Individual No Bake Polar Bear Cheesecakes with a buttery biscuit base, coconut cheesecake, rolled in desiccated coconut, topped with a swirl of dairy-free whipped cream and a marshmallow polar bear. Vegan, No-Egg, No-Dairy, gluten-free and the perfect festive Cheesecakes that the whole family will enjoy!
No-Bake Polar Bear Cheesecakes
My Mini polar bear cheesecakes are the best dessert for the holidays. These bite-size cheesecakes have a deliciously buttery and crumbly base, made using homemade digestive biscuits, with a thick and creamy coconut cheesecake filling. They BURST with flavour, and texture! The creaminess of the cream cheese filling is rich and soft, and the coconut adds a soft chew which combined is truly scrumptious! And then they’re topped with a swirl of ultra smooth whipped cream and a squidgy marshmallow polar bear. Can it get any better than this?
Looking for more festive recipes? Check out my:
- No-Bake Pine Cone Truffles
- Vegan Polar Bear Cream Buns
- Vegan Black Forest Sheet Cake
- Vegan Gingerbread Steams Pudding
- Best Ever Vegan Christmas Pudding
Why you’ll love this recipe.
There are a million and one reasons why you’ll become in love with these gorgeous little cheesecakes but we’d be here all day, so here are a few of my top reasons:
- They’re easy to make.
- Can easily be made gluten-free by using wheat / gluten-free biscuits!
- Fully vegan. This recipe doesn’t contain any animal derived ingredients.
- Great for kids (and big kids) to enjoying making.
- Super fun to decorate.
- Filled with yummy coconut.
- Incredibly cute!!
- Individual servings, meaning no sharing!
- Great for Christmas baking.
- No-bake recipe, meaning no oven is required.
- Biscuit base is buttery and delicious!
Mini cheesecake FAQ
What biscuits should I use in the base?
- Any digestive biscuit will work great in this recipe. I like to use Digestive Biscuits, most of the time supermarket own branded. Another great option are Golden Oreos! Just make sure they’re suitable for vegans. If you’re in the US, I think they’re called Graham crackers.
Can I make this recipe gluten-free?
- To make this recipe gluten-free, swap out the wheat based biscuits for a gluten-free option. I like to use the brand ‘Love More’ and Sainsburys own brand Deliciously free from digestives.
Can I make this recipe in advance?
- You sure can. I personally like to make the cheesecake ahead of time, the day before and allow them to have enough chilling time before removing them from the tin. Decorate with the cream and marshmallows day of serving.
What cream cheese should I use for the filling?
- Either Violife cream cheese or a free from cream cheese will work fine, as long as they’re the full-fat version. A high enough fat content will ensure the cheesecake sets in the fridge.
Best tin to use?
- Individual cheesecakes are great because they’re super easy to make, easy to serve and they look good on a plate. There’s also many ways of making them including setting them in glasses, making them in cupcake cases or loose base cookie cup tins which is my go-to. I am ALWAYS asked what tin I use to make my mini cheesecakes and it’s a mini 6 pan, loose base cookie cup tin. You want the tins to be deep so you get a tall cheesecake. To ensure the cheesecakes come out of the tin with ease, you can lightly grease them with some dairy-free butter before adding in the layers. If you have a loose base tin, this may not be needed but it is a good optional step.
How to make the polar bear marshmallows
First of all, you want to ensure the marshmallows you use are vegan friendly as ‘regular’ ones contain gelatine (a food ingredient made from animal body parts!). My go-to vegan marshmallows are the brand Dandies. I use their large and mini vanilla marshmallows.
- You’ll begin by cutting a large marshmallow in half using scissors. I found it best to dust a pair of clean kitchen scissors with some icing sugar or cornstarch. This helps the marshmallow not stick (as the inside can be very sticky).
- Cut one half of the marshmallow in half again, these smaller pieces will make the ears. Where you cut the marshmallow may already be sticky enough that the ears will stick to the other marshmallow, if not, add a-little water (refer to photo above for reference to the placement of the ears).
- Stick a small marshmallow to the front of the polar bar. This is the time to melt some dairy-free dark chocolate, mixed with some black food gel. Transfer into a piping bag, snip off the tip and pipe on the nose and eyes.
You can also make some paws y piping paw prints on some smaller pieces of marshmallow and sticking to the front and sides of each individual cheesecake. SO CUTE!!!
If you make, and love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below. Thank you & happy baking! Make sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram and Facebook! And if you want to pin this recipe for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, above or below this post, or on any of the photos. Any questions regarding the recipe, ask in the comments below. Happy baking all!
No-Bake Polar Bear Cheesecakes
- Total Time: Overnight
- Yield: 6 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
How to make the cutest Holiday cheesecakes – Mini coconut cheesecakes decorated as polar bears for Christmas. No-bake, vegan, easy to make and easily made gluten-free!
Ingredients
Ingredients for the base
- 100g of plain biscuits (you can use gluten-free)
- 50g of dairy-free butter / margarine
Ingredients for the filling
- 125g of cashew nuts (soaked and drained, see step 1)
- 280g of vegan cream cheese ( I use Violife)
- 75g of icing sugar
- 50g of coconut cream (thick white cream from a can of coconut milk)
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 50g of desiccated coconut (plus extra for rolling)
Ingredients for decorations
- 220ml of dairy-free whipping / double cream (I use The Coconut Collabrative Double Cream
- Vegan large + mini marshmallows (I use the brand ‘Dandies’)
- Dairy-free dark chocolate
- Black food gel
Instructions
Method (base)
- Add the dairy-free butter / margarine into a small saucepan, place on the hob and heat over low until fully melted. Remove from the heat and add into a medium sized, heat-proof mixing bowl.
- Add the biscuits into a blender / food processor and blend until fine. Pour the biscuit crumbs into the melted butter and stir together using a wooden spoon or spatula. It should resemble wet sand, and when you press it between your fingers, should hold its shape. Press approximately 1 & 1/2 tablespoon of mixture into each loose base cookie cup tin, making sure to compact it in using clean hands. The more compact it is, the less likely it will crumble.
- Place into the freezer whilst you make the filling.
Method (cheesecake filling)
- The cashew nuts will need to be soaked overnight in water. See notes (at the bottom of the recipe card) for more details.
- Drain the cashew nuts from the water and place them into a food processor/blender along with the dairy-free cream cheese, icing sugar, coconut cream, vanilla and coconut. Whizz up on high speed for around 5 minutes until smooth. Add some more coconut cream if needed. I use a ‘Kitchenaid Powerplus blender’. It’s best to use a high-speed blender if possible as the mixture is quite thick, and you want it as smooth as possible. You might need to stop the mixture a few times and scrape down the sides to make sure everything is incorporated and smooth.
- Equally pour the mixture into each tin, making sure to tap the cheesecakes onto the worktop to remove any air bubbles.
- Place into the fridge overnight to set.
- Once set, remove from the fridge, and push out the cheesecake (as the base is loose bottomed). To make it easier, place the tin into the freezer for 15 minutes to help firm up the cheesecakes, then slide a knife around the edges of the cheesecakes to help loosen them from the tin. Making the cheesecakes firmer will help push them out the tin and won’t damage them.
Method (decorations)
- Sprinkle some desiccated coconut onto a plate. Roll the sides of the cheesecakes in the coconut to coat (only do this when the cheesecakes are firm / right out the fridge as when they’re soft, it’ll be very hard to roll)
- In a stand mixer with balloon whisk attachment or hand whisk, whip up the dairy-free cream until thick and holds a peak. Transfer into a piping bag fitted with a open star tip nozzle.
- Pipe a swirl of cream on top of each cheesecake.
- Make the polar bears : Cut a large marshmallow in half, then cut one of the halves in half (these are for the ears). Use a-little water to stick the ‘ears’ to the top of the polar bear head. Use a mini white marshmallow and stick to the front (this is for the nose).
- Melt the dairy-free dark chocolate along with a drop of black food gel. Transfer into a piping bag and snip off the tip.
- Pipe the nose and eyes to the polar bear. Place the poler bear head onto the cheesecake, on top of the cream swirl.
- You could stop here, or make the adorable polar bear paws with more cut marshmallows, with piped paws on. Place two into the cheesecake on the sides and two for the feet.
- Serve with a light sprinkle of snow (icing sugar). Serve and enjoy.
Notes
To store: Keep fresh by storing in a air tight / sealed container in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature fully before serving. Best enjoyed within 1-3 days of making.
Soak the cashews before use – Allow the cashews to soak in a bowl of water for a few hours before using. You could even soak them overnight. This will allow them to blend creamy without bits in the batter.
- Prep Time: Overnight
- Category: cheesecakes
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
