Daring Bakers: Cheesecake Truffles
And squares.
I love cheesecake. It’s my favorite dessert, and I will eat it in just about any form. Rolled in a ball and dipped in chocolate? Bring ’em on!
More about the challenge, and the recipe, after the break…
This was a fairly easy challenge, albeit a little messy. The cheesecake took quite a bit longer to bake than the recipe indicated, but the result was absolutely worth it – rich, creamy, and the perfect flavor. The recipe calls for a 10″ cake pan but since I don’t have one I split the batter between a muffin-style square tin (given to me by my friend Amber), and four mini springform pans. I went without the water bath.
After thoroughly chilling the cheesecake I set forth to scoop them into balls. This was definitely the messy part, as my hands and just about everything else ended up covered in a layer of cheesecake!
I had my lollipop sticks ready to go and then encountered a problem – I didn’t have enough clearance in my freezer to stick the lollipop sticks in. When I make buckeyes I usually use toothpicks, which I never have a problem with, but obviously the lollipop sticks are longer. I had already crammed all of the rolled balls onto a baking sheet and didn’t have space to insert the sticks sideways, so I just did without them. Hence, my pops became truffles.
I chose to roll all of the cheesecake balls in bittersweet (60%) chocolate and then drizzled with a combination of white and milk chocolates. I dipped a corner of each square cheesecake into the dark chocolate as well.
Although these took a little bit of work and were a bit messy, they are fabulous little treats. I plan on saving the recipe and will make them again sometime in the future. For now, I have a gallon freezer bag full of my cheesecake truffles that will serve me well when I want a late-night dessert snack.
Thank you to Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah of Taste and Tell for hosting this month and selecting such a scrumptious challenge!
Craving more chocolate and cheesecake? Check out these recipes:
Chocolate Rum Cheesecake
Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake
Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Brownies
For some additional chocolate candy recipes, try these:
Buckeyes
Peppermint Bark
Chocolate Fudge
Cheesecake Pops
Ingredients
For the cheesecake:
- 40 oz. (1.13 kg) cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 cups (400 g) sugar
- ¼ cup (31.25 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
- 5 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (59.5 ml) heavy cream
- Boiling water as needed
For the pops:
- Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
- 1 pound (453.59 g) chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
- Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional
Instructions
- 1. Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.
- In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.
- 2. Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.
- 3. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.
- 4. When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 - 2 hours.
- 5. When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it's shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.
- 6. Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.
- 7. Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.
- 8. Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Did you make the full recipe? That’s 2 1/2 lbs of cream cheese, so I was wondering if I should half the recipe? Thanks, they look delicious!
Hi Bea, I did make the full recipe and stored extras in the freezer, but you can definitely cut it in half if you’d like.
Baking update: I’m mixed about making these–the cheesecake worked/baked perfectly; rolling it into balls was the worst ever; dipping them might have been worse with cheesecake bits falling into the chocolate and causing it to seize. Fortunately, some of my Christmas decoration things helped the cause and hid the mess! They taste awesome!
Hi Michelle… I found this recipe as I was wading through google results for truffle recipes. I looks awesome! I have only one question: Have you ever tried a melon baller or small ice cream scoop to ball up the cheesecake? I just wanted see if I could avoid an epic fail if this has been tried already and just doesn’t work. I’m thinking of keeping a warm water bowl to dip it in between every few….
I did use a small cookie scoop when I tried them initially. The cheesecake stuck and didn’t really come out. I tried spraying it with spray oil, and that only helped about one. Since it made about 80, I thought I might go crazy! The thing that worked was using a fork to get the cheesecake out of the pan and then rolling the best I could with Pam-sprayed hands. I had to wash and re-apply about every 5 balls though. Took forever. Cheesecake was totally delicious and cooked thoroughly (although it took about 1:15, not 0:45), so that wasn’t the issue. I had trouble dipping the balls even once they had frozen. Bits of the cheesecake kept getting into the chocolate and it seized quickly. I’d say to melt small amounts and then dip and then melt more. They look just okay (most have chocolate that is not smooth or shiny although I decorated them to look better) but they taste GREAT!
Hello Michelle,
I am thinking of making these sinful treats for Christmas, for Family and Friends. My favorite is strawberry cheesecake. I was wondering if I swirled some canned or smashed fresh strawberries into the cooled cake before making the balls, how it would be? and how much to add?
Hi Lisa, I think that would be a delicious addition! I haven’t done any mix-ins so I wouldn’t be able to tell you how much to add, but I would start with a little bit, then taste and see if it’s how you like it yet, adding more a little at a time, until you get the flavor you’re after.
Instead of dipping in chocolate, do you think I can roll them in Graham crackers? Or, would it be better to dip in white chocolate and then roll on the cracker crumbs?
Hi Sara, You could roll in graham cracker crumbs. You wouldn’t need to dip in white chocolate first, unless you want to.
Is this from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey?
ALL TIME FAVORITE RECIPE. Always a hit!
Hi I was wondering how long you think these could last in the fridge or freezer… assuming they aren’t eaten all at once ;)
Hi Danielle, In the refrigerator, I would say maybe 1 to 2 weeks. In the freezer, I’ve saved them for 3 or 4 months. Enjoy! :)
These sound amazing! I have a few questions though. You said that you stored the extra ones in you freezer. Did you thaw them before serving? And if so was there a problem with them weeping? I would like to make these in advance if at all possible. Thank you!
Hi Rhea, I didn’t thaw these, I just ate them straight from the freezer!
I typically bake cookies every year for family gift giving at the holidays, and my gifts require shipping to multiple states. This year I want to change things up by making different candies. Do you know if these would be suitable for shipping in the winter months?
Hi Betsy, I probably would not ship these, as they are cheesecake and need to be kept refrigerated.
So I come across this recipe on another website and I am attempting to make these over the next two days. I do have a recommendation though for those making it. I would next time use a pan bigger than the 10inches because mine grew bigger than the pan but still looks awesome. Can’t wait to finish these tomorrow. Thanks for an awesome recipe.
These were perfect. Absolutely, no-question-about-it, perfect. mmmmm
Looks so good! I definitely have to try them! (:
Thanks for posting all these great recipes in one easy find place! My parents will celebrate their 58th Valentine anniversary this year. I am thinking cheesecake truffles. YUM!
This might be silly but… Could the cheescake be baked individually in mini muffin pans? Loving all your recipes. Indulge & Enjoy the Holidays.
Absolutely!
Hi,
I tried this recipe over the weekend. I baked the two 9 inch cheese cakes with no water bath. The next day I cut the cheescake into pieces and then dipped them in the melted chocolate, I found this to be a little less messy, but the pieces were mostly rectangular. Chocolate dipped cheesecake whats not to like.
Definitely have to try this one! They look divine!
You said yours took significantly longer to cook than the recipe indicated. Do you remember how long you cooked it for?
I made these for Easter because my youngest was begging for cheesecake. They were awesome! A definite kid favorite. Creamy cheesecake with chocolate…yummy. Can’t say enough how great these were. Thanks for testing all the baking recipes I wish I had time for. Your website is my first stop when I want to make something sweet.
Wow, cheesecake and truffles? Perfect! I made my first cake truffles a few months ago and thought it couldn’t get better. I must now try these cheesecake truffles you have so graciously shown light upon. ;D
Absolutely amazing, thanks for sharing!
These are awesome, what a creation!
Oh my…I just made these and they are fantastic!! I agree, rolling the cheesecake was extremely messy, and mine are far from being round. But they taste fantastic and it was so fun decorating them. Fabulous recipe!
They look amazing! Chocolate and cheesecake… I can’t imagine a better combination.
YUUUUUUUM.
I made these with hazelnut meal instead of flour and. YUM.
How did you get them so round?
Mine look like little alien heads haha sticky sticky fingers. But worth it.
I own that same square muffin tin… thanks for offering another suggestion for using it… because this recipe’s definitely a repeater even if it DOES make a mess. Great job…your truffles are stunning.
I hope you are enjoying your holiday. Coming home is going to be heaps easier now that you have a freezer full of these delicious looking treats. Yum!
Seriously, you inspired me to make them. And they’re fabulous. Absolutely wonderful, especially as bonbons… I think I’m going to keep a freezer bag too, though I shouldn’t!!!
Yours are so beautiful!
i could only fit about 8 pops in my freezer at a time, because i only had one shelf in my freezer where i could fit them. your “truffles” look great, beautifully drizzled :) i giggled when i saw the 3rd pic – you can see the teeth marks ;)
Great job! I want that square tin!
I’m glad the recipe worked without the water bath. I hate using a water bath.
great great great job :) congratulations !
Mmm cheesecake truffles. Just the name makes them sound extra special! I love the thick chocolate drizzle on top of them. Yum.
Your pops look delicious!
I had a similar problem with my freezer, it was too narrow to fit a cookie sheet so I had to improvise in order to freeze my pops.
The squares are adorable and i love the truffle idea. Great job on these!
Those a GORGEOUS! Great job on your challenge. I like the use of the square muffin pan – hmmmm, something I don’t have in my collection… ideas ;) The truffle idea is terrific.
those look fantastic! i love the idea of turning them into truffles–and yours are so perfectly round!
They are beautiful! Love the truffle idea, great job!
Cheesecake truflles rock!! They look wonderful!
They look fabulous – I must invest in one of those pans! Hx
I LOVE that you made them truffles b/c EVERYONE I looked at reminded me of some gourmet truffles…and you actually made them that! Yum! They look fabulous!
I have a drawer freezer, but laid mine on their sides for freezer time. They were so close to the light I had to take a picture! Great job on yours though…they look yummy and I love things you can just pop in your mouth!
Beautiful beautiful beautiful. I also did this but mine weren’t half as gorgeous as yours. Excellent result.
Dang! These look tasttteee. Great job. Can you send me some? I think that cheesecake balls will help me get A’s. I know it!
truffles is a great idea! I should have ditched the sticks and gone for truffles!
You make such great truffles
Your truffles look great! I love the contrasting drizzle. I had to do quite a bit of rearranging to be able to fit my pops in the freezer–the lollipop sticks do make it rather challenging.
Your cheesecake truffles look AMAZING! Well done.
Oooh, cheesecake truffles. Now THAT’S a great idea! They look fabulous!
Really nice job. Your drizzle effect turned out wonderful.
Pops… truffles… it’s all good! And yours look beautiful!
Great job- the square shape and the drizzling look fab!
Really beautiful! I love the drizzled effect. True that you really need a lot of freezer space to use the sticks, but I think the eating is easier without them.
beautiful Chelle! your truffles look amazing. cheesecake and chocolate is one of my favorite dessert combinations. i’m gonna have to go find one of those square shaped pans, cause those look adorable :-)
Looks like a Pampered chef brownie pan
They look awesome!! I am glad you were finally able to use the pan. The drizzling makes for one prefessional looking truffle pop. :)
Nice job – and great great pictures. I’m such a camera moron and sit in awe of people who take great pictures.
These look so pretty with the drizzled chocolate! I’m definitely saving this recipe to make again. They would make great gifts at Christmas or for snacks at parties. Have fun at the beach :)
Nice!!! Looks good. I like the drizzling.