Easy Funfetti Cheesecake Recipe
A festive and fun Birthday Cake that’s a little extra special! This easy Funfetti Cheesecake recipe is the ultimate Funfetti cake for celebrating an occasion. Just a few simple ingredients are blended together, swirled with rainbow sprinkles and baked in a buttery cookie crust. Topped with an easy whipped cream frosting and you have a vibrant dessert worthy of a celebration all it’s own.
Funfetti Cheesecake
Happy Birthday….to me! Today’s my birthday and I’m so feeling all the feelings about it today. I’m a little older…..way more wiser…..and so much more comfortable with just me than I was last year. A lot has happened this year that has made me realize, it’s ok to celebrate you. Celebrate life. Celebrate being one year older because that means….you’re still living. And that’s a big reason to celebrate.
I lost my aunt a couple months ago to a sudden illness and it was so very raw….and totally eye opening because I just never thought about her not being in my life. All those things people say about losing a loved one washed over me….I wish I visited her more….I wish I appreciated her more…..I wish she knew how much I loved her snarky, never hold back personality. It made me appreciate life and everyone around me so much more.
And my usual blasé way about mentioning my birthday has definitely changed over the years when I would bake myself a festive treat but this year, I’m taking a somewhat new direction. Of course, I baked myself a Funfetti Cheesecake but I’m also celebrating the day by visiting a restaurant I’ve been wanting to go to for over 10 years…..I’m going skiing for the first time in over 20 years…..and I’m not going to feel badly about celebrating myself every single day this year. Because you never know when your party will end.
So…..not to sound totally cliche…..but live life like it’s your last day on earth. No REGERTS. (yes, I know I spelled regrets wrong but it’s my weird sense of humor and some of you will get it…..others, just make this Funfetti Cake.)
Since I’m a big fan of the Cheesecake Factory and have been on a cheesecake recipe making roll….I thought, what better way to celebrate another year that starts with the number “4” than with a festive Funfetti Cheesecake Birthday Cake! Everyone loves sprinkles, they’re so bright and fun….so I love to put them in as much as I can….and on just about everything that’s considered dessert.
What is a Funfetti Cheesecake?
Basically, a Funfetti Cake recipe is a white cake filled with colorful sprinkles in the batter. They kind of melt into the cake while it’s baking creating kind of a watercolor effect speckled in the cake. It’s one of the most beautifully simple desserts ever and who doesn’t want to dig into a rainbow speckled cake on their big day?
How To Make It
To start this easy Funfetti Cheesecake recipe, I referred to my favorite New York Style Cheesecake and then simply added a bit of almond extract to make it taste like a vanilla birthday cake. Once the batter was ready, I folded in a healthy helping of rainbow sprinkles.
It’s important to use the long sprinkles or “jimmies” and not the nonpareil sprinkles as the smaller nonpareils bleed easily and will make your cheesecake a very unappetizing color.
I also swapped out the graham crackers for the crust and used vanilla wafer cookies to create a sugar cookie crust. To make the cheesecake:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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In a large bowl, mix together the vanilla wafer cookie crumbs, sugar, butter and salt until clumps begin to form.
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Press the crumb mixture into a springform pan firmly and evenly across the bottom and halfway up the sides.
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Transfer the crust to the oven and bake until set, approximately 10 minutes.
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Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool completely. Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with foil.
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Reduce the oven to 325 degrees.
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Add the cream cheese to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes.
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Beat in the sugar, vanilla and almond extract scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed.
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Add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Fold in the sprinkles
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Pour the filling into the crust and set in a deep baking pan.
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Transfer the baking pan to the oven and fill with water. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until set but still wobbly in the center.
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Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
- Top with the whipped cream frosting and decorate with more sprinkles, if desired.
Pro Tips for Perfect Cheesecake
- Be sure all your filling ingredients are room temperature. This allows the ingredients to combine easily and become smooth without any lumps.
- Do not skip the water bath! Placing your foil wrapped pan in the water bath during the baking time required will help to eliminate any cracking.
- Do not over bake your cheesecake. The sides will be dry and firm to the touch but the center will still be wobbly. The cheesecake will firm up while it chills overnight.
- To cut your cheesecake, run a knife under hot water and make your first cut. Wipe the blade with a warm, damp paper towel in between cuts.
More Easy Cake Recipes
- Pink Champagne Cake.…so fun and festive!
- Pink Champagne Cupcakes! Like the cake but mini.
- Milk Bar Copycat Birthday Cake….Funfetti Cake on steroids.
- Red Velvet Coconut Cake….a southern twist
More Funfetti Recipes
- This Funfetti Birthday Cake Hot Chocolate is amazeballs!
- Start the day with a Funfetti Coffee Cake…or mini coffee cake muffins!
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Get the Recipe: Easy Funfetti Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs approximately 12 ounces whole cookies
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling:
- 4 8- ounce blocks cream cheese room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 4 large eggs
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup rainbow sprinkles
For the whipped cream frosting:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pink food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, sugar, butter and salt until clumps begin to form.
- Press the crumb mixture into a springform pan firmly and evenly across the bottom and halfway up the sides.
- Transfer the crust to the oven and bake until set, approximately 10 minutes.
- Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool completely. Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with foil.
- Reduce the oven to 325 degrees.
- Add the cream cheese to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy, approximately 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in the sugar, vanilla and almond extract scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed.
- Add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Fold in the sprinkles.
- Pour the filling into the crust and set in a deep baking pan.
- Transfer the baking pan to the oven and fill with water. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until set but still wobbly in the center.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
- In a large bowl, beat the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. On low speed, mix in the food coloring until blended.
- Transfer the whipped cream frosting to a piping bag and pipe onto the top of the cake using a star tip.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
One Comment on “Easy Funfetti Cheesecake Recipe”
Happy Birthday to you – I hope this year is a great one! And thanks for this cheesecake recipe – it sounds amazing!