These orange cheesecake tarts are made with flaky tartlet shells in a muffin pan with a creamy no-bake cheesecake filling flavored with plenty of bright orange zest. These mini tarts make an irresistible snack or dessert!
If you love pies and tarts, other favorites include this Italian Lemon Tart, Strawberry Puff Pastry Tarts, and these Mini Cheesecake Tarts.
While apples are usually my favorite fruit in a dessert like my Caramel Apple Cheesecake Tart, lately I’ve been craving the bright, fresh flavor of orange and these Orange Cheesecake Tarts are sweet perfection in every bite!
Taking inspiration from my favorite no-bake lemon cheesecake, I replaced the lemon zest with orange zest but instead of making a whole cake, I borrowed the idea from my chocolate mousse tarts and made them in a muffin tin for a variation of mini fruit tarts cheesecake. !
Because you’ll love these mini orange cheesecake tarts
- Fresh, creamy and tasty: This sweet dessert is filled with bright citrus flavor, a creamy cheesecake filling, and a buttery puff pastry crust.
- Easy to make from scratch: From the crust to the no-bake mini cheesecake filling, this recipe is simple to make with a little knowledge and patience while the filling sets!
Ingredients of the mini orange cheesecake recipe
- Cake dough: For the mini tart I used this simple homemade cake mix. This was my mom’s recipe and it’s a favorite!
- Cream: You can use heavy whipping cream, full cream, or heavy whipping cream.
- Cream cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese that comes in a block. Remember to soften at room temperature!
- Mascarpone cheese: I love the creaminess that mascarpone adds, but you can replace it with cream cheese if you want.
- Oranges: You will need the zest of 1 ½ oranges. Increase or decrease the zest depending on your preference. (I love the orange flavor!)
- Sugar: The granulated sugar balances the tangy cream cheese.
- Whole milk: Just a small amount adds the perfect rich flavor along with the other ingredients.
How to make orange cheesecake tarts
Make some tart shells
To start, prepare the shortcrust pastry dough and let it cool. Once cool, remove the dough from the fridge and roll out half of it on a floured flat surface. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough.
Place a circle in each standard muffin tin, then trim any excess dough with a sharp knife. Prick the bottom of each shell with a fork. Place a square of baking paper or cupcake wrapper in each shell and fill each with dried beans, rice or sugar.
Cook for the indicated time then remove the paper and dried beans and cook again until golden brown. Remove the tart shells from the oven and let them cool completely before filling them.
Orange cheesecake filling
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the whipping cream until stiff. In another large bowl, whisk together the softened cream cheese, mascarpone, orange zest, sugar and milk.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and fold in the orange filling until smooth.
Add the cheesecake filling to each tart shell, cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight. Top with a fresh orange slice before serving.
tips and variations
- Crust: Instead of a pie dough crust, try a buttery graham cracker crust, a sugar cookie crumb crust, a golden Oreo crust, or even a crust made with ginger snaps!
- Mini chocolate and orange cheesecake: To make this variation, switch to my chocolate pie crust and garnish with some shaved chocolate on top. Yum!
- Citrus fruits: Replace the orange zest with lemon zest or even lime zest.
- Mascarpone: I love the creaminess added by the mascarpone, but you can use all cream cheese if you prefer.
- Do not use cream cheese spread: Your mini cheesecakes won’t end up the same! You need a whole block of cream cheese for this recipe to get the creamy cheesecake results you want.
- Garnish: Garnish with candied orange slices, like I do in my chocolate orange cake, or garnish with fresh raspberries or other fresh fruit, even a chocolate frosting would be amazing!
Can I fill these mini canapés with a different filling?
YES! Often mini fruit tarts are filled with Italian custard or lemon custard which would both be delicious.
Can I make these in a mini muffin pan?
YES! This would be a great way to enjoy even more mini orange cheesecakes! There’s no need to change anything in the recipe unless you want to keep it really simple and use a Nilla wafer cookie for the crust.
Why doesn’t the no-bake cheesecake filling set?
Most likely it’s because you didn’t give it enough time to harden while it cooled in the refrigerator. I recommended letting the cheesecake cool for at least 4 hours, 6 hours is great and overnight even better.
More orange dessert recipes
So if you love oranges or anything orange flavored, you’ll love these easy orange cheesecake tarts. And if you don’t feel like making tarts, a cake would be great! Enjoy!
- 1 Cake Dough Recipe (you can use store-bought cake dough if you prefer)
ORANGE CHEESECAKE FILLING
- 6 spoons cream (full cream, whipping or heavy cream with at least 30% fat)
- 7 ounces cream cheese (full fat)
- ½ cup mascarpone (if you prefer you can use extra cream cheese)
- 1½ spoons orange peel
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ spoons milk (whole or 2%)
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Prepare Easy homemade pie dough. Chill the dough for 45-60 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
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Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out half of it on a floured flat surface to about ⅙ to ¼ inch thick. (the other half of the dough can be frozen if you are not using it).
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Using a round cookie cutter (medium to large depending on the size of the muffin mold you will use, I used a normal sized muffin mold) cut out 9 circles. Place a circle in each muffin cup (flatten with the bottom of a lightly floured shot glass). Trim any excess dough with a sharp knife.
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Prick the bottom of each shell with a fork. Place a square of baking paper or cupcake wrapper in each shell and fill each with some dried beans, rice or sugar.
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Cook for about 10 minutes, then remove the paper and dried beans (make sure it is hot) and bake again for about 5 minutes or until golden. Remove the tarts from the oven and let them cool completely before filling them.
ORANGE CHEESECAKE FILLING
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While the shells cool, prepare the filling.
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In a medium bowl, beat the cream until very stiff.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, mascarpone, zest, sugar and milk until smooth and creamy.
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Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture and mix until smooth.
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Fill the cooled tart shells and refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight. Top with a fresh orange slice before serving. Enjoy!
How to store leftover no-bake mini orange cheesecakes?
You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I don’t recommend freezing these mini orange fruit tarts.
Calories: 353kcal | Carbohydrates: 7G | Protein: 2G | Fat: 19G | Saturated fat: 11G | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 92mg | Potassium: 42mg | Sugar: 7G | Vitamin A: 695UI | Soccer: 54mg | Iron: 0.1mg
