By Lindy Van Schalkwyk, last updated on March 8, 2022
These cheesecake tarts with vanilla wafers are quick and easy. And, the cherry topping also adds a well-balanced fruitiness and unique texture.
You can serve these mini cheesecake tarts at weddings, birthday parties, kitchen teas, or as a simple treat to satisfy your sweet tooth. And, if you aren’t a fan of cherries, you can always replace it with one of our many other cheesecake topping recipes.
What Are Mini Cheesecake Tarts With Vanilla Wafers?
There aren’t many things in life that come close to good creamy rich cheesecake. Sometimes, it’s just so good that every bite feels like a symphony of flavors exploding in your mouth. That’s exactly how we feel about these incredibly delicious cheesecake tarts with vanilla wafers.
These mini cheesecakes are very easy to make. You essentially only need the wafers, cheesecake, and a cherry pie filling. We’ve decided to use vanilla wafers as the base to reduce the overall prep time. Not to mention they are incredibly delicious and won’t overpower the flavor of the cheesecake or the filling.
And of course, we have the cheesecake. Now, you can use either baked or unbaked cheesecake. You can even use store-bought or leftover cheesecake if you’d like. As long as its flavor coincides with the cherry filling and vanilla wafers.
Our go-to cheesecake flavor for this recipe is vanilla, but you can be a little bit bolder and go for something like a white chocolate cheesecake or a berry one.
And finally, we have created an incredibly well-balanced cherry pie filling that isn’t too acidic or sweet. It pairs well with the neutrally-flavored wafers and cheesecake, and helps elevate these bites immensely!
What To Do With Leftover Cheesecake
Cheesecake is luckily one of those cakes that you don’t actually have to finish within a day or two. They keep really well in the fridge for up to a week and can even be frozen! Baked cheesecake will naturally last a little longer than unbaked cheesecake and is much more shelf-stable.
That being said, sometimes you are stuck with some leftover slices. That is where this recipe is great! You can use the leftover cheesecake to make these mini cheesecake tarts with vanilla wafers. This will make this recipe even easier and much quicker than it already is!
And, if you still have some frozen cheesecake left, you can make delicious deep-fried cheesecake bites or create refreshing milkshakes or smoothies too!
What Do You Need For This Cherry Cream Cheese Tart
Ingredients for the base
- 12 vanilla wafers
Ingredients for the Cheesecake
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- ½ cup fine caster sugar
- 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract or 3 teaspoons vanilla essence
- Pinch of fine salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
Ingredients for the Cherry Topping
- 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp fine caster sugar
- ½ tbsp cornstarch
Equipment
- 12 paper cupcake liners
- 1 muffin pan
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Electric hand or stand mixer
- Rubber or silicone spatula
- Medium-sized pot
Step By Step Instructions For These Cheesecake Tarts With Vanilla Wafers
Step 1: Line The Molds With Vanilla Wafers
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Place the 12 paper cupcake liners into the muffin pan. You don’t have to coat them with non-stick cooking spray – just make sure that the liners themselves are non-stick.
Break the wafers into smaller pieces and line every cup with vanilla wafer biscuits. The bottom should be covered with vanilla wafers, but not overcrowded.
Step 2: Make the Cheesecake
To make the cheesecake, place the cream cheese into a large mixing bowl. Beat the cream cheese until it has become light in color and fluffy. Then, add the caster sugar, vanilla extract or essence, and fine salt. Mix the ingredients together until they are well incorporated.
Next, add the eggs one at a time. Make sure to incorporate them well before you start adding the next one. You should ensure that the cheesecake batter is smooth and has no lumps.
Step 3: Bake the mini Cheesecakes
Divide the cheesecake batter between the 12 wafer-filled cups. Then, bake the cheesecake tartlets for roughly 15-20 minutes, or until they start becoming firm. They shouldn’t be hard and they should still have a soft and creamy texture.
Remove the cheesecakes from the oven and allow them to completely cool at room temperature. Then, only once they have cooled, remove them from the pan and set them in a fridge to set a little bit.
Step 4: Make the Cherry Topping
While the cheesecakes are baking, cooling, and finally, setting, you can make the cherry filling.
First, in a medium-sized pot, combine the pitted cherries, water, lemon juice and zest, water, and cornstarch.
Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring often. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat and allow the cherry topping to simmer slowly for about 15 minutes. The cherries should be cooked, but not until they become mushy and soft. You want firm cherries with a sticky sauce.
Once cooked, remove the cherries from the pot and place them in a bowl. Allow the topping to cool completely.
Step 5: Assemble The Cheesecake Tarts With Vanilla Wafers
Once the cheesecake and the topping is cooled, place a spoonful of the topping into each cheesecake cup. Do not place too much cherry pie filling on the cheesecake, as it will ooze off.
Serve these mini cheesecakes with cherry fillings immediately, or store them in the fridge until they are needed.
Tips And Tricks For These Cherry Tarts With Cream Cheese
- Always use room temperature ingredients. This will make a smooth batter as the ingredients are easier to blend together.
- Instead of spooning the cheesecake mixture into the cupcake liners, you can place the mixture into a piping bag instead. This is a lot less messy and will allow you to evenly divide the batter between the cups.
- The cheesecakes will fall flat when cooling. But don’t worry too much about it! The sunken center makes it ideal to place the filling without it falling off of the cheesecake!
- If the cherry topping is too thick, add a little bit of water to the mixture. If it’s not thick enough, add a little bit of extra cornstarch. These techniques can help you easily adjust the consistency until you are happy with it.
Servings And Preparation Times For These Cheesecake Tarts With Vanilla Wafers
| Prep time | Baking time | Setting time | Servings |
| 15 minutes | 15-20 minutes | 3 hours | 12 mini cheesecakes |
Final Thoughts – Cheesecake Tarts With Vanilla Wafers
These cheesecake tarts with vanilla wafers can either be made from scratch or using leftover cheesecake. Either way, they are incredibly quick, easy, and delicious snacks that the entire family will love! If you loved this recipe as much as we do, let us know in the comments below!
Cherry Cream Cheese Tart
Equipment
- 12 paper cupcake liners
- 1 muffin pan
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Electric hand or stand mixer
- Rubber or silicone spatula
- Medium-sized pot
Ingredients
Ingredients for the base
- 12 vanilla wafers
Ingredients for the Cheesecake
- 16 oz cream cheese softened at room temperature
- ½ cup fine caster sugar
- 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract or 3 teaspoons vanilla essence
- Pinch of fine salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
Ingredients for the Cherry Topping
- 2 cups fresh cherries pitted
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp fine caster sugar
- ½ tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Place the 12 paper cupcake liners into the muffin pan. You don't have to coat them with non-stick cooking spray - just make sure that the liners themselves are non-stick.
- Break the wafers into smaller pieces and line every cup with vanilla wafer biscuits. The bottom should be covered with vanilla wafers, but not overcrowded.
- To make the cheesecake, place the cream cheese into a large mixing bowl. Beat the cream cheese until it has become light in color and fluffy. Then, add the caster sugar, vanilla extract or essence, and fine salt. Mix the ingredients together until they are well incorporated.
- Next, add the eggs one at a time. Make sure to incorporate them well before you start adding the next one. You should ensure that the cheesecake batter is smooth and has no lumps.
- Divide the cheesecake batter between the 12 wafer-filled cups. Then, bake the cheesecake tartlets for roughly 15-20 minutes, or until they start becoming firm. They shouldn't be hard and they should still have a soft and creamy texture.
- Remove the cheesecakes from the oven and allow them to completely cool at room temperature. Then, only once they have cooled, remove them from the pan and set them in a fridge to set a little bit.
- While the cheesecakes are baking, cooling, and finally, setting, you can make the cherry filling.
- First, in a medium-sized pot, combine the pitted cherries, water, lemon juice and zest, water, and cornstarch.
- Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring often. Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat and allow the cherry topping to simmer slowly for about 15 minutes. The cherries should be cooked, but not until they become mushy and soft. You want firm cherries with a sticky sauce.
- Once cooked, remove the cherries from the pot and place them in a bowl. Allow the topping to cool completely.
- Once the cheesecake and the topping is cooled, place a spoonful of the topping into each cheesecake cup. Do not place too much cherry pie filling on the cheesecake, as it will ooze off.
- Serve these mini cheesecakes with cherry fillings immediately, or store them in the fridge until they are needed.
Notes
- Always use room temperature ingredients. This will make a smooth batter as the ingredients are easier to blend together.
- Instead of spooning the cheesecake mixture into the cupcake liners, you can place the mixture into a piping bag instead. This is a lot less messy and will allow you to evenly divide the batter between the cups.
- The cheesecakes will fall flat when cooling. But don’t worry too much about it! The sunken center makes it ideal to place the filling without it falling off of the cheesecake!
Lindy Van Schalkwyk is a culinary specialist with a background in Advanced Cooking, Advanced Pâtisserie, Media Communications and Nutrition. She has gained invaluable experience in the culinary industry having worked in some of the top restaurants in Africa in 2016 and 2017. Her expertise in nutrition has enabled her to develop recipes for special dietary needs. In 2018, Lindy began working in the Food Media industry, focusing on recipe development, recipe writing, food writing and food styling.