words onto each cheesecake heart.
Tips
- Traditional conversation heart sayings are printed in all capital letters.
- Don't worry if your words are off-center, as many conversation hearts are printed that way.
- If you have too much food coloring on your brush, your letters will bleed.
- The food coloring will dry if you refrigerate your cheesecakes for a while.
Variations
If you prefer to use natural coloring, you can either purchase bottles of natural food coloring or use fruit and vegetable purees.
You can make naturally colored conversation heart cheesecakes using fruit purees (pictured above.) The cheesecakes are flavored and colored with blueberries, raspberries, lemon, and orange/carrot.
If you enjoy fruit-flavored cheesecakes, this is a wonderful, natural, alternative. They taste great and, although the colors are a bit more muted than the original cheesecakes, they look equally festive.
You will also notice, the lettering on those conversation heart cheesecakes is a lot nicer. Check out the other tutorial to see how to achieve this really clean look using cookie stamps.
Storage
- Store in the refrigerator for up to several days or freeze for up to a month.
- I suggest storing them in an airtight container. To keep the condensation from developing on the tops of the cheesecakes, set a piece of paper towel, that is larger than the container's lid, across the underside of the lid. Close and seal. The moisture will get wicked up by the paper towel.
Recipe
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 15 squares)
- pinch of cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons (Β½ stick) butter, melted
- 16 ounces (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 pint sour cream (1 pint = 16 ounces or 2 cups of sour cream)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- food coloring - pink purple, blue, green, yellow, and red
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Fill a roasting pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the silicone heart molds.
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Set the roasting pan in the oven.
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Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and melted butter.
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Equally divide the crumbs among 18 heart-shaped silicone mold cavities.
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Press the crumbs into an even layer and refrigerate until needed.
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Beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth.
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Add sugar and beat until incorporated.
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Beat in eggs then add sour cream and vanilla and mix just to combine.
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Equally divide the cheesecake batter into 6 bowls.
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Color one bowl of filling pink, lavender, yellow, orange, green, and blue using food coloring.
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Equally divide each color of filling among 3 heart cavities.
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Bake cheesecakes in a water bath for 18-24 minutes until the edges look set but the center is jiggly but not wet.
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Remove from oven and water bath and allow to cool at room temperature for an hour.
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Freeze for at least two hours then remove and un-mold.
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Paint conversation heart phrases onto the tops of the cheesecakes using red food coloring.
Recipe Video
Store your conversation heart cheesecakes in the refrigerator for up to several days or freeze them for up to a month. I highly recommend you wait to decorate the cheesecakes until the day you plan to serve them.
More Valentine's Day Recipe Ideas
If you are looking for other treats or gifts to make for Valentine's Day, you might like these other recipes too.
Reese's Cup Teddy Bear Cupcakes β’ Conversation Heart PiΓ±ata Cake
Creamy Coconut Candy Hearts β’ Chocolate Buckeye Bears
Mozzarella Cheese filled Heart Pastries β’ Sweet Chocolate Cherry Bombs
Warm Fuzzy Cake Balls and Cupcakes β’ You Make My Heart Roar Lion Cupcakes
- How to make peanut butter? - February 15, 2024
- OREO Penguins - December 20, 2023
- OREO Snowmen - December 20, 2023
Linsey @ Credit Sesame
Adorable! We featured in our on Facebook page and also in today's roundup. Thanks for making us hungry π
http://www.creditsesame.com/blog/this-week-in-money-management-valentines-tips-too-sweet-not-to-share/
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thanks so much Linsey. I really appreciate you sharing this with your readers.
Desi
Absolutely adorable! Pinned this to my Valentine's board!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thanks for the pin Desi.
Anna
Wow! These look amazing. I think it would be a bit overambitious for me to try these but maybe one day π
Jo and Sue
Sue and I gave these a go for Valentine's dinner. We made them with a no-bake cheesecake though - we don't have the bendy pans and were afraid we wouldn't be able to get them out of our metal pans! They looks so cute. Thank yo for another great idea! (http://joandsue.blogspot.com/2012/02/valentines-food-ideas.html)
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Your no-bake cheesecakes look great. Yeah, I don't think you'd have been able to get the cheesecakes out of a metal pan, so it was a good idea to do it the way you did. How did you get the words on the cakes? Did painting with food coloring work? I posted pictures in my Reader's Gallery. Thanks so much for sharing. I would love to be invited to one of your holiday dinners. You two look like you have so much fun in the kitchen together. I'm sure your guests have a ball at your parties.
Jo and Sue
We did do the painting with food coloring and it worked great. We just had to wipe off the paintbrush between letters as the soft cheesecake goo tended to accumulate on the brush fairly quickly. We used a flat, fairly stiff, small brush and gently dabbed it, like connect-the-dots. We have so much fun putting together holiday dinners π Thank you for inspiring us with your fantastic ideas. Your step-by-step instructions make everything seem more "do-able". (Oh, and we would love to have you at any of our dinners. Anytime you are in Lillooet lol!) π
Kristi
Beth, I just can't quit thinking of all of the adorableness of these. I featured you on this week's Mop It Up Mondays: http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com/2012/02/mop-it-up-mondays-3.html.
Feel free to stop by and link up some more fabulousness if you get a chance!
{HUGS},
kristi
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thanks for the feature Kristi. I'll be sure to stop by and link up my new recipes.
eaguerin
Im using a springform pan and was trying to use a roasting pan but water fills into the pans. Is there something different I can do?
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Sorry I didn't respond sooner, I was out for the evening. If you are using a springform pan, you need to wrap the bottom of it with a few layers of tin foil to keep the water from entering the pan or set it in a pan that is just a bit bigger than the springform pan itself and set that bigger pan down into the water. I have even had success putting the pan of water in the oven on a rack below my cheesecake. I hope it worked out for you.
hankerie
Wow, this is so fabulous!
http://hankerie.blogspot.com
MrsAndrado
THESE ARE AWESOME! Will attempt to make them π
Also any ideas on what I could do if I don't have a roasting pan??
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thank you. If you have a 9"x13" casserole pan, you can set one of the heart molds down into it. You'll have to bake just one heart mold at a time that way, but that is fine. You can also set a baking sheet on the lowest rack in the oven and fill it with water then set the heart molds on the shelf above it. It's not a perfect option, but it will allow steam to fill the oven which will help the cakes bake without drying out.
Andrea
Absolutely love these! They look just perfect, great job. Your site is really cute (following now); I'm looking forward to looking around it more.
www.mycakecorner.blogspot.com
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
I'm so happy to hear they turned out so well for you. Yeah, it is much easier to un-mold them if they are really frozen. You can even leave them in the freezer overnight or longer. I made my hearts pretty bright so they'd show up nicely in pictures, but I agree with you that you don't really need to add much food coloring in order to get nice pastel hearts. If you took pictures and would like to share them in my Reader's Gallery, send them to beth@hungryhappenings.com
Anonymous
I made these yesterday and they turned out great. you definitely need to leave them in the freezer for the full two hours! also, you don't need much food coloring. thanks fir the great idea...I'm sure everyone will love them.
Brandi
Love your blog! I fancy myself a baker and I can't wait to try your recipes! I adore cheesecake so I am tackling the conversation hearts this weekend!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thanks Brandi. Have fun in the kitchen this weekend and be sure to snap some photos. I'd love to share them in my Reader's Gallery. Enjoy.
Amy
absolutely so cute & romantic....would love if you link with Decorating Challenge-Valentineβs day Ideas
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Just linked up. Thanks for the invite.
Amy
Thanks for linking with my event....Now I cant wait until I try them.They are so cute....
Teena Mary
OMG! they look so cute & amazing! Loved the colours & the perfection:) If you are willing, you can link this with my ongoing-''Valentine's Day Event''(till Feb 20th)So glad to follow you!!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thanks Teena. If you want to grab a picture and link, you can add it to your event or let me know and I'll send it to your e-mail.
Teena Mary
Oh thank you so much! In that case, i'll link it myself. You don't need to mail me. I'll e-mail you once i post the round-up π Could i link few of your other Valentine treats too? Coz everything is absolutely gorgeous!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Absolutely. Thanks for sharing my recipes with your readers.
Teena Mary
Thanks a ton Beth! I'll email you once i post the roundup π Have a great day!
eaguerin
How long would you cook this if you were making one big cheescake in a springform pan? Can't wait to try!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
You'll want to bake a whole cheesecake for about 45 minutes. Just make sure to double the crust ingredients for a whole cake. Enjoy!
Michelle
Oh my this recipes looks divine! And these are sooooo cute that I just had to feature you today in my favourite Valentines Days Crafts post.
http://michellescraft.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/favourite-valentines-crafts.html
thanks so much for sharing the recipe
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thanks Michelle. I appreciate being including in your list of Valentine's Day favorites.
Lindsi B
oh yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum!I love this! So cute! I saw this on Skip to My Lou I would love it if you would share this with our readers too for Fun Stuff Fridays! http://www.toysinthedryer.com/2012/02/14-days-of-valentines-fun-stuff-fridays_10.html
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Ooops, thought I had done that last Friday. Well, I did it just now and added my newest recipe for Fudgy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Hearts too.
Kristy Lynn
dude. these. are. awesome.
....people think they're posting valentines day recipes??? holds nothing compared to this. THIS is a valentines day recipe. Well done!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Wow, thanks. What a great compliment:)
Susie
Love this! I saw heart-shaped molds in my local Target the other day, btw. Thanks for sharing this great idea.
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thanks for letting us know about the molds Susie. I appreciate it. I haven't been out shopping at all for Valentine's Day but figured Target might have something that would work - you can always count on them!
Anonymous
These look amazing. Do you know of anywhere I can find the heart molds? Like in a store? maybe walmart? I would rather not buy online and pay for shipping.
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Thanks! You can usually find these molds at Michael's, JoAnn Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, and other craft stores. I wouldn't doubt that Target or Walmart has them or something similar in stock for Valentine's Day. If you find them somewhere else, let me know so I can share it with everyone.
Beth Jackson Klosterboer
Another reader just posted that she found some molds at Target.