Amazing Christmas Cheesecake to make your holiday season as delicious and magical as you imagine! This heavenly dessert is a vanilla bean cheesecake layered with an easy cranberry jam and smooth white chocolate mousse.
CHRISTMAS DESSERT
It’s no wonder that this time of year is referred to as “the season of baking.” It seems like I bake every day in December. Making treats for holiday parties, making edible gifts, making cookies with kids, and of course, Christmas dinner dessert. That is a lot of baking for one month.
My favorite parts of holiday baking is making gingerbread man cookies with my little man and coming up with a Christmas dinner dessert. Making cookies is the best tradition for kids and one they remember the most as they grow up. While making cookies is the best memory for the kids, I make Christmas dessert cake for adults. I like to go big with dessert because it’s the grand finale of every dinner and party. If I could rig fireworks to go off when I bring out the dessert, I would. Until then, the dessert will have to speak for itself.
Oh boy, does this dessert speak for itself!
This cheesecake will make your holidays MAGICAL. Between the sweet and tart cranberry jam, silky vanilla bean cheesecake and smooth white chocolate mousse, this dessert is a heavenly combination of flavors and textures.
The candied cranberries on top of this cheesecake are totally OPTIONAL. It takes a while to make them so you can just decorate the cheesecake with white chocolate mousse if you don’t want to deal with the cranberries.
Not to say that it’s not worth it. I LOVE candied cranberries. When I was little, it was my favorite winter treat. So if you love candied cranberries, you can even make a double batch and use some for the cheesecake and the rest to snack on.
MORE HOLIDAY DESSERTS TO TRY
White Chocolate Cranberry Soft and Chewy Crinkle Cookies
Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
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Christmas Cheesecake (Cranberry Jam White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake)
Ingredients
Cranberry Jam:
- 16 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
Crust:
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 5 Tbsp butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cheesecake Filling:
- 24 oz cream cheese softened
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
White Chocolate Mousse:
- 8 oz baking white chocolate bars (2-4 oz bars)
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 8 oz whipped topping like COOL Whip
Candied Cranberries: (Optional)
- 8 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar or super fine sugar
Instructions
- Candied Cranberries (overnight):
- Combine water and 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a sauce pot, over medium heat. Heat the mixture until sugar is all dissolved, while stirring slowly. Take off heat.
- Let the mixture cool a bit before adding cranberries. Add cranberries, stir, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Drain cranberries in a colander.
- Add 1/2 cup of sugar to a shallow bowl and coat cranberries is sugar. Set aside until ready to decorate.
- Quick Cranberry Jam:
- In a sauce pot, over medium heat, combine cranberries, sugar and vanilla extract. Mix well cook cranberries stirring often. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Take off heat and let it cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9 inch springform pan. You will need a large roasting pan that’s bigger and longer than the springform pan. (I use the aluminum foil disposable ones). If you are not sure about your springform holding up in water, you can wrap the outside of the springform pan in heavy duty aluminum foil from bottom up to the sides. (I recommend wrapping the outside of the springform in foil before adding the crust and cheesecake batter.)
- Crust:
- Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir very well, until all incorporated. Press graham cracker mixture into the pan, evenly, all over the bottom and about half way up the side.
- Spread half of the cranberry jam over the crust.
- Cheesecake:
- Start beating cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add vanilla extract, and sour cream. Mix until combined.
- Add eggs, one at the time, beating after each addition. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and beat until all incorporated.
- Lower speed and add corn starch. While on medium-low speed, pour in heavy cream. Mix until all combined, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again until smooth.
- Cut vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds into the cheesecake batter. Mix well until incorporated throughout.
- Spoon all of the cheesecake batter into the springform, over the jam.
- Place roasting pan into the oven and place the cheesecake springform pan inside the roasting pan. Carefully add water to the roasting pan, about half way up the side of the springform.
- Bake for 70-75 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the oven door half way. Let cheesecake rest for about 10 minutes and take it out of the oven (out of the roasting pan and carefully take off the foil).
- Let it rest for 20 minutes on the counter and then gently run a greased butter knife between sides of the cheesecakes and the springform to carefully separate it. (You don't actually have to take the cheesecake out of the pan until ready to add topping.)
- Cool cheesecake for an hour.
- Spread remaining cranberry jam over the top of the cheesecake. Cover the pan with saran wrap and place the cheesecake in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before adding the mousse.
- White Chocolate Mousse:
- Break up white chocolate bars and melt them according the to package instructions.
- Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes.
- Drizzle in melted white chocolate while continuing to beat cream cheese. Mix well.
- Fold in whipped topping gently until all combined.
- Spread white chocolate mousse over the top of the cheesecake. You can separate the mousse in two batches and use one batch to decorate with a frosting tip.
- If using candied cranberries, spread them on top of the white chocolate mousse.
Video
Nutrition
Heather says
I need to make this cheesecake tonight (Bad planning) Cranberries are not in season or in stock. I was going to go with raspberries, do you think I can candy them? Do you ever pre-bake your crust?
LyubaB says
Hi Heather, I think raspberries would be really good and I do think you can candy them. I don’t usually prebake the crust for the cheesecake.
Tom Hoenigman says
This is the GREATEST dessert in the whole world!!!!! Do you have a simmilar recipe for another fruit like currants, sour cherries, eldi berries, logan berries. — i headed this way to not go so sweet with the base fruit. Look forwrd to your reply
LyubaB says
Wow! Thank you, Tom! That’s such a nice compliment! I haven’t tried those fruits but I think you could go through the same steps with them as you do the cranberries.
Linda says
Beautiful and tasted excellent
Thank you for sharing.
LyubaB says
Thanks, Linda!
Stephanie says
I’ve made this the last two years for Christmas and I LOVE it!! I’m making mini cheesecakes for a party and was wondering (since this is the best cheesecake ever) if you think your recipe will work
Thank You!
LyubaB says
Yes, you could make mini cheesecakes you will need to bake them without a water bath 18-20 minutes. I would recommend using parchment paper liners because they don’t stick like the other liners.
Katie says
No fresh cranberries to be found. Can fresh cherries be substituted?
LyubaB says
Yes, you could use cherries or even raspberry or blueberries.
Mary says
Excellent cheese cake! Sugared cranberries add just the right amount of tartness. This is a very rich desert. I did not use the cranberry jelly on the bottom.
LyubaB says
Thanks, Mary. Glad you liked it.
Rhonda says
Hello, can I use frozen blackberries ? If so , should I thaw them first . I made this for Christmas and it is delicious!
LyubaB says
Yes, you can and you would need to thaw them first.
Melissa Dillon says
Can the pan go into a larger springform pan and then have the water bath around that? Or does the water bath really need to touch the pan the cheesecake is in? I really want to solve for the water seepage issue. Can we use less butter in the crust? I think mine melted out a bit.
Kim says
This recipe is divine! I absolutely love the flavors! It was a big hit with family and friends!
LyubaB says
So glad you loved it!
Babs says
I have never made a cheesecake and made this for Christmas Eve this year. It was absolutely delicious and so beautiful. Mine wasn’t quite as beautiful as the one in the recipe but it was still really pretty. I think that the candied cranberries really make the appearance of the dessert. It does take a long time to make because of the steps but it was well worth it!!! Delicious and beautiful.
Melissa says
Love it, have made it two years in a row now. I still struggle with the crust being wet. It did not seem like water this time, maybe butter or jam? Not horrible, just moist. I used both the aluminum wrap and the slow cooker bag and there was definitely butter melted in that bag, but I didn’t sense water in the bag. I would love to solve for this better in future bakes as this is so popular and beautiful!
Laura says
I put the jam in the middle of the cheesecake instead of on the crust.. just pour 1/2 of the cheesecake mixture onto of the crust. Spread the jam (more like dropped dollops of jam) then swirled it with a knife. Covered the whole thing up with the remaining cheesecake mixture.
Tenetra says
Absolutely INCREDIBLE! I made this for Christmas and it was a hit!
A few tips:
I added a little powdered sugar to the buttercream frosting and a little less sugar to the cranberry jam to make it a little more tart! It was perfect!
I would post a picture of it, but can’t seem to figure out how to do that. 😆
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked it! 🙂
LyubaB says
Glad you liked it, Tenetra!