These chocolate cheesecake bites infused with Kahlua and espresso are elegant, decadent, and the perfect size for single-serve portions. The Oreo crust is buttery and adds a little crunch, the cheesecake layer is smooth, creamy, and packed full of flavor. Each cheesecake is topped with homemade whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder.
If you have never experimented with using coffee liqueur in chocolate baking recipes, you are missing out. The flavors were meant for each other, bringing an elevated taste to a classic recipe. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be 21 to eat the cheesecake. When liqueurs and wines are used in cooking, the alcohol is baked out, just leaving the flavor.
Kahlua is actually made with arabica coffee beans and rum. It’s often added to dessert cocktails, such as a Dirty Snowman, and some people even drink it with chocolate milk. Like I said these flavors are meant to be.
Are Kahlua and Bailey’s the Same?
In some ways, yes. They are both liqueurs, but Bailey’s is much creamier while Kahlua has more of a coffee taste. Bailey’s is also made with whiskey instead of rum. It’s still delicious and I actually used it to make individual chocolate cheesecake trifles, which you should add to your list to try.
Ingredients for Mini Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecakes
- Oreo Cookies and butter for the crust
- semi-sweet chocolate chips
- cream cheese,
- granulated sugar
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- sour cream
- Kahlua liqueur
- espresso
- eggs
- heavy cream and powdered sugar for the topping
How to Make Kahlua Chocolate Cheesecake
Prep and preheat. Line the muffin tins with cupcake liners and preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Melt chocolate. Add the chocolate chips to a small bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until it’s smooth and melted. Set aside to cool.
Blend Oreos for the crust. Place the cookies in the food processor and pulse until they become fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse again until it’s mixed well. Scoop a tablespoon of crumbs until each liner, pressing down so the crust is firm.
Make the cheesecake batter. Beat the cream cheese using an electric mixer until it’s fluffy. Add the vanilla, cocoa powder, and sugar, then mix. Beat in the sour cream, flour, and melted chocolate. Pour in the Kahlua and espresso and stir. By hand, stir in one egg at a time.
Fill each tin almost to the top with the cheesecake batter.
Cook. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheesecake bites are dry on the top and set.
Cool. Cool the cheesecakes to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Then transfer to the fridge to chill for 1 to 2 hours.
Make the whipped cream. Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Pipe the whipped topping onto each cheesecake before serving. Dust with cocoa powder if desired.
Tips for Making and Storing
- Keep the cheesecakes covered loosely in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for 2 months.
- Don’t overmix the eggs into the batter. Be sure to stir these in by hand to reduce the amount of air in the cake so it doesn’t crack and overfill.
- If you don’t want to make homemade whipped cream, use Cool Whip or spray whipped cream.
- Learn how to pipe whipped cream like a pro using my cake decorating tips and tutorials.
- Don’t add the whipped cream to all of the cheesecakes if you aren’t planning on serving all of them at once.
- For a sweeter whipped cream, add a ¼ cup of powdered sugar when making.
More Chocolate Desserts You’ll Love
- Chocolate Coconut Balls
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream Pie
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- The Most Decadent Chocolate Lasagna
- Homemade Oreo Ice Cream Cake!
Kahlua Cheesecake Bites
Ingredients
Crust Ingredients:
- 40 classic oreo cookies about 1 package
- 6 tablespoons salted butter melted
Filling Ingredients:
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips melted and cooled
- 2 – 8 oz. packages cream cheese softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup Kahlua liqueur
- ¼ cup espresso
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Melt the chocolate chips in a small bowl by microwaving in 30 second increments and stirring between each session until smooth and fully melted. Set aside to cool. (You can also use a chocolate melting pot or a double boiler to melt chocolate.)
- Pulverize Oreo cookies in food processor until fine crumbs form.
- Add melted butter and pulse a few more times until mixture is fully combined.
- Scoop about 1 tablespoon of cookie crumbs into each cavity of prepared muffin tins. Pack down the crumbs with a small mallet or the bottom of a cup.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.
- Add sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract and beat until fully combined.
- Beat in cooled chocolate, flour, and sour cream. Add in espresso and Kahlua and stir or beat carefully (to prevent splatter) until combined.
- Add in 1 egg at a time and stir by hand until combined.
- Scoop cheesecake mixture over the packed oreo crumbs in the muffin tin. Fill each tin almost to the top.
- Bake 20 minutes until the cheesecakes are set and dry to the touch on top.
- Allow cheesecakes to cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes) and then place in the refrigerator to chill for 1-2 hours.
- Whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form and pipe swirls on top of the cheesecakes. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and serve.
Nutrition
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