Raspberry Cheesecakes In Jars

These individual raspberry cheesecakes in mason jars are easy to make and eat! Oreo cookie crust with a raspberry cheesecake filling topped with raspberry sauce and whipped cream.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated January 25, 2023
Elise Bauer
Raspberry cheesecake in a jar topped with whipped cream and fresh raspberry

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

A friend of mine was here the other day helping me to experiment with cheesecake recipes. We came up with this delightful doozy of a raspberry cheesecake almost spontaneously. Rather than making a "serves 20" classic cake, we thought why not a smaller batch of single servings? How about with raspberries for Valentine's Day? With some raspberry sauce! And an Oreo crust!

So there's this trend going around for cooking things in mason jars that I didn't quite understand until now. I mean, why would you want to eat a fancy dessert out of a jar?

Think of it this way, mason jars are like see-through ramekins with lids! So if you have a particularly pretty layered dessert, it will look even lovelier in a mason jar, and if you want to give it as a gift, it comes with a convenient lid for easy transporting.

Raspberry cheesecake in a jar topped with whipped cream and fresh raspberry

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

Why Make Cheesecake In a Jar?

In the case of making cheesecake, using a mason jar has an added advantage. Many cheesecake recipes (like the popular classic cheesecake on this site from Dorie Greenspan) require the use of a springform pan placed in a water bath. As careful as you can be with wrapping the pan with foil, water sometimes leaks in, resulting in a soggy crust. There are no leakage issues when you use a mason jar, and you have convenient single-serving containers.

Single-serving cheesecakes baked in jars also cook much faster and cool much faster than large cakes, which usually require chilling overnight in the fridge.

Now as single servings go, these are rather generous, given the richness of the cheesecake. Feel free to share one with your sweetheart (I did!).

Raspberry cheesecake in a jar with a scoop taken out with a spoon

Simply Recipes / Elise Bauer

Raspberry Cheesecakes In Jars

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 60 mins
Cooling and chilling 90 mins
Total Time 2 hrs 50 mins
Servings 4 to 8 servings
Yield 4 jars

As soon as you think you want to make these cheesecakes, take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator to help it soften as it warms to room temperature.

You can probably easily double the recipe without having to double the raspberry sauce (it's a generous amount).

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces frozen raspberries, divided

  • 3/4 cup sugar, divided

  • 1/3 cup water

  • 10 Oreo sandwich cookies, cream removed,  or 20 chocolate wafer cookies

  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

  • 1 pinch salt

  • 1 large egg

  • 1/3 cup sour cream

  • Whipped cream, for topping

  • Fresh raspberries, for garnish

Special Equipment

  • Stand mixer
  • 4 wide-mouth (8-ounce) mason jars
  • roasting pan

Method

  1. Make the raspberry sauce:

    Set aside 1/2 a cup of the frozen raspberries from the package. Place the remaining raspberries in a medium saucepan. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/3 cup of water.

    Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat, then lower the heat to maintain the simmer, and gently cook, whisking frequently, until the raspberries have completely broken down, about 10 minutes.

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    If you want, strain the raspberry sauce through a sieve to remove the seeds, and then return the sauce to the pan and continue to gently simmer until the the sauce is syrupy. Set aside to cool.

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  2. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  3. Make the Oreo cookie crust:

    Grind the chocolate cookie wafers (Oreo or other brand) in a food processor, mini chopper, or by placing in a plastic bag and crushing with a rolling pin, until finely ground.

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    Place in a medium bowl and stir in the melted butter. Divide evenly among the mason jars, packing the chocolate "crust" at the bottom of each mason jar in a layer about 1/4 to 1/3-inch thick.

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    At this point, you can place them in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes to bake the crust, which will make it easier to pour in the cheesecake filling without it mixing in with the crust. (Or if you don't care if the bottom is a little messy, you can skip this part.)

  4. Make the cream cheese filling:

    In a mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for 4 minutes, until smooth and light. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and beat for 4 minutes more. Add a pinch of salt and the egg, and beat another minute.

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    Add the sour cream and beat another minute, until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of the cooled raspberry syrup from step one, and beat until incorporated.

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  5. Layer raspberries and filling on top of crusts in mason jars:

    Place the reserved frozen raspberries on top of the chocolate crusts in the mason jars in a single layer. Pour the raspberry cheesecake filling over the raspberries in the jars.

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  6. Bake in water bath:

    Place in a roasting pan and add about an inch of boiling water to the pan to create a water bath, which will help the cheesecakes cook more evenly. Bake at 325°F for 40 minutes.

    Turn off the heat in the oven and let the cheesecakes continue to gently cook in the residual heat of the oven for another 30 minutes.

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  7. Chill and top with whipped cream and raspberry sauce:

    Remove from oven and let cool to room temp. Chill for at least a half hour before eating. Don't worry if there are cracks on the surface of the cheesecakes. Top with the remaining raspberry sauce, whipped cream, and fresh raspberries.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
396 Calories
25g Fat
40g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 396
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 33%
Saturated Fat 14g 68%
Cholesterol 96mg 32%
Sodium 249mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 40g 15%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Total Sugars 34g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 11mg 57%
Calcium 61mg 5%
Iron 1mg 7%
Potassium 148mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.