Little Cheesecake Cupcakes topped with a tangy orange and cranberry compote make a wonderful ending for a festive brunch or a special meal. They're an easy make-ahead to have on hand for last-minute entertaining (can be topped with any fruity filling). Come join us for a lovely holiday brunch with friends - we hope you're inspired by our menu ideas to host your own gathering!
The festive season is upon us. Have you ever hosted a holiday brunch? It's the way to go. It somehow feels more leisurely than the busy scrambling it takes to prepare an all-out holiday dinner.
Besides, who doesn't like breakfast foods?
We got together with our blogging friends Nicoletta and Loreto, of SugarLoveSpices, to enjoy some holiday visiting over a delightful co-hosted Sunday brunch. The Christmas music played softly in the background, their tree and home were cozily decorated, and the most delicious smells came from the kitchen as we cooked, chatted, and laughed together.
We pooled our growing collections of Christmas tableware and dishes (thrifting. . .er. . treasure hunting has become our new favourite activity!😉) We each have an abundant collection of holiday linens, dishes, serving pieces, and decorations. It was such fun to put them together to make a festive table. The red candlesticks glowed brightly in their metallic gift-shaped holders and a traditional potted red poinsettia added its Christmas vibe, repeating the motifs in the brightly-coloured tablecloth.
Holly dinner plates, Christmas tea and coffee pots, along with holly-bedecked mugs and gold-printed glasses, golden cutlery, and green napkins atop red poinsettia dessert plates, all danced together in happy holiday harmony.
Our menu is an appealing mix of savoury and sweet dishes, some that are easily made ahead and a few that can be put together the morning-of or reheated just before serving. The cheesecake cupcakes are part of a lovely dessert selection, and a perfect dish to make a few days before.
The table is set and we are ready to sit down. The Christmas tree lights twinkle softly in the background as we pour the first cups of coffee and tea and start filling our plates.
Festive Brunch Menu Ideas
- The Gingerbread Pancake Men are so cute! Fun and easy to make, they'll delight diners young and old. Serve them with the easy caramel sauce recipe found in the link above, or make the caramel sauce in the recipe below (great with any pancakes). Sautéed spiced apples complement the warm spices in the gingerbread pancakes for a full festive feel (the pancakes make a great Christmas morning breakfast, too!)
- Zucchini & Pepper Egg Bites - a savoury addition that's great with this menu. The zesty flavours balance the sweeter dishes being served. Eggs are always a welcome addition to a brunch menu, and this version, loaded with veggies, is extra tasty.
- Thick-cut bacon, baked in the oven, is a favourite of everyone. Serve buttered toast, too, with a selection of favourite jams.
- Rustic pumpkin muffins made with pumpkin purée, lots of oats, and a touch of white chocolate are not too sweet, and are a tasty addition to the brunch.
- This holiday fruit salad has got the festive vibe, with green kiwis and grapes and red raspberries and pomegranate seeds. A kick of lemon and a splash of limoncello make it special. See the recipe below.
- For dessert, the Cheesecake Cupcakes - mini individual cheesecakes topped with a zesty cranberry-orange sauce - are a hit. See how to make them in the recipe card below.
- Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars) are tradtional German Christmas cookies made with almond flour, egg whites, and lots of cinnamon (gluten-free, too).
- Dark Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies - rich and chocolatey, with chewy bits of dried cranberries, not too sweet, perfectly decadent.
- To drink, we served Cranberry Apple Cider - equal amounts of store-bought cranberry juice cocktail mixed with fresh sweet apple cider (frozen from our apple cider pressing day). We made the drink extra festive with iced cranberry cubes - fresh cranberries and rosemary sprigs tucked into ice cube trays, topped with cranberry cocktail, and frozen solid.
- We also served coffee and a holiday blend black tea.
Cheesecake Cupcakes for Everyone
If you love cheesecake, but don't always have room for a hefty slice of it after a big meal, then this is the dessert for you. Only a few bites, the cheesecake base sits atop a simple vanilla wafer bottom layer. It's light and creamy, but with all the flavour of a full cake.
After baking, the top of each mini cheesecake sinks just enough to hold a generous spoonful of fruity filling. In this recipe, I use a juicy compote of tart cranberry and orange to top ours, but you could dollop on a spoonful of canned prepared cherry or blueberry pie filling, a spoonful of jam or other fruit compote, fresh berries and whipped cream, or even a luscious caramel or chocolate sauce for a different flavour combination.
Do They Keep?
Yes, the baked cheesecake cupcakes can be made 3 to 4 days ahead and kept refrigerated. They can also be baked and then frozen for up to 3 months. Just pull them out of the freezer and top them before serving. They're so handy to have on hand for last-minute guests, taking to a potluck, or for an elegant dessert on a busy night.
Simple Caramel Sauce Recipe
(Great on pancakes, ice cream, or desserts)
- 1 cup (200 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (60 g) salted butter
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cook the sugar, butter, salt, and cream together at a gentle bubbling boil for 6-8 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add the vanilla. Remove from heat and cool. The caramel will thicken as it cools. Chilled leftovers will stiffen, but re-liquify as the caramel is reheated. Makes 1 cup (240 ml). Delicious on Gingerbread Pancakes.
Holiday Fruit Salad Recipe
- 1 large pomegranate, seeded (1 cup/150 g of seeds)
- 1 cup (150 g) green grapes (halved if large)
- 2 kiwis, peeled and diced (150 g)
- 1 cup (150 g) raspberries (or sliced strawberries)
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons limoncello (can substitute Grand Marnier, or use 1 tablespoon honey)
Toss all the ingredients gently together. Makes 4 cups (1 liter).
How to Make the Easy Cheesecake Cupcakes
You'll need:
Beat the cream cheese (make sure it's at room temperature or softened in the microwave for a few seconds), sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla until it's nice and smooth. Then beat in the eggs. That's all you need to do - takes only a few minutes.
Pop a vanilla wafer (gluten-free or regular) into each cupcake liner, spoon on the filling, then jiggle the pan from side-to-side to level out the filling and remove any air bubbles. Bake.
The cheesecake cupcakes will come out of the oven all nicely puffed up and cracked, but within minutes will deflate and fall, leaving a perfect divot for filling with this luscious cranberry orange topping. You can also use easy canned cherry or blueberry pie filling, a spoonful of any fruit compote, or even whipped cream and fresh fruit or berries. Anything goes!
Holiday Brunch Happiness
This holiday brunch was such fun - I think we may have started a new tradition for ourselves! The day put us into a wonderful holiday mood and made some delicious new memories. Head over to Nicoletta and Loreto's blog to see their story and photos of our festive brunch.
Happy Holidays
🌲Wishing you a wonderful holiday season with time to rejuvenate your soul and many joyful gatherings of friends and family. 🌲
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Guten Appetit!
Cheesecake Cupcakes with Cranberry Orange Topping
Equipment
- a 12-hole muffin tin
- 12 paper muffin cups or silicone muffin cups
Ingredients
- 1½ (250 g/8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature (1½ blocks/375 g total)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 12 vanilla wafers, gluten-free, if neccessary (or 12 round butter cookies or sugar cookies, 1½-1¾ inches/4-4.5 cm in diameter)
- ¾-1 cup (180-250 g) CranberryOrange Sauce Topping (recipe follows) or canned cherry or blueberry pie filling
Cranberry-Orange Compote Topping (makes enough to top 2 dozen cheesecake cupcakes - or use the extra for holiday meals or on pancakes):
- finely grated zest of 1 medium orange (about 1½ tablespoons)
- ¾ cup (180 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice, divided (from 3 - 4 oranges)
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 12 oz. (340 g) fresh or frozen cranberries (about 3½ cups)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). Place a cupcake liner into each well of a muffin tin.
- Beat together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth (with an electric mixer or by hand).
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and lump free.
- Place one vanilla wafer or cookie into each cupcake liner.
- Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the cookies in the cupcake liners, dividing the mixture evenly between them. The cupcakes will be filled almost to the top. Shake the pan gently from side to side to level the cheesecake filling.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops of the cupcakes are puffed up and cracked.
- Remove the muffin tin from the oven and allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin. They will fall as they cool, making a perfect indent in the middle to hold the filling.
- Chill the cheesecake cupcakes for up to a week in an airtight container, or freeze them for up to 6 months. Just before serving, top each cupcake with a heaped tablespoon of Orange-Cranberry Sauce or the fruit filling of your choice.
To Make the Cranberry-Orange Compote Topping:
- Combine the orange zest, ½ cup (120 ml) of the orange juice, the sugar, and cranberries in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 7-8 minutes, uncovered and stirring often, until the cranberries have 'popped' and the sauce has thickened. Squish any whole berries against the side of the pot to pop them if they haven't done so on their own.
- Whisk together the cornstarch with the remaining ¼ cup (60 ml) of orange juice. Pour it into the bubbling cranberries, stirring it in well. Bring the sauce back to a boil and cook it for another minute to thicken it further. The cornstarch prevents the sauce from 'weeping' on top of the cupcakes.
- Cool the sauce completely - it will thicken as it cools. The sauce will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge, or freeze for up to six months.
Susan
Have you ever tried this without the water in the bottom? I’m wondering if the filling holds together well enough to be able to omit the wafer.
Susan
Oops, I meant WAFER 😅
Margaret
Hi, Susan, no I haven't tried them without the wafer yet. But I did try it with some homemade sugar cookies that I cut out in small circles, and it worked fine. The wafer does got soft, so it absorbs some of the moisture. I think it would still be fine without using the wafer, though the filling may just be a smidge softer. When I've taken these cupcakes to potluck dinners, some people choose to eat them with a fork or spoon anyway, so maybe that would be an option if they're softer. If you're aiming for a lower carb dessert, then it would be good to do them without the wafer. If you just don't have wafers, you could put a couple teaspoons of cookie crumbs or graham wafer crumbs in the bottom. If you try them without, let me know how they work. Happy Christmas baking! 🌲😍
Wendy Stadnick
I decided to do a brunch for my kids and grandkids. Am going to try this recipe. I like things that are easy to make, but look so decadent and delicious.
Margaret
These are definitely easy to make! And they do look and taste pretty fine 😃. I think your crew will like them.✨ (To make them even easier, you could use a spoonful of canned cherry pie filling on top of each one - that tastes great, too!) Wishing you and yours a very, very Happy Christmas, with lots of lovely new memories made!❤️❤️❤️
Sonja A.
I’ve made these forgetting to put the cookie on bottom of liners. They came out just fine. Couldn’t tell the difference.
Margaret
Awesome! Glad to hear it and thanks for the feedback. That's helpful to others who will want to know.🙂
Happy baking!