A buttery shortbread crust, creamy sprinkle-dotted cheesecake filling, white chocolate ganache, and vanilla bean whipped cream make up this 9-Inch Funfetti Birthday Cheesecake.
I have created a repertoire of 6-inch cheesecake on here, and they are honestly the cutest little cakes! Many of you have asked for a 9 inch conversion, and I’m happy to say that in creating this cheesecake, I also have a conversion for all of my 6-inch cheesecakes as well! Keep reading for that below. This funfetti birthday cheesecake is truly phenomenal: a buttery shortbread crust is filled with creamy, sprinkle-dotted cheesecake, and then topped with a white chocolate ganache, vanilla bean whipped cream, and more sprinkles. It is so fun and colorful; perfect for any birthday celebration or just because you love cheesecake! Let’s make it.
What you need to make the funfetti birthday cheesecake:
Shortbread cookies
Salted butter
Cream cheese
Granulated sugar
Heavy Cream
Large eggs
Vanilla bean paste
White chocolate chips
Rainbow sprinkles
The Crust
The shortbread crust is the same crust you’ll find in my Cranberry Mini Cheesecake Tarts. It starts with crushing about 2 ½ bags of Walkers Pure Butter Shortbread Mini Festive Stars. These incredibly flavorful cookies make the ideal crust. It is a perfect balance of buttery and sweet, made simply with the shortbread cookies, granulated sugar, and melted butter.
Begin by crushing your cookies, either in a food processor, or in a large Ziploc bag with a rolling pin. You will want fine cookie crumbs, so your crust is nice and smooth. Melt your butter in the microwave on high for 30-60 seconds, and then combine it with the crumbs and the sugar in a medium sized bowl. Mix until no dry cookie crumbs remain. Line your 9-inch springform cheesecake pan with parchment paper on the bottom. Gently press the crust into your pan, working it up the sides. Press the bottom and sides down with the bottom of a glass. Set this aside while you make the filling.
The Filling
The best cheesecake filling is make of five staple ingredients: cream cheese, granulated sugar, heavy cream, vanilla bean paste, and large eggs. These ingredients form the creamiest dreamiest cheesecake base, and from there we can create a gamut of flavors from Oreo to Peanut Butter to Espresso! For this funfetti cheesecake, we add colorful sprinkles to the batter and to the top for extra pizazz.
So which type of cream cheese is best for this cheesecake? The answer: full fat cream cheese. You can absolutely experiment with lighter cream cheese, but the decadence factor will definitely come down a few notches so beware of low fat subs here.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until fluffy, about 60 seconds. Add the heavy cream and pure vanilla bean paste. Mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for about twenty seconds between eggs. Do not over-mix this part. Fold in the rainbow sprinkles until evenly incorporated.
Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust pan. Place foil around the bottom to create a barrier for the water bath, or use an Easy Bath Cheesecake Wrap for a reusable, waterproof barrier in place of the foil (product linked below). Place the wrapped cheesecake pan into a larger baking dish {I used a 10-inch baking pan since I had it easily accessible}. Add about 2 inches of water to the larger pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Check the cheesecake at the hour mark and if it’s browning too quickly, cover the top loosely with foil for the remainder of the bake time. The cheesecake should be mostly set and golden on the top and edges but slightly jiggly in the middle. It will set up further as it cools. Allow it to cool in the water bath pan for 30 minute. Gently remove it from the water bath and place it in the refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight until chilled and fully set.
The Ganache + Whipped Cream
This ganache is simply white chocolate chips plus heavy cream. So what is the best ratio of chocolate to cream for ganache? Simple: one part cream to two parts chips.
Heat the heavy cream in the microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds or until hot, but not bubbling. Please the white chocolate chips into the hot bowl of cream, and ensure that all of the chips are covered. Let this stand for five minutes, and then whisk until the ganache is smooth. Pour the ganache over the chilled cheesecake and pop it back into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes for the ganache to set while you make the whipped cream.
To make the whipped cream, simply combine the ⅔ cup heavy cream, a tablespoon and a half of granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. Whip until stiff peaks form. Pipe or spread onto your cooled cheesecake just prior to serving it. Add more sprinkles too!
The Conversion from 9-Inch to 6-Inch (and back again)
This 9-inch cheesecake is easily converted to a 6-inch, and my 6-inch cheesecakes are now easily converted to 9-inch cakes!
Now this isn’t a standard “triple the recipe” sort of conversion. The 6-inch cheesecakes tripled would be too large for the 9–inch pan. The conversion is a perfect balance of ingredients meant for the 9-inch pan.
To convert this 9-inch cheesecake to a 6-inch cheesecake:
Keep the crust measurements the same. This crust is perfect for a 9-inch as is, and extra thick plus taller for the 6-inch pan!
Use ⅓ the cream cheese (from 24 ounces to 8 ounces)
Use ⅓ the granulated sugar (from 1 ½ cups to ½ cup)
Half the heavy cream (from ⅔ to ⅓ cup)
Half the vanilla extract or bean paste (from 1 tablespoon to ½ tablespoon)
Use ⅓ the eggs (from 3 to 1)
I would say to use approximately ⅓ of the mix-ins as well, although you could half them if you want an extra filled cheesecake (say with my Oreo cheesecake).
The bake temperature is the same at 350°. The bake time is shorter at 75-90 minutes depending on the thickness of the cheesecake (the more mix-ins, like Oreos, the thicker the cheesecake requiring a slightly longer bake time). I find that generally I go about 85-90 minutes for mine, and my oven is very average.
This works in reverse for converting the 6-inch cakes to 9-inches:
Keep the crust the same. Triple the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and eggs. Double the heavy cream and the vanilla extract or bean paste (you can double any other extracts as well).
Triple any mix-in’s such as peanut butter, nutella, or cocoa powders. Double or triple any candy mix-in’s such as Oreos to your liking.
For the ganaches, whipped creams, and other toppings, double these ingredients.
For any questions, simply send me a message via email or Instagram. I’m happy to chat!
Products Used
Here is one link to all of the products I used in making this cheesecake. I linked the 9-inch springform pan (which comes with pre-cut parchment liners!), the water bath liner (in 6-inches and 9-inches, I have both and love them), the piping bags, and piping tip.
Peruse my entire storefront for the items that I bake and style with daily! My promise to you is to never share a product that I don’t personally use and love.
Dietary Substitutions
I love providing gluten and dairy free substitutions so that those with alternate dietary needs can enjoy my recipes to their fullest! These are subs that I have either used and continue to stock in my own home, or that have come highly recommended from others. I want your baking experience to be the best it can be, and avoiding gluten or dairy shouldn’t hinder that process in the slightest.
As always, here is a list of tried and true dietary substitutes, so that you can enjoy this recipe without the additions of gluten or dairy.
Walker makes a Gluten Free Shortbread that would be neigh identical in this crust. Simply sub in at a 1:1 ratio and continue as instructed.
Due to the nature of the butter cookies in this crust, it would not be possible to make the crust dairy free. If you desire a dairy free crust, I suggest subbing in my Graham cracker crust and choosing dairy free grahams crackers.
Miyokos butter is a plant based brick that closely resembles dairy butter not only in its look, but it’s taste as well. It melts, browns, and spreads just like real butter, and truly is a fantastic substitute in this recipe. Use it at a 1:1 ratio in this recipe.
Miyokos also makes a wonderful cream cheese that would be an excellent dairy free base in this recipe.
Silk Dairy Free Heavy Cream is a great option for both the cheesecake and the whipped topping.
If you loved this funfetti birthday cheesecake recipe, I’d be so grateful for you to leave a 5 star rating + review.
Tag @heathershomebakery on Instagram if you upload a pic too, because I want to see your creations.
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XO,
Heather
Funfetti Birthday Cheesecake
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 ½ Cups Shortbread Cookie Crumbs
- ½ Cup Salted Butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
For the Cheesecake Filling:
- 24 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ Cups Granulated Sugar
- ⅔ Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
- 3 Large Eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ Cup Rainbow Sprinkles
For the White Chocolate Ganache:
- ½ Cup White Chocolate Chips
- ¼ Cup Heavy Cream
For the Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream:
- ⅔ Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Bean Paste
Topping:
- 2 Tablespoons Rainbow Sprinkles
Instructions
- For the crust: Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Mix the cookie crumbs, the melted butter, and sugar in a medium bowl with a fork until fully combined. The texture should be like wet sand. Press the crust into the 9-prepared pan, working your way up the sides a bit. Using the bottom of a glass, press the bottom and edges until it is firmly and evenly covering the pan and the sides. Set aside.
- For the cheesecake filling: Beat the cream cheese and the sugar on medium for about 2 minutes. Cream cheese should be light and fluffy. Add the heavy cream and vanilla bean paste, mixing until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Add each egg at a time, and mix until just incorporated. Do not over-mix the eggs into the batter. Gently fold the sprinkles into the filling until evenly incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Line the outside bottom of the pan with foil and ensure that it is fully covered three inches up the sides. This should be able to withstand the bath and not get water into the cheesecake. You can also use a waterproof cheesecake bath liner (see blog for link). Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 45 min. If you find that you top is browning too quickly, lightly cover it with foil at the 60 minute mark. Cheesecake should be mostly set and golden on the edges but slightly jiggly in the middle. It will set up further as it cools. Allow it to cool in the water bath for 30 minutes. Remove it from the water bath and place in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours or overnight to chill completely.
- For the ganache and whipped cream: Begin by making the ganache. Heat the heavy cream in a small bowl on high for 60 seconds in the microwave. Alternatively you can heat it on medium in a pan on the stovetop until it is starting to steam but not boiling. Place the white chocolate chips in the bowl and let it sit untouched for five minutes. Ensure all of the chips are covered by the cream. Whip the ganache until smooth, about a minute. Pour it over the chilled cheesecake and place it back into the fridge while you make the whipped cream. Place the heavy cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla bean paste into a small bowl and whip with a hand mixer for two to three minutes or until stiff peaks form. Pipe or spread the whipped cream on top of the ganache. Top with more rainbow sprinkles. Serve and store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to five day. Best stored without the homemade whipped cream, but it should last overnight just fine. By day three it could get a little runny, and if that’s the case, simply scrape it off and enjoy without or make a new batch of whipped cream.
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