Birthday Cheesecake is the perfect dessert for celebrating! A delicious cheesecake base with the addition of a few choice ingredients leaves you with both the taste of cheesecake and birthday cake!
This delicious cheesecake recipe is a remake of my Cake Batter Cheesecake that was super popular on Simple Joy for many years. While I’ve loved that recipe, I’ve grown as a baker, and this new version is even better.
I use my tried and true recipe for cheesecake. To that I add sprinkles (obviously), vanilla extract, almond extract, and butter extract. The combination of those three great flavors are what really give this the taste of birthday cake. It is subtle but delicious, and you will always want to celebrate with this fantastic cake.
How to Make Birthday Cake Cheesecake
Here is a brief overview of how this funfetti cheesecake recipe comes together. For the full recipe including all measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Make the crust. Combine the crushed graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar. It should look like wet sand. Press it into your prepared springform pan and bake the crust for six to eight minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Make the cheesecake filling. Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat in the sugar, the eggs one at a time, then the flour. Finally, beat in the vanilla, almond extract, and butter extract. Beat until smooth. Add the sprinkles.
- Bake the cheesecake. Pour the batter over the hot crust. Make sure the oven is lowered to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the cheesecake for 35 minutes.
- Leave the cheesecake in the oven. Turn off the oven, leaving the cheesecake in it for one hour. As the oven begins to cool, it will finish cooking the cheesecake.
- Cool the cheesecake. Let the cheesecake cool on the counter for one hour, and then in the refrigerator for at least four hours. Garnish with stabilized whipped cream and add more sprinkles.
Best Spring Form Pan
Getting the Perfect Cake Flavor
There are a few things that make this a birthday cheesecake. If you love sprinkles like me, you will note that they are at the top of the list. Nothing says happy birthday quite like rainbow jimmies.
Of course, it is important that the cheesecake taste like a birthday cake too, while also having that signature cheesecake taste and texture. To do that, we are using three different extracts: butter, almond, and vanilla. Together, they give you that great signature cake taste. Butter extract can be found in your grocery store with the other extracts, otherwise, it is easy to order on Amazon.
No Water Bath Cheesecake
Many recipes call for a water bath to prevent the cheesecake from cracking. One great thing about this recipe is that it doesn’t require a water bath. I really wanted to create a recipe that wouldn’t require that step for simplicity. So, follow these steps to prevent the top of your cheesecake from cracking without the need for a water bath!
- Adding flour: Just a little bit of flour prevents the eggs from solidifying which then helps keep the cheesecake from shrinking and cracking.
- A shorter baking time: This cheesecake is only actively baking for 35 minutes, which prevents it from drying out and shrinking, both of which can lead to cracking.
- Leave the cheesecake in the oven: While the hands-on time for this recipe is fairly short, it is extremely important to use patience with the cooling process of your cheesecake. Leaving the cheesecake in the oven after you turn it off helps it continue to slowly cook and slowly cool. This gradual process is what makes this recipe different. Continue this gradual cooling after you take it out of the oven by allowing it to cool on the counter before transferring it to the refrigerator. With some patience and planning ahead, you will have the best homemade cheesecake ever!
Tips and Tricks for The Perfect Cheesecake
- Use full-fat cream cheese that is at room temperature. This will make for the best flavor and creaminess of your cheesecake filling, blending smoother than cold cream cheese.
- Pick brand-name cream cheese: I have found that using brand-name cream cheese like Philadelphia works much better than generic brands.
- Use room-temperature eggs. Eggs straight from the refrigerator can actually cool your cream cheese and make the cheesecake batter chunky. To quickly bring your eggs to room-temperature, place them in a bowl of lukewarm water for about five minutes.
- Don’t overmix the filling. Mix the filling ingredients until they are just combined to result in the perfect fluffy texture.
- Follow the steps for letting the cheesecake sit. The success of your cheesecake setting properly depends on your patience with correctly following the steps. It is very important that you let your cheesecake sit in the oven and then on the counter for the recommended length of time. Trust me, it’s well worth the wait when your cheesecake turns out beautiful and perfect!
- Plan ahead. Since cheesecake has to sit for quite a while to set and cool properly and then chill in the refrigerator, I recommend making it the day before you want to serve it so you don’t feel rushed through any of the steps.
How to Serve
Keep your cheesecake in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it. When ready to enjoy, remove the sides of the spring form pan. Use a piping set to pipe stabilized whipped cream around the edge and add some extra sprinkles. Stabilized whipped cream will keep the cheesecake beautiful and decorated with the gorgeous swirls you see in the picture. Using regular whipped cream will result in swirls that fall after about an hour. Finish it off with more sprinkles and a cherry!
Stabilized Whipped Cream
Storing and Freezing Cheesecake
Keep this cheesecake, covered, in the refrigerator for up to four days. I like to keep it in the springform pan it was baked in and cover with foil to prevent it from drying out.
To freeze this cheesecake, let it completely cool and cover it tightly with aluminum foil and plastic wrap. You can also slice the cheesecake before freezing to grab just a slice from the freezer to enjoy. Store in the freezer for up to three months. Allow the cheesecake to thaw in the refrigerator before enjoying.
Other Colorful Dessert Recipes
If you make this birthday cheesecake or any of my other recipes, let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. I love hearing from you and how you enjoy my recipes!
Birthday Cake Cheesecake
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 13 sheets (200 grams)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (66 grams)
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (113 grams)
Cheesecake
- 24 ounces cream cheese room temperature (678 grams)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (148.5 grams)
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon butter extract read more here
- 1/2 cup of rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut a circle of parchment paper to match the bottom of a 9 inch spring form cake pan. Spray the sides of the pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. It should resemble wet sand. I like to crush the crackers in a food processor and then add the sugar and butter right to that to combine.1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Bake the crust for 6 to 8 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown. When you take the crust out of the oven, lower the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cheesecake
- While the crust is baking, beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.24 ounces cream cheese
- Beat in the sugar. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the flour. Finally, beat in the vanilla, almond extract, and butter extract. Beat until smooth.3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 teaspoon butter extract, 2 tablespoons flour
- Slowly mix in all the sprinkles with a spoon.1/2 cup of rainbow sprinkles
- Pour the batter over the hot crust. Double-check that your oven has been reduced to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 35 minutes. Turn the oven off (do not open the door) and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool on the counter for at least another hour, being careful not to move it to the refrigerator too quickly. The slower the cheesecake cools, the less likely it will be to crack. Cool in the refrigerator for at least four hours.
- Before serving, make some stabilized whipped cream. Run a small sharp knife around the edges of the cheesecake before removing the side piece of the spring form pan. Then pipe the whipped cream onto the cheesecake and add more sprinkles.
Jerrickia Mcbee says
Cake Batter flavored anything is heaven to my hubby! I have prepared this with a light sugar cookie crust, as a surprise for his birthday tomorrow! Every year he wants a cheesecake but I am sure this will be the best one that I have ever made!
I am so excited to have some too! Thanks for sharing this!!
I hope you both enjoy it Jerrickia!!
Dan says
Hi,
Difficult to find a place to leave a comment, so I’m having to reply to someone elses.
I’m confused at what makes this “cake batter.” All the cake batter I’m familiar the includes flour. Just looking for a little culinary education.
jennie says
Hi I’m attempting to make this but just realized it called for that type of pan and I don’t have one! Anyway I can use a pie dish??
Jennie, I can’t say for sure because I’ve never made a cheesecake in a pie pan, only a spring form pan. I would be sure to put a baking sheet under the pie plate in case it over flows. Let me know how it goes!
Colleen says
Making this for Superbowl tomorrow! I hope it’s a hit! Looks amazing!!
I hope it is too Colleen!
Melody U. says
I am a cheesecake fanatic. Enough so that I spent several months perfecting my cheesecake so that it wasn’t dried out (as way too many are), so I didn’t have to use a hot water bath (not necessary) and just the right creaminess and texture. So when my dil sent me this link and asked if I’d make it for her birthday, I cringed.
I did make a few changes. I took storebought cookies and ground them up, then used 2 cups of the ground cookies and 3-4 Tbs of melted butter to hold them together. Then sprayed my 9″ springform with cooking spray before pressing (lightly) the cookies in the bottom of the pan. Baked it at 350 deg for 12 minutes. Then turned the oven down to 275 while the crust was cooling.
After pouring the batter into the pan, I baked it at 275 deg F for 1 hr, then turned off the oven and let it sit for another 40 minutes. I took it out and cooled it on a rack for 10 minutes before running a sharp knife around the sides to loosen it. Then I cooled for 3 hours (to room temp) before putting it in the fridge for 8 hours.
Using this method, there’s no cracking of the top *and* the top does not get brown. If you have any brown on the top at all, the cheesecake is overcooked and this effects the texture.
Surprisingly, it does taste like ‘cake’, but it does not taste like cheesecake…so I’m not a fan. However, my dil loves it so it has been added to my keeper book. On a side note, since it does ‘taste’ like cake, I’ll bet you could use toasted coconut, pecans and german chocolate to make a German Chocolate version of this. My son says I have to try.
One of the things I love about the culinary arts is that like most art, it is subjective. Even though my method for baking cheesecakes is not like yours, I’ve had really good luck with it and have made cheesecakes that I and others love. I’m glad that your daughter in law liked it!
Melissa says
Can I make the cake batter cheesecake into cupcake size?
I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing it would work, Melissa. I would just keep in mind that the baking time will need to be adjusted a lot.
Nope, just pour in the batter and bake :)
Sandy says
I’m confused, cake batter cheesecake,where’s the Cake Batter come in at?
Sandy, I get that question a lot with this recipe. Most people feel like it should have some boxed cake mix in it, but once it’s baked . . . that would just make it cakey, you know? The combo of almond extract and sweetened condensed milk gives it that nice cake batter taste.
chubbybunny says
In the Cake Mix Cheesecake there is no cake mix listed in the ingredients?????
Kalon says
Why did mine turn brown?!?! What did I do wrong?!?
Hi Kalon! Without being there in the kitchen with you, it’s hard to know what went wrong. I’m wondering if it was in the oven too long or if your oven temperature isn’t quite right. Sorry it didn’t work out for you!
Meredith says
Wow… I am sorely disappointed =( I made this last night & left it in the fridge for dessert tonight. I was sooooo looking forward to trying it all day long! I looooove cheesecake! But…. It just tastes like straight almond extract =( I used 2 tsp just like the recipe calls for & yeah… Unfortunately, it’s all going in the trash. Maybe it would be better w/ just 1 tsp almond extract or maybe even 1/2 tsp?
Meredith, I’m so sorry to hear this. My least favorite part about blogging is having someone try one of my recipes and not enjoy them. I really love the taste of almond extract and think it is so reminiscent of cake batter that for me it really works in this recipe. I will update the recipe to reflect your thoughts.
Gina says
Could this be made as cupcakes?
I haven’t tried, Gina, but I’m sure they could be. Obviously the baking time would need to be adjusted :) If you give it a go let me know how they turn out?