Easter Cheesecake Parfait

Crumbled brownies are layered with chocolate mini eggs and a homemade cream cheese filling in this Easter Cheesecake Parfait recipe. Easily prepare everything a few days ahead of time and assemble the parfaits when ready to serve. Make extra because these are deliciously addictive!

When I was growing up, Sunday dinner dessert was almost always my mom’s no-bake cheesecake.  It was a simple dessert with no fuss and all of us kids loved it.  Her favourite fruit topping was canned cherry though, which I absolutely hate, but whenever she made it, I would scrape the cherries off and eat the rest.  For this Easter Cheesecake Parfait, I’m skipping the fruit topping, but relying heavily on a version of my mom’s no-bake cream cheese filling to complete this adorable treat!

I have a wonderful recipe for two-bite brownies, which is what I used in the preparation of these parfaits. However, everyone knows that you can buy two-bite brownies at almost every grocery store. Even though those grab bags are so easy to find and eliminate the need to bake your own, sometimes ease is not always best. Homemade two-bite brownies are better, fresher, and cheaper too.

I think the last time I bought a bag of those little confections at the grocery store, they were almost four dollars! The bag only has four or five! I can make a batch at home with ingredients I already have on hand. My recipe requires flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Most of us have all of those ingredients in our pantry or fridge already.

My recipe uses mini muffin pans to achieve the two-bite thing, but you can bake them in a 9×9 inch pan because, in the end, we’re going to crumble them anyway. It’s just a suggestion; if buying them at the store is a better option for you, please do that. Otherwise, you can find my recipe here.

CADBURY MINI EGGS

Cadbury Mini Eggs are one of my weaknesses. When it comes to snacks, I will always turn to salty snacks like chips or pretzels. But, when it comes to these mini eggs, I cannot turn them down. They are my kryptonite. That is exactly why I had no problems at all wolfing back one of these Easter Cheesecake Parfaits.

Cadbury Mini Eggs are a milk chocolate candy. They were introduced by the Cadbury company in 1967. The inner part of the egg is solid milk chocolate. The outer part consists of a hard candy shell. They are moulded to resemble miniature eggs.

Did you know that originally Mini Eggs were only available at Easter with the exception of in Canada? You can now find them year-round in most places. Did you know that the colours of the hard shell coating are different in other parts of the world?

In the UK, mini eggs come in white, yellow, pink and purple and are dotted with speckles. In Canada, the colours get even funkier. We have yellow and pink, but also green and turquoise. The original colours are white, pink, light blue, and yellow. Those are only available in the United States.

CAN’T FIND MINI EGGS?

If you cannot find Cadbury Mini Eggs, don’t worry about it, because you have other options. You can always find the Great Value brand at Walmart. Hershey’s also has their own version, which they call Eggies. The Hershey brand is easily found on Amazon.

Since these cookies are not baked with the mini eggs in them, then you have other options as well. You can certainly use M&Ms. Or, you can use Smarties if you live in Canada. (In Canada, Smarties are similar to M&Ms, not like in the US where Smarties are sugary, pill-shaped candies packaged in stacked rows.) The cookie base is delicious just as it is, especially with the white chocolate chips inside.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare these Easter Cheesecake Parfaits. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

Preparing the Brownies

As mentioned above, you can bake two-bite brownies from scratch, or you can buy them from your local grocery store. In fact, you don’t need two bite brownies at all for this recipe. You can use any regular rectangle or square-shaped brownie that you prefer. I like to use two-bite brownies because they are easy to crumble into quarters, which is the perfect bite-sized piece to pair with the cream cheese filling and mini eggs.

Also, I happen to love the crispier, outer edge of brownies rather than the moist, fudgy center. Once again, you can find my recipe here. Three two-bite brownies per parfait are perfect!

Cream Cheese Filling

• Cream Cheese – When baking with cream cheese it is always best to use brick style rather than whipped or cream cheese in a tub.  The brick style is firmer and more condensed.  Cream cheese adds texture and flavour to baked items.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  It is used in frostings quite often.  When dusted lightly onto cakes and cookies, it adds just a touch of sweetness, but more importantly, it looks very visually appealing!
• Cream – Sometimes called whipping cream or heavy cream, this high-fat content dairy product is often used for dessert toppings, ice creams, and even some cakes and cookies.  Look for a cream with 35 – 38% fat content.
• Sour Cream – Baking with sour cream is a great way to keep baked goods moist while adding texture and richness. In this recipe, it helps to add creaminess while balancing the sweetness.
• Cadbury Mini Eggs – As mentioned previously, you can use your favourite candy-coated chocolates. I’m using the Cadbury brand in both the regular and micro varieties.

HOW TO MAKE EASTER CHEESECAKE PARFAITS

The first thing to do is to determine if you are baking the brownies or buying them. If you are baking them at home, you can use my two-bite brownie recipe or you can use your favourite brownie recipe. Before you move forward with the rest of the recipe, ensure that your home-baked brownies are completely cooled and preferably a day old. If you are using store-bought brownies, you are already set!

To prepare the cream cheese filling, use a handheld mixer or stand mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Next, add in the confectioner’s sugar, one cup at a time, and beat well into the cream cheese.  Lastly, add the cream and the sour cream.  Beat into the cream cheese mixture until well combined.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble.

To assemble, start by breaking one two-bite brownie into quarters. Drop those into the bottom of a stemless wine glass or a serving vessel of your choice. Sprinkle in six regular-sized mini eggs and twelve micro mini eggs. Top those with two-three tablespoons of the cream cheese filling mixture. Repeat this layer once more. End with a layer of cream cheese filling and mini eggs. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to two days!

MAKE EVERYTHING AHEAD OF TIME

You can follow the steps in the previous section and prepare these Easter Cheesecake Parfaits ahead of time. If tightly covered and refrigerated, they will keep for at least two days – maybe more! (They didn’t last that long in our home!) Alternatively, you can prepare the brownies and the cream cheese filling a few days in advance. The brownies can sit at room temperature as long as they are stored in a sealed container.

When I prepared this recipe, I had a little bit of leftover cream cheese filling, so I transferred it to a food-safe container with a tight-fitting lid and stuck it in the refrigerator. I found it pushed to the back behind the milk almost a week later. It was still perfectly fine! I did, however, toss it into the compost, because I am very strict about not eating leftovers after a twenty-four-hour period. It’s a me thing!