This creamy cheesecake features the delicious flavor combination of sweet white chocolate and tart cranberries. This is a beautiful dessert for the holidays that is sure to impress!
This recipe checks all the boxes: flavor, texture, appearance, and ease. No complex techniques or equipment needed. In fact, the actual cheesecake filling happens to be no-bake.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
Flavor: The perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors from white chocolate, cranberries, and vanilla.
Texture: Graham cracker crust, creamy filling, and pops of fresh cranberries all throughout.
Appearance: The contrasting white and red colors make this cheesecake a beautiful holiday dessert.
Ease: An easy no-bake cheesecake filling and shortcut options for using a store bought crust and/or pre-made cranberry sauce.
Recipe overview
*Full recipe below in recipe card*
Graham cracker crust: A combination of graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. Although the filling of the cheesecake is “no-bake” I recommend baking the crust to help it setup and slice neatly.
White chocolate cheesecake filling: A combination of melted white chocolate, cream cheese, whipped cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
Cranberry sauce: A small batch of homemade cranberry sauce is made with fresh cranberries, sugar, water, and orange zest. The cranberry sauce gets layered with the white chocolate cheesecake filling.
Assembly: Scoop the cheesecake filling and the cooled cranberry sauce into the crust and spread into an even layer. I do this by alternating large dollops of the cream cheese mixture with the cranberry sauce and swirling and spreading them together with the tip of a sharp knife. Refrigerate the pie for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
Garnishes: Before serving top with whipped cream, cranberries, and white chocolate shavings.
Optional shortcuts
If you’d like to take a shortcut you have the following options:
Graham cracker crust: Swap the homemade graham cracker crust for a store bought graham cracker crust. Note: When testing this recipe with a store bought crust I had a small amount of cheesecake filling leftover because the crust was slightly smaller than my homemade crust. Leftover filling makes a great fruit dip.
Cranberry sauce: You can use one cup of store bought cranberry sauce. Be sure that it is whole berry cranberry sauce.
Recipe tips
- This recipe requires chill time throughout various steps of the recipe. Be sure to read through to make sure you have time before getting started.
- Cream cheese should be “block” style, not in a tub like you’d spread on a bagel.
- Cream cheese should be room temperature so that it blends smoothly.
- Heavy cream should be cold, straight from the fridge, so that it whips properly.
- White chocolate should be melted very slowly. If it gets overheated it will seize up and you’ll have to throw it away and start over.
- Prefer mini cheesecakes? Try our Mini Cheesecake Recipe.
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Recipe
White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake
Ingredients
Graham cracker crust:
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cranberry sauce:
- 8 oz fresh cranberries, about 2½ cups
- ¼ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Filling:
- ⅔ cup good quality white chocolate chips, I use Guittard or Ghirardelli
- 1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons chilled heavy whipping cream, divided
- 1 cup powdered sugar, divided
- 12 ounces full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- cranberries and white chocolate shavings, for garnish
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter, stirring until well combined.
- Dump into a 9-inch pie plate that is approximately 2 inches high (not springform). Press the crumbs into the bottom and at least halfway up the sides (I use the bottom of a measuring cup). Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown and fragrant. Cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, proceed with the cranberry sauce.
Cranberry sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened and most of the cranberries have burst. Transfer to a bowl and cool. You can cool to room temperature or refrigerate.
Filling:
- Combine the white chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in a bowl. Microwave in 15 second increments, stirring well between each, until melted and smooth. Note: do this very slowly so that the white chocolate does not overheat. Alternatively, you can use a double boiler to melt the white chocolate and cream. Cool slightly, it should still be melted but not hot.
- Using a hand mixer, or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the remaining 1¾ cups heavy cream and ⅓ cup powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Transfer to the refrigerator and proceed with the rest of the filling.
- In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and melted white chocolate until smooth. Add remaining ⅔ cup powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until until smooth and combined and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Add about two-thirds (eyeball it) of the chilled whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture. Fold until combined. Place the remaining whipped cream back in the fridge (this will be for topping the pie).
- Scoop the filling and the cooled cranberry sauce into the crust and spread into an even layer. I do this by alternating large dollops of the cream cheese mixture with the cranberry sauce and swirling/spreading them together with the tip of a sharp knife. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, until firm and chilled.
Serving:
- Right before serving, add the reserved whipped cream to the top of the pie. If the whipped cream has lost some of its volume you can whip it again. I used a star piping tip and added the whipped cream around the perimeter of the pie. Garnish with cranberries and white chocolate shavings.
Notes
- This recipe requires chill time throughout various steps of the recipe. Be sure to read through to make sure you have time before getting started.
- Cream cheese should be “block” style, not in a tub like you’d spread on a bagel.
- Cream cheese should be room temperature so that it blends smoothly.
- Heavy cream should be cold, straight from the fridge, so that it whips properly.
- White chocolate should be melted very slowly. If it gets overheated it will seize up and you’ll have to throw it away and start over.
Nutrition
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
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