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
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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 • 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
Shay says
Your directions were so easy to follow and lead to perfection!
Beth Klosterboer says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Shahane Manukyan says
This is the 3rd year I'll be visiting this page to make the conversation heart cheesecakes for valentines day!! I love the look, I love how they taste and they are so fun to make! I'll post a picture of it this time when I make it 🙂
Beth Klosterboer says
That is great to hear! I'm so glad you enjoy this recipe enough to make it every year. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Shahane Manukyan says
I made this 2 years ago and it tasted amazing!! They are super cute and a nice surprise at the end of a meal. Since there were many conversation heart cheesecakes that I made, I gave some to my friends and family members and they all loved it!! I'm on this website again to make it for Valentine's Day! Thank you for the recipe Beth!!!
Beth says
I am so happy to hear you are back to make this recipe again! I'm glad everyone loved their cheesecakes and hope they do this year too! Have fun and have a wonderful Valentine's Day.
Claudia says
Hello, I have a quick question. Just wondering why my cheesecakes leak water after they’ve been in the fridge? It doesn’t happen to all of them but to most of them it does. Thank you!
Beth says
Hi Claudia, I know what you are talking about. If you put the cheesecakes in the refrigerator before they have cooled completely they can seep water so I recommend you allow them to cool completely. Because cheesecakes are very moist, condensation will form around them too. To wick up this moister, you can set your cheesecakes directly on a piece of paper towel. I also recommend draping paper towels on the underside of the lid of your airtight container (do not let it touch the cheesecakes). I lay my paper towels over the inside lid, then flip it upside down, and seal the container with the paper towel hanging out around the edges. It keeps the paper towel away from the cheesecake but allows it to wick up any excess moisture. I hope this helps! Enjoy your cheesecakes.
Marvette Perry says
Hello there Claudia- How many weeks can I freeze the hearts for? Can I freeze them with the sayings on them?
Beth says
You can freeze the cheesecake hearts for up to 3 months. Do not freeze them with the sayings on them. It's best to write on the hearts the day you plan to serve them. Enjoy!
Alyssa says
Hi Beth!
So, I was wondering the size to bake time ratio you were using when you wrote about the different versions. I have about a 4" springform heart that I would like to use and my recipe is nearly the same as yours, except includes heavy whipping cream to make it extra velvety. Could you please advise me on this? Thank you so much!
Alyssa
Beth says
Hi Alyssa,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been busy redesigning the website and didn't realize I missed your question.
It's been a very long time since I baked a cheesecake in the 4-inch springform heart pans so I am not exactly sure about the bake time. I no longer have the pans so I can't bake cheesecakes to give you an exact time. I would estimate that the cheesecakes will take about twice as long as those baked in the silicone molds. Wilton has a recipe for cheesecakes baked in 4-inch springform pans the bake time is 25-30 minutes. That sounds about right.
If you use a waterbath (which I highly recommend), be sure to wrap the bottom of the springform pans with a few layers of tin foil to keep the water from seeping in to the pan.
Enjoy!
Pamela says
Hi Beth,
I’m excited to make these for V day in 10 days. Question: Do you need to have a flat rack in the roasting pan for the molds to sit upon, or can they be placed in the pan directly, making sure the water level doesn’t go higher than the molds? I don’t have a flat rack; mine is curved at both ends.
Thank you
Beth says
Hi Pamela, I hope you enjoy these Conversation Heart Cheesecakes! You do not need the flat rack, you can simply set the silicone mold directly on the bottom of the roasting pan so that the water goes at least halfway up the sides of the heart mold. The rack just makes it easier to get the silicone mold in and out of the pan. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Leticia says
Can you show a picture of how you froze them once at room temperature. If I put a napkins on top won’t it stick to the cheesecake?
Beth says
Sorry, Leticia, I don't have a picture. If your cheesecakes come up to the very top edge of your silicone mold, you can set the mold into a 9x13 inch pan. Then lay the paper towels across the top of the pan and cover the pan with tin foil or the pan's lid. My cheesecakes did not quite come to the top edge, so I simply laid the paper towels across the silicone mold and it did not touch the cheesecakes.
PRISCILLA says
hi, love the recipe, but for the sour cream is only 16 oz or 1 pint, sorry i have a differents metric system
Beth says
Thanks, Priscilla! You'll want to use 1 pint of sour cream which equals 16 ounces (454 grams) or 2 cups. Enjoy!
Simran says
😀 I love these! Those cheesecakes Valentine desserts are brilliant! I’m not going to show my wife this post, I’m just going to make some and stick them in his lunch box as a surprise, heeee! Nice one 😉
Beth says
How fun! I hope she enjoys them.
Daniela Cabrera says
Love the recipe and the taste, just had some trouble getting the cheesecake out of the heart shape silicon mold, any tips?
Beth says
I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe and flavor! To make it easier to remove from the mold freeze the cheesecakes until they are really solid. They will push right out of the mold.
ERIN says
Hi BETH, I can’t believe how good this looks. Definitely trying this weekend.
Kristie says
I meant to say congratulations for being featured on Happiness is Homemade Link Party. I saw them for the first time at the Snickerdoodle Party. They’ll probably be featured at all the parties you’ve visited. Have a great week!,
Beth says
Thanks Kristie, these Conversation Heart Cheesecakes are one of my most popular recipes and I'm so happy to see they were featured on the link party!
Kristie says
Congratulations on being featured at the Snickerdoodle Link Party- these look great! The design is very clean-looking and well done.