***Originally posted in 2014 – updated September 2021***
Rounding out my birthday month with a majorly needed update to this Funfetti Cheesecake! This recipe was originally posted in 2014, and it has always been one of my favorites. I remember this recipe being one of the first times I made a really solid cheesecake from scratch. I’ve learned a bit over the years and decided it was in need of some fresh photos! And a couple of tiny recipe tweaks.
THE CRUST
This cheesecake has your standard graham cracker crust and bakes in a 9-inch springform pan. Some cheesecake recipes will have you bake the crust a little bit first, but I skipped that part. It chills in the fridge while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
THE FROSTING
The original recipe was covered in a thin layer of frosting, and I’m pretty sure it was the store bought kind. Which I personally kind of hate, haha. So the new version has some homemade buttercream piped over the top. The frosting helps give it those birthday cake vibes, but you could also serve it with whipped cream if you’d like!
the filling
This cheesecake is thick and creamy and so luscious! Which I attribute to a combination of cream cheese and Greek yogurt. To me, Greek yogurt has sort of the same tangy flavor has cream cheese, so it helps add that flavor. It isn’t as thick as cream cheese, so it also adds some creaminess and creates the perfect texture.
In the original recipe, I called for jimmie sprinkles (aka the funfetti part), but here I used a mix of various confetti rainbow sprinkles I had on hand.
While I love love love the luxuriousness of cheesecake, they can be a little intimidating and time consuming! A lot of it is waiting though, and trust me, it’s worth it. Here are some tips I’ve learned over the years when it comes to cheesecake baking:
- some people swear by water baths, but I personally haven’t noticed much difference with or without them, so sometimes I just don’t fool with it
- the key to preventing cracks in a cheesecake is not to incorporate air into the batter, which means mixing by hand or on lower speeds with electric mixers
- room temperature ingredients!! they’re easier to mix together which equals less air in the batter
- bake at a lower temperature, around 300°F, for a little over an hour
- turn the oven off and let it sit inside for another hour
- crack the oven door and let it sit for another hour
- then remove from the oven and let it cool completely to room temperature
- cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight
All in all, it’s not hard, just a lot of cooling and waiting. So make sure to plan ahead! Make your cheesecake a day or two before you plan to serve it so all you have to do is take it out of the fridge, slice, and serve!
Happy baking, y’all!
Funfetti Cheesecake
Ingredients
graham cracker crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
- 1/2 cup butter melted
funfetti cheesecake:
- 3 8-oz blocks cream cheese room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt I used Chobani Plain Whole Milk Greek Yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp butter flavoring I used McCormick
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tbsp all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup assorted rainbow sprinkles
buttercream frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp milk or cream
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
graham cracker crust
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and spray a springform pan with nonstick spray.
- Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl and mix until all the crumbs are evenly coated. The mixture should hold its shape when pressed together.
- Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan. Transfer to the refrigerator while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
funfetti cheesecake
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium speed with an electric handheld mixer until smooth. Add Greek yogurt, sugar, vanilla, and butter flavoring, mixing until just combined. Next, add the eggs and mix just until incorporated. Then add the flour, mixing until just combined. (To prevent cheesecakes from sinking, mix the batter as little as you can to avoid incorporating too much air into the batter.) Fold in sprinkles.
- Wrap the bottom of the springform pan with foil to catch any leaks. Pour batter into the springform pan. Place the pan on a sheet pan and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 10 to 15 minutes. The center of the cheesecake should jiggle slightly when the pan is tapped.
- Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour. Crack the oven door and leave the cheesecake inside for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven and let the cheesecake cool completely to room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.
buttercream frosting
- Cream butter and shortening together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add vanilla and milk/cream. Add half of the powdered sugar.
- Mix on low speed until mostly combined, and then high speed until completely combined. Repeat with second half of powdered sugar, beating on medium high speed for an additional minute.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag and pipe over the cooled cheesecake. Top with additional sprinkles if desired.
Notes
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Beth, you are a GENIUS!!!!! I would have never thought of doing something like this!!!!
Haha, thanks Lindsay!
Funfetti Friday is a great idea! I’m looking forward to seeing what other funfetti recipes you come up with. If they’re anything like this cheesecake, I have a feeling there will be POUNDS of sprinkles in my future, haha.
Love how fun and festive this cheesecake is. It would be perfect for a birthday, or any celebration, really!
Thanks, Jamie! Pounds of sprinkles is right, haha. 🙂
This looks so fun, Beth! Is it weird that I’ve never heard or funfetti? It looks absolutely great!
Never heard of funfetti!?! You need to try it sometime soon. Thanks, Jessica!
Now that is an unbelievable cheesecake! The Greek yogurt is so smart. And that polka dot napkin and blue fork just sets it off!
Thanks, Aunt Amy! I think that polka dot napkin is my favorite one, haha. 🙂
Cheesecake with frosting? I did not know there was such a thing. Tasty!
Yes! Funfetti cheesecake definitely needs frosting. 🙂
Sprinkles always make me happy! And I love that you added them to cheesecake, great idea. Have a wonderful weekend, Beth!
Thanks, Ashley! I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend too!
Beautiful AND delicious – this was an excellent combination! The photos are wonderful!
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Funfetti friday is such a fun idea! I love sprinkles – they make me happy! And this cheesecake looks so so awesome – I love how thick that crust is!
Thanks, Ashley! I love the sprinkles in the filling, but I especially love the thick crust. 🙂
You are totally right, how could someone not love funfetti and sprinkles?! And this is the cutest most sprinkle filled funfetti dessert! Plus a cheesecake?! Beth, you are amazing! And this is absolutely the perfect way out of that winter rut and ready for Spring! Pinned 🙂
Thanks, Chelsea! You leave the sweetest comments. 🙂 Thanks for pinning too!
Happy Funfetti Friday, Beth!!! Love it, it’s so pretty!
It’s funny … I’m desperate to settle somewhere and have a break from my hectic life on the move for a while, but after I do I wonder how long it’ll take me before I’m feeling bored!! Probably about 2 weeks … lol! We always want what we don’t have, huh?
I’m glad this cheesecake full of lovely sprinkles cheered you up a bit! Have a great weekend! 🙂
Thanks, Helen! This cheesecake will definitely brighten up anyone’s day. Hope you had a great weekend too!
I love funfetti everything. Like, I have an abnormal obsession for sprinkles. And they have to be rainbow. Chocolate sprinkles never, ever satisfy me. Pinned 🙂
Yes! I have an intense obsession with it as well. Definitely rainbow. Thanks for pinning, Chris! 🙂
Oh wow! This cheesecake looks super fun! Love the colors and the whole funfettifriday series. Looking forward to seeing what’s next! 🙂
Thanks, Connie! 🙂
I love the idea of funfetti Fridays on the blog, Beth! This cake looks like so much fun and since I’m not usually a big cake person I absolutely love that this is cheesecake! Sounds like things are really busy for you so I hope you have a nice relaxing weekend 🙂
Thanks so much, Katy! Hope you had a relaxing weekend too! 🙂
Man I’ve been feeling that weird little boredom too lately. I’ve just been so fidgety and not sure what to do with blog stuff and ugh. But Beth this cheesecake is so pretty ! And I bet it’s absolutely delicious. How could something that gorgeous not taste just as gorgeous?! 😀 Funfetti Friday FTW!
Haha, thanks Jess! I’ve been having a similar feeling. Cheesecake makes it better! 🙂
Can I leave out the eggs in the cheesecake? is it safe to each raw eggs?
Hi, Katie! There aren’t any raw eggs in this cheesecake. It bakes for 45 minutes, so it’s very safe to eat. Hope you enjoy it!
Heck yeah to Funfetti Fridays! What a way to start it off – talk about gorgeous! Love love love this – pinned!
Thanks so much, Mary Frances! And thanks for pinning!
Need this. With ALL the sprinkles!!! It’s so pretty, and makes me happy 🙂 Pinning, and definitely making!
Thanks so much Rachel! All the sprinklesss. 🙂
This is so cute and so fun! You’d BETTER keep up the series, because I could use more funfetti in my life!
Thanks, Elizabeth! I think we could all use some more funfetti in our lives. 🙂
I love this idea of funfetti Fridays, I can’t wait to see what you come up with. This cheesecake looks great, so fun and pretty!
Thanks so much, Laura! 🙂
I just found your site through Chelsea of Chelsea’s Messy Apron. Love what you got goin’ on over here. Yes to boatloads of sprinkles and lazy weekends. Love this cheesecake!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Jennie! 🙂
Oh. My. GOD.
You just killed me with this one. Way too good.
Haha, thanks Graham! 🙂
I am dying over this!! Like for real drooling!!! So beautiful!
And PS: When you figure out how to get out of the bored go to work, bake, pictures, edit, write rut, please let me know! I’m in desperate need of some help.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPINESS LOOKS LIKE. you have made my day with this one sista!!
Happy Funfetti Friday! This cheesecake definitely made me smile. Sprinkles always do 🙂
Which I had a piece right now to celebrate the weekend. Hope you have a good one!
Hi Beth
What’s the purpose of using softened butter in this cheesecake recipe, this is the first cheesecake recipe I’ve seen that calls for butter in the batter.
Hi, Jackie! I used butter in this recipe because I wanted the cheesecake to have more of a “funfetti cake” flavor. Typically funfetti cakes are white cakes or yellow cakes with sprinkles in the batter. So it helps give that slight buttery flavor to the cheesecake. Hope this helps!
I’m trying to see the receipe, but it doesn’t seem to come up. Is there a way to get the ingredient list and step by step instructions?
Hi Abbie, it seems the program I’ve been using to display my recipes isn’t available anymore, and that’s why the recipe wasn’t showing up. I’ve added it back now, though!
HI I was wondering if you can email me the recipe for this cheesecake for some reason it wont show up for me on your site. foxrcingchick89@yahoo.com
Hi Amanda, I’ve added the recipe back to this page. Sorry about that, technical difficulties happen sometimes. I’m glad you’d like to make the recipe though! If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Hello there! I was wondering if you could share the recipe/what type of frosting you used for this cake.