Christmas Cheesecake (Cranberry Jam White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake)
Amazing Christmas Cheesecake to make your holiday season as delicious and magical as you imagine! This heavenly dessert is a vanilla bean cheesecake layered with an easy cranberry jam and smooth white chocolate mousse.
CHRISTMAS DESSERT
It’s no wonder that this time of year is referred to as “the season of baking.” It seems like I bake every day in December. Making treats for holiday parties, making edible gifts, making cookies with kids, and of course, Christmas dinner dessert. That is a lot of baking for one month.
My favorite parts of holiday baking is making gingerbread man cookies with my little man and coming up with a Christmas dinner dessert. Making cookies is the best tradition for kids and one they remember the most as they grow up. While making cookies is the best memory for the kids, I make Christmas dessert cake for adults. I like to go big with dessert because it’s the grand finale of every dinner and party. If I could rig fireworks to go off when I bring out the dessert, I would. Until then, the dessert will have to speak for itself.
Oh boy, does this dessert speak for itself!
This cheesecake will make your holidays MAGICAL. Between the sweet and tart cranberry jam, silky vanilla bean cheesecake and smooth white chocolate mousse, this dessert is a heavenly combination of flavors and textures.
The candied cranberries on top of this cheesecake are totally OPTIONAL. It takes a while to make them so you can just decorate the cheesecake with white chocolate mousse if you don’t want to deal with the cranberries.
Not to say that it’s not worth it. I LOVE candied cranberries. When I was little, it was my favorite winter treat. So if you love candied cranberries, you can even make a double batch and use some for the cheesecake and the rest to snack on.
MORE HOLIDAY DESSERTS TO TRY
White Chocolate Cranberry Soft and Chewy Crinkle Cookies
Cranberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
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Christmas Cheesecake Recipe (Cranberry Jam White Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake)
Ingredients
Cranberry Jam:
- 16 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
Crust:
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 5 Tbsp butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cheesecake Filling:
- 24 oz cream cheese softened
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
White Chocolate Mousse:
- 8 oz baking white chocolate bars (2-4 oz bars)
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 8 oz whipped topping like COOL Whip
Candied Cranberries: (Optional)
- 8 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup fine white granulated sugar or caster sugar
Instructions
Candied Cranberries (overnight):
- Combine water and 1 1/2 cups of sugar in a sauce pot, over medium heat. Heat the mixture until sugar is all dissolved, while stirring slowly. Take off heat.
- Let the mixture cool a bit before adding cranberries. Add cranberries, stir, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Drain cranberries in a colander.
- Add 1/2 cup of sugar to a shallow bowl and coat cranberries is sugar. Set aside until ready to decorate.
Quick Cranberry Jam:
- In a sauce pot, over medium heat, combine cranberries, sugar and vanilla extract. Mix well cook cranberries stirring often. Cook for 12-15 minutes. Take off heat and let it cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 325℉ degrees and grease a 9 inch springform pan. You will need a large roasting pan that’s bigger and longer than the springform pan. (I use the aluminum foil disposable ones). If you are not sure about your springform holding up in water, you can wrap the outside of the springform pan in heavy duty aluminum foil from bottom up to the sides. (I recommend wrapping the outside of the springform in foil before adding the crust and cheesecake batter.)
Cheesecake:
- Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir very well, until all incorporated. Press graham cracker mixture into the pan, evenly, all over the bottom and about half way up the side.
- Spread half of the cranberry jam over the crust.
Cheesecake:
- Start beating cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Add vanilla extract, and sour cream. Mix until combined.
- Add eggs, one at the time, beating after each addition. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and beat until all incorporated.
- Lower speed and add corn starch. While on medium-low speed, pour in heavy cream. Mix until all combined, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again until smooth.
- Cut vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds into the cheesecake batter. Mix well until incorporated throughout.
- Spoon all of the cheesecake batter into the springform, over the jam.
- Place roasting pan into the oven and place the cheesecake springform pan inside the roasting pan. Carefully add water to the roasting pan, about half way up the side of the springform.
- Bake for 70-75 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the oven door half way. Let cheesecake rest for about 10 minutes and take it out of the oven (out of the roasting pan and carefully take off the foil).
- Let it rest for 20 minutes on the counter and then gently run a greased butter knife between sides of the cheesecakes and the springform to carefully separate it. (You don't actually have to take the cheesecake out of the pan until ready to add topping.)
- Cool cheesecake for an hour.
- Spread remaining cranberry jam over the top of the cheesecake. Cover the pan with saran wrap and place the cheesecake in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before adding the mousse.
White Chocolate Mousse:
- Break up white chocolate bars and melt them according the to package instructions.
- Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes.
- Drizzle in melted white chocolate while continuing to beat cream cheese. Mix well.
- Fold in whipped topping gently until all combined.
- Spread white chocolate mousse over the top of the cheesecake. You can separate the mousse in two batches and use one batch to decorate with a frosting tip.
- If using candied cranberries, spread them on top of the white chocolate mousse.
Video
Notes
- Without topping: This is the best way to freeze it is without frosting or sugared cranberries. Bake and cool the cheesecake, skip the mousse and cranberries, wrap air-tight in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then add the topping and decorations.
Nutrition
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All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Everyone loved it at our family Christmas, even the people who don’t like cranberries. It was super easy to make and looked beautiful. I did NOT use a vanilla bean, instead I just subbed an additional 1 Tbsp of vanilla (which seemed like a lot, but really was not). This cheesecake was not super sweet at all. The cranberry flavor was a bit muted and the white chocolate didn’t stand out, but that could easily be because everything just worked so well together. I would make this again and I am sure a family member will ask me for the recipe soon 🙂
I wrote this review but wanted to add: there were a lot of steps, but it was super easy to follow (and that was with a 5 and 2 year old running around causing chaos). Also, I did use Cool Whip (which I don’t usually like, but you couldn’t tell it was in there). And I did NOT add the candied cranberries, but I wish I would have.
Lastly and most importantly! I found this recipe after finding but AI generated slop on Pinterest (I use AI all the time for work and hobbies, but recipes are way TOO hit and miss). I Googled “white chocolate cranberry cheesecake” and set the filter to only posts from 2019 or older. So glad I did!
Question, can real whipped cream be substituted for the cool whip?
Yes, you can. I go over how to stabilize the real whipped cream it in my Christmas Cheesecake Bars Recipe. Here is the link https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/christmas-cheesecake-bars-cranberry-white-chocolate-cheesecake-bars/
How long can I keep this in the refrigerator before adding the white chocolate mousse/
It might not be the cheapest cheesecake in the world but I make cheesecakes a lot It’s kind of my thing and this is by far the best cheesecake I’ve ever made! 😋
This has become a Christmas tradition for me and it is my fourth Christmas in a row to make it for my family! 💚🎄💚🎄💚. Thank you for this beautiful cheesecake recipe!
This absolutely made my day, thank you so much! 🥰 Coming from someone who makes cheesecakes often, that means everything to me. I love that it’s become a Christmas tradition for your family and that this is your fourth year making it, that’s truly the highest compliment! Thank you for sharing this and for making my recipe part of your holidays!
You can make this a couple of days ahead and keep it refrigerated, then simply add the topping right before serving.
My favorite Christmas dessert
This will be my third year making this for xmas! Its always requested and whiped out every year. Thank for sharing, its delish. Merry Christmas to you
That makes me so happy to hear! ❤️ Three years in a row is the best compliment—especially when it’s always requested and completely wiped out! Thank you so much for making it part of your Christmas tradition. Merry Christmas to you and your family, and I’m so glad this recipe has a place on your holiday table! 🎄
I’m so honored it’s part of your holiday tradition—thank you for sharing that with me. Wishing you a wonderful, delicious Christmas! 🎄✨
I love this recipe. Easy to follow although there are multiple steps. Quick question – is there a method to prevent the crust from getting soggy from the jam layer?
Maybe try baking the crust for 5-7 minutes before filling, that’s how I make other cheesecakes with graham cracker crust
Do you have a version of this made with Raspberries?
I don’t have a version of this recipe posted with raspberries, but you can easily swap the cranberries for raspberries and follow the same steps. Many readers have tried it with different berries and had great results!
Thanks so much! I love your recipe but have a couple family members that aren’t fans of cranberry… trying to please all☺️. Margie
You’re so welcome, Margie! 😊 I completely get it, trying to keep everyone happy can be a challenge. I’m glad you love the recipe, and I hope the variation works perfectly for your family!
We have been making this cheesecake for some years now and it is our favorite. This was the first time I had an issue and I am sure there is an easy explanation. The white chocolate clumped up when it was added to the cream cheese. I didn’t have any additional chocolate so I had to use it clumpy. It’s for a dinner party with friends and I had hoped it would be perfect as I have raved about this cheesecake for years. Can you tell me what caused this problem? Thanks.
I’m so glad this cheesecake has been a favorite for you over the years! ❤️ As for the white chocolate clumping, my guess is that the cream cheese was still a bit too cold when you mixed them together. If the cream cheese isn’t fully at room temperature, the melted chocolate can firm up as soon as it hits the cooler mixture, which creates those little clumps. Next time, letting the cream cheese soften completely should keep everything silky smooth. I hope that helps!
I made this cheesecake 2 Christmases ago. My very first cheesecake. It came out perfect. Your instructions were easy to follow. Mine turned out beautiful! I’m just going through my recipes for this Christmas and plan to make it again as my family still raves about it.
Thank-you for helping me have a great first cheesecake experience.
That truly means so much to me. Thank you for sharing this! 🥰 I love that this was your first cheesecake and that it turned out beautifully. It makes me so happy to hear your family still talks about it and that it’s becoming a Christmas tradition for you. Wishing you another perfect cheesecake (and a wonderful holiday) this year!
I want to make this recipe into mini cheesecakes. Do you have any tips?
How many days ahead can I make this. I work full time but need it on a tuesday. It would be best to make on a sunday? If that is not possible, could I make the filling ahead of time on sunday, but bake on monday evening?
Hi Heather! You can make the cheesecake portion of this recipe on Sunday, but I recommend waiting to add the white chocolate mousse topping and candied cranberries until the day of serving, for the best results and appearance.
Disastrous, probably user error but i followed directions as listed. My oven probably could have been 280/300 instead of the 325 because the cake did get a little overcooked/deflated. Which might not have been too big if a deal but the recipe called for 3 boxes of cream cheese instead of 4 and upped the sour cream. I should have went with my gut because now I have a really thin cheese cake. Whats more, following the instructions, and my white chocolate mousse is soo thin even after leaving it in fridge for overnight. No way to pipe. No way to help with the presentation of a thin cheesecake.
But yknow, its probably my fault for trying a recipe for the first time as a test BEFORE bringing it to a family function. Embarrassing. Would not use this recipe again.
This is actually one of my most popular and well-loved recipes, and I haven’t had anyone else report these issues, so I’m thinking something unexpected may have happened along the way. The cheesecake shouldn’t come out thin, and the mousse should absolutely set up thick enough to pipe, so your instinct about the oven temperature or another step going off track is probably right. I know how frustrating it is when you’re making something as a test run and it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped — especially before a family event.
If you ever decide to give it another try, I’m more than happy to help troubleshoot with you so it comes out perfectly. I really do appreciate your feedback!
Hi there! This is a lovely recipe and I’m still super excited to have it baking in my oven at the moment, but I’m not sure if it was intentional or an overlook, but the filling is missing sugar in the recipe.
Edit; just kidding. I must have been the one to overlook it somehow! But I’m excited to try this when it’s done!
So glad you caught it — that happens to all of us in the middle of baking! 😊 I hope you absolutely love how it turns out. Thanks for the sweet message!