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 discovered 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).
Boao 2 Pcs Heart Shaped Sil...Shop on Amazon 
BAKER DEPOT 6 Holes Heart S...Shop on Amazon 
T-fal A85797 Specialty Nons...Shop on Amazon
U.S. Cake Supply 30 Color C...Shop on Amazon
Chicago Metallic Conversati...Shop on Amazonstand 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 ¾ 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 (½ 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
-
Fill a roasting pan with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the silicone heart molds.
-
Set the roasting pan in the oven.
-
Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and melted butter.
-
Equally divide the crumbs among 18 heart-shaped silicone mold cavities.
-
Press the crumbs into an even layer and refrigerate until needed.
-
Beat cream cheese until creamy and smooth.
-
Add sugar and beat until incorporated.
-
Beat in eggs then add sour cream and vanilla and mix just to combine.
-
Equally divide the cheesecake batter into 6 bowls.
-
Color one bowl of filling pink, lavender, yellow, orange, green, and blue using food coloring.
-
Equally divide each color of filling among 3 heart cavities.
-
Bake cheesecakes in a water bath for 18-24 minutes until the edges look set but the center is jiggly but not wet.
-
Remove from oven and water bath and allow to cool at room temperature for an hour.
-
Freeze for at least two hours then remove and un-mold.
-
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 • Conversation Heart Piñata Cake
Creamy Coconut Candy Hearts • Chocolate Buckeye Bears
Mozzarella Cheese filled Heart Pastries • Sweet Chocolate Cherry Bombs
Warm Fuzzy Cake Balls and Cupcakes • You Make My Heart Roar Lion Cupcakes
- Irresistible Sweets with Dixie Crystals® - July 13, 2024
- How to make peanut butter? - February 15, 2024
- OREO Penguins - December 20, 2023
Taneith Lanyon says
hi there
i'm a new follower to your blog and i must say these little guys are adorable. what a gorgeous, clever idea.
Happy Thursday
xxxx
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Welcome, Taneith. I'm glad you have found my blog and like the cheesecakes:)
Nikole Lewis says
Love this cute idea. I want to do this for my fiance. Im going to make a box and make it look like the sweatheart box to put them in. What size mold did you use? 6'-8'
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Sounds like a great idea. The Wilton silicone mold I used for this project has 6 heart shaped cavities and they are only about 3" wide. They make individual size cheesecakes, which is really nice. You could use a heart shaped springform pan, if you prefer, you just will have fewer hearts of various colors.
Nikole Lewis says
This is such a cute idea, i want to do this for my fiance. Im going to take a box and made it look like the sweatheart box to put them in. What size mold did you use? 6'- 8'
Anonymous says
This is such a cute idea! Would it work with a cake mix?
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
You could certainly bake cakes in the heart shaped silicone molds, You would just have to write the conversation heart phrases on with frosting, chocolate, or perhaps the food coloring, but I'm not sure how that would work. If you give it a try, I'd love to see a picture!
Anonymous says
I think little hershey kisses or chocolate chips would be awesome for putting the phrases! Is there something else i could use other than the heart shaped silicone molds?
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
There are metal heart shaped cake pans you could use.
Anonymous says
Hi! I am in the process of making these for the second time. I love them! They are so easy and delicious! I was always scared to attempt cheesecake before- but I absolutely love this recipe and will use it again and again! Love your website too! Thanks!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
I'm so happy to hear that! Enjoy making and eating your cheesecakes.
Raspbreeze says
Hi, I've been trying to find a cheesecake idea that will really work for the mother's day brunch I'm planning, and these are just too adorable.
I can't wait to make them
I do however have one question, What is the appropriate cooking time if i were to make a dozen mini hearts rather than these medium sized ones?
Please do let me know as soon as possible
Thanks 🙂
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
I used a mini heart shaped silicone ice cube tray to make my small cheesecakes and baked them for about 15 minutes. I'd set the timer for 12 minutes and check on them.
Aida Sofía Barba Flores says
I will do this recipe today! why the recipe says we should bake them with some water? is it for a better cheesecake texture? or maybe it's the perfect way to bake cheesecakes.
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Hi Aida, yes baking cheesecakes in a water bath helps the cakes bake evenly creating a really creamy texture throughout the entire cake. Being these are small cheesecakes, you could skip the water bath, but the edges will cook faster than the center.
Aida Sofía Barba Flores says
I will do this recipe today! why the recipe says we should bake them with some water? is it for a better cheesecake texture? or maybe it's the perfect way to bake cheesecakes.
jmwhite60 says
Absolutely adorable! Wish I'd seen them in time for Valentine's Day, but I'll be sure to try them next year!!
annenime says
your idea started me on baking cheesecake hearts. its amazing 🙂 have yet to try the actual conversation hearts though, but will do so, when i get a hand on cheap food coloring stocks.
i have the very same molds and would like to ask you the following:
1. does the cinnamon stick to your molds? i have a problem taking the cinnamon smell off the molds. do you have a trick to clean it?
2. waterstains: got lazy on drying one of the mold, and now, i have waterstains. do you know of a way to take them out?
i hope you could help out. im planning to buy another set of silicone heart molds to be able to bake bigger batches, and i dunno if its an investment, or if im just throwing money away on inferior bakeware?
thank you!
anne nime
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Hi Anne,
I'm glad you've enjoyed making the cheesecake hearts.
I have not used cinnamon directly on any of my molds but there is some cinnamon in the cheesecake crust. I haven't noticed that my molds smell of cinnamon nor have I ever had anything really stick to these molds. If your molds smell like cinnamon, you could try a few things to get rid of the smell. You could make a paste out of baking soda and water and scrub the mold with it, allow it to dry, then wash it off. If that doesn't work you could try rubbing the inside of the mold with lemon juice or perhaps some diluted bleach. I don't know if either will work, but they might be worth a try.
As far as the water stains go, I do experience this all the time. Just take a damp paper towel and wipe them off or rewash them just before you plan to use them. The stains aren't permanent. I can wash my molds and they will look perfectly fine, then I store them and after time they get a white film on them, so I just always plan to wipe them clean before use.
I just bought a shamrock mold and a bunny mold. I think they are great molds and have quite a collection.
Anonymous says
I made this recipe tonight and it turned out beautifully! I only wished that I had a roasting pan with the handles like yours has. Mine worked fine though--just had to be extra careful. Thanks for sharing!! I also linked this page on my personal xanga page. Take care!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
I'm happy to hear they turned out well for you. When I made these hearts and was pulling out my roasting pan, I went to take out the rack and realized it would work perfectly to hold the wiggly molds. As you found it isn't necessary, but it is nice to have. Thanks for linking this recipes on your xanga page (what is that by the way?)
Anonymous says
Can I make the batter and leave it in the fridge for a few hours? I want to make the hearts but I only have one pan. Would the batter be okay while the first pan bakes, cools and freezes? or could I half the recipe?
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
I would think you could refrigerate the batter. I think you'd have to bake it a few minutes longer as it will be cold going into the oven so it will take longer to heat up.
Caitlin says
These are the best ideas ever! My valentine and I are celebrating Saturday and the only molds I've been able to find are small metal ones - do you think if I smoothly lined them with buttered foil and froze them, I'd be able to lift them out alright?
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Thank you Caitlin. I think you could get it to work. If you can find non-stick foil, that might work best, but buttered foil should work too. Once you remove the hearts from the pan, you can even use a knife or metal spatula to smooth out the sides of the cheesecakes. Just dip the spatula in hot water, dab with a paper towel, and run along the edges of the cakes. Good luck and let me know how they turn out for you.
Lady With the Red Rocker says
Beth, these are the cutest cheesecakes... EVER!!! I also have paid big bucks for a piece of cheesecake only to be disappointed. I feel your pain! 😀 I am pinning this! Thanks for sharing! 😀
Stephanie Hill @ Ladywiththeredrocker.com
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Thank you Stephanie and thanks for the pin!
Jessica G. says
I made these yesterday and really knocked the socks off my dinner guests! Thank you thank you thank you for all the tips and your fabulous tutorial! I'm totally going to web-stalk you now. 🙂
Anonymous says
Thanks for the tutorial, I just saw today, now I have to go buy the molds and try it. What a great idea.
Keisha - Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams says
WOW! This is by far the smartest thing ever! I am sooo pinning it!
Natural-Nesters says
Hey we love your conversation heart cheesecakes so much that we featured you on our favorites for this week! Come by and check it out and link up again! O and grab a button while you are there!
http://natural-nester.blogspot.com/2012/02/naturally-nifty-linky-party-2-features.html
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Thank you for the feature. I'm so happy you like the cheesecakes.
Natural-Nesters says
Beth,
Sorry you had trouble getting the button to your blog. I found the problem and it should be fixed now. Please try again! Thanks so much!
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
It's working now. I added the button to my Featured On page.
Life In The Thrifty Lane says
This is genius!!! So pretty!! Wish my hubby would give me one of those instead of a plant!!! Visiting from I SHould Be Mopping The Floor. Pinning this!!!!
Susan @ Oh My! Creative says
Wanted to let you know I featured your dessert in a Valentine's Sweets post today. I would love if you stopped by and grab a button! I also would love for you to join the creative community and post this and other creative things you do!Susan,http://www.ohmy-creative.com/A community to Create - Share - Inspire
Beth Jackson Klosterboer says
Thank so much for the feature, Susan. I added a button to my Featured On page and will be sure to check out your creative community.