Mini Chocolate Orange Cheesecakes
These mini chocolate orange cheesecakes with an Oreo cookie crust are incredibly easy to make in a muffin pan. They’ll be a crowd-pleaser at your next party or holiday celebration! Their rich, creamy chocolate filling is perfectly balanced with a subtle orange flavor, courtesy of fresh orange juice and zest.
If you’ve never tried the flavor combination of chocolate and orange, I urge you to make this recipe your introduction.
Oh gosh, you guys. These mini chocolate orange cheesecakes are sooo good! These rich, creamy cheesecakes have the *perfect* hint of subtle orange flavor.
As I was testing this recipe (I tested it multiple times in one week!) I kept looking at the finished product trying to figure out what was missing. Then it finally dawned on me. Chocolate whipped cream and orange zest.
If you want to get wild, you could make candied oranges and use them as cake toppers too. The possibilities are truly endless.
These cheesecakes are perfect for holiday parties (Christmas, I’m looking at you) or to substitute as birthday cupcakes. They’re a cinch to make and are a chocolate lover’s dream. Looking for other delicious Christmas recipes? Check out these sourdough discard gingerbread blondies or sourdough discard cranberry white chocolate muffins!
Looking for Other Chocolate Recipes? Check These Out!
- Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake
- Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Old-Fashioned Brownies with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
- Turtle Cheesecake with Biscoff Cookie Crust
- Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Nutella Stuffed Cookies
Ingredients
- Melted Butter – I use salted butter. If you only have unsalted butter, add 1/8 teaspoon of salt to the cheesecake batter.
- Oreo Cookies – Regular Oreo cookies are used here!
- Cream Cheese – Full-fat block-style cream cheese *not* whipped cream cheese. Make sure it is room temperature.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar – Helps give this cheesecake its rich chocolatey flavor.
- Cocoa Powder – Unsweetened cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder is best for this recipe.
- Granulated Sugar – This adds just the perfect amount of sweet.
- Orange Zest and Orange Juice – I used one medium orange for this recipe, which was the perfect amount of zest and orange juice needed. Grab an extra orange if you’d like to top the cheesecakes with some orange zest as well!
- Greek Yogurt – Full-fat Greek yogurt was used in this recipe, but full-fat sour cream is another fantastic option! Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature.
- Eggs – Room temperature eggs are perfect to give this cheesecake its smooth texture.
- Vanilla Extract
- Heavy Cream – This and the chocolate chips combine to make a rich chocolate ganache for the top of the cheesecakes.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step One: Preheat your oven to 325°F and line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners. Set the pan aside. Using a food processor or blender, finely crush the Oreos.
Melt the butter in the microwave, then combine the melted butter with the crushed Oreos in a medium mixing bowl.
Fill each muffin cup evenly with the crushed Oreo mixture and press them firmly down with your fingers. Bake for 5 minutes.
Step Two: Melt the semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave, heating in 30-second intervals and stirring between each until fully melted.
Set the chocolate aside to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and Greek yogurt for about 2 minutes, or until smooth. Then, mix in the melted chocolate and granulated sugar.
Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Incorporate orange zest and freshly squeezed orange juice, then mix until the batter is smooth.
Step Three: Pour the batter evenly into each muffin cup. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven, open the oven door, and leave the cheesecakes in the oven as they slowly cool down to room temperature.
Step Four: Make the chocolate ganache by microwaving the chocolate chips and heavy cream and whisking until smooth. Top each cheesecake with the ganache and chill in the fridge for 3-5 hours before serving.
Top with chocolate whipped cream and orange zest (optional, but totally worth it!).
Detailed instructions and specific measurements are listed in the recipe card below!
Tips for Making the Best Mini Cheesecakes
- Use room temperature ingredients. This is huge! To avoid clumps in your cheesecake, make sure you’re using room-temperature cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and even room-temperature eggs!
- Let the cheesecake cool down slowly. The reason I instruct you to open the oven door and let the cheesecakes gradually cool down to room temperature before transferring to the fridge is to avoid cracks in the cheesecake. *IF* cracks still appear on the tops, have no fear. The chocolate ganache and whipped cream will hide them. 😉
- Make them ahead of time! Make these bad boys ahead to save yourself a ton of time! They also freeze beautifully, so if you want to make them several days ahead, just stick them in the freezer until you’re ready to serve them. Just make sure to store them in an airtight container.
Storage
Store these mini cheesecakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze these cheesecakes in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Mini Chocolate Orange Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the Oreo cookie crust
- 18 regular Oreo cookies finely crushed
- 5 tablespoons salted butter melted
For the chocolate orange cheesecake
- 16 ounces full-fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1/4 cup full-fat Greek yogurt room temperature
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate melted
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons orange zest the zest from one medium-sized orange
- 1/4 cup orange juice the juice from one medium-sized orange
For the chocolate ganache
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
For the chocolate whipped cream
- 1/2 cup heavy cream cold
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the Crust: Preheat oven to 325℉. Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners and set aside. Use a food processor or blender to finely crush 18 Oreos. Melt the butter (about 20-30 seconds in the microwave). Mix together the melted butter and crushed Oreos in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Scoop 2 tablespoons of the crushed Oreo mixture into the bottom of each lined muffin tin. Press down with your fingers to form a solid crust. Bake the Oreo crust in the preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- Make the Cheesecake: Melt the 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate by microwaving in 30-second increments, whisking in between. Once the chocolate is melted, set it aside. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the cream cheese and Greek yogurt for about 2 minutes, or until smooth. Add the melted semi-sweet chocolate and granulated sugar.
- Add the eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla extract and cocoa powder. Use a citrus zester to zest the orange into the batter. Then juice the orange and add the juice into the batter. Mix all ingredients until the batter is smooth.
- Bake the Cheesecake: Fill each lined muffin cup with cheesecake batter all the way to the top. Bake the mini cheesecakes for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn the oven off and open the oven door. Keep the muffin pan in the oven as it cools down. Let the mini cheesecakes cool for 20-30 minutes before removing the pan and adding the chocolate ganache.
- Make the Chocolate Ganache: Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and heavy cream to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second increments, whisking each time until the chocolate and cream are melted together. Whisk until smooth. Top each mini cheesecake with a tablespoon of chocolate ganache. Transfer the muffin pan of cheesecakes to the fridge to chill for 3-5 hours before serving.
- Make the Chocolate Whipped Cream (Optional): To make the chocolate whipped cream, add cold heavy cream, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract to a cold, large mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer set on medium-high and mix the ingredients for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid turns to a light whipped cream texture.
- Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag equipped with a piping tip and pipe the chocolate whipped cream onto each cheesecake. If you have an extra orange, you can zest over the mini cheesecakes as added decoration. Serve immediately, or transfer back into the fridge until it's time to serve the mini cheesecakes.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. This is huge! To avoid clumps in your cheesecake, make sure you’re using room-temperature cream cheese, Greek yogurt, and even room-temperature eggs!
- Let the cheesecake cool down slowly. The reason I instruct you to open the oven door and let the cheesecakes gradually cool down to room temperature before transferring to the fridge is to avoid cracks in the cheesecake. *IF* cracks still appear on the tops, have no fear. The chocolate ganache and whipped cream will hide them. 😉
- Make them ahead of time! Make these bad boys ahead to save yourself a ton of time! They also freeze beautifully, so if you want to make them several days ahead, just stick them in the freezer until you’re ready to serve them. Just make sure to store them in an airtight container.
