Today’s dessert isn’t your everyday cheesecake recipe – it’s a Halloween cheesecake with a cake base! Topped with homemade whipped topping and plenty of Halloween sprinkles, it a decadent treat that will satisfy cheesecake fans and cake fans alike.

Halloween Cheesecake Recipe

Does anyone else get inspired by restaurant menus?

Try as I might, I can never taste all of the things that I want to a restaurant, but often I’ll take pictures or notes of other menu items to try to make at home because they sound so scrumptious.

Our closest Cheesecake Factory is over two hours away, so I’ve only eaten at one a handful of times but I spend a good amount of time on each visit poring over the dessert menu – not just to decide on my dessert, but to get ideas for fun baking projects!

This Halloween Cheesecake is somewhat inspired by their Celebration Cheesecake which has a layer of funfetti cake right in the cheesecake!

There are a couple of ways that you could make this cheesecake:

bake each layer separately, then assemble after baking
… or be lazy like me and bake both the cheesecake and the cake in the same pan, without any assembly work

I was worried that baking the cake, then adding the cheesecake layer and re-baking would result in a very hard, dry cake, but the cheesecake layer keeps the cake layer surprisingly moist and soft. The “crust” of the cake does get a bit thicker as a result, but for me it’s a fair trade-off considering how much easier this method is and how well the two cake components “bake” together to form a cohesive cake.

This cheesecake recipe only uses half of the cake batter. You can use the remaining batter to make a second cheesecake or just make a few cupcakes to serve alongside your cheesecake.

Also, while we used a standard funfetti boxed cake mix, you can use your own favorite vanilla cake recipe or a boxed vanilla cake mix and stir in about 1 cup of the Halloween sprinkles that you are using in the rest of the recipe to keep a uniform appearance.

While I think the whipped topping ratio to the rest of the cake is perfect, you can double the whipped topping recipe and use it to coat the sides of the cake, instead of just the top.

One key aspect of this cheesecake is having the cake layer bake flat. You can achieve this by using cake strips or rotating the cake during baking so that all parts of the cake rise evenly, despite any hot spots your oven may have. You can buy pre-made cake strips or you can also make homemade cake strips to ensure perfectly flat cake layers. Check out this tutorial from Preppy Kitchen for how to do that.

(A small rounded top is not a huge deal, but if your cake has a pronounced dome top, you will want to carefully remove it from the springform pan, cut off the dome, and then place the cake back in the pan before proceeding with the cheesecake layer.)

More Show Stopping Halloween Cakes

Halloween Cheesecake Ingredients

For the Cake Layer:

Boxed Funfetti Cake Mix
- Plus Ingredients Called for the on the Box

For the Cheesecake Layer:

Cream Cheese, softened (three 8oz packages) <– don’t use low-fat cream cheese or else the texture and creaminess will suffer
White Sugar
Eggs, room temperature
Sour Cream
Vanilla Extract, or to taste
Halloween Sprinkles, as desired

For the Whipped Topping Layer:

Heavy Whipping Cream
Powdered Icing Sugar
Vanilla Extract
Halloween Sprinkles, as desired

Tip: if you want your cake to look completely cohesive, you can opt for a vanilla cake mix and stir in Halloween sprinkles to match.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

9″ Springform Pan
Piping Bag fit with a large star tip
Offset Spatula
Electric Mixer <– this is a great hand mixer if you don’t want to make the investment into a stand mixer
Measuring Cups and Spoons
Mixing Bowls

How to Make A Halloween Cheesecake Cake

For the cake layer:

Preheat oven to 350°

Grease a 9” springform pan and set aside.

Prepare the funfetti cake mix according to package instructions and pour half of the batter into the prepared springform pan.

Tap the baking pan on your counter to ensure the cake batter is completely even.

Bake for 23-25 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (If you oven has hotspots, make sure to rotate your cake during baking so that it bakes evenly – you want a flat cake.)

Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before adding the cheesecake layer.

For the cheesecake layer:

Place the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Beat in the eggs until completely combined.

Stir in the sour cream, vanilla and sprinkles until incorporated.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the cooled cake.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until cheesecake appears set when you gently jiggle the pan. (The centre can jiggle slightly.)

Allow cheesecake layer to cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

For the whipped topping layer:

In a large bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream, vanilla and powdered icing sugar with an electric mixer. Beat for 4-7 minutes, until stiff peaks form.

Scoop the whipped cream frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

Pipe about half of the whipped cream onto the cake and smooth down with an offset spatula.

Pipe the remaining whipped cream around the edge in star dollops. To form the dollops, put the piping tip directly on the cheesecake, and in one motion, squeeze the piping bag to push through the whipped topping as you swirl your wrist slightly, then flick your wrist up to stop the stream of frosting as you stop pressing on the piping bag.

Sprinkle the cheesecake with remaining sprinkles, as desired.

Place the cheesecake back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set before serving.

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Yield: 8-10 slices

Halloween Cheesecake

Name: Halloween Cheesecake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Cake
Ingredients: 1 Boxed Funfetti Cake Mix; Plus Ingredients Called for the on the Box; 24oz Cream Cheese, softened (three 8oz packages); 1 cup White Sugar; 3 Eggs, room temperature; 1/4 cup Sour Cream; 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract, or to taste; 1 cup Halloween Sprinkles, as desired; 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream; 1/2 cup Powdered Icing Sugar; 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract; 1/2 cup Halloween Sprinkles, as desired

A delicious and unique Halloween cheesecake with a funfetti cake base and whipped cream topping, this cheesecake is perfect for having your cake - and eating your cheesecake, too!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Additional Time 25 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cake Layer:

1 Boxed Funfetti Cake Mix
Plus Ingredients Called for the on the Box

For the Cheesecake Layer:

24oz Cream Cheese, softened (three 8oz packages)
1 cup White Sugar
3 Eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup Sour Cream
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract, or to taste
1 cup Halloween Sprinkles, as desired

For the Whipped Topping Layer:

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Powdered Icing Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup Halloween Sprinkles, as desired

Instructions

For the cake layer:

Preheat oven to 350°
Grease a 9” springform pan and set aside.
Prepare the funfetti cake mix according to package instructions and pour half of the batter into the prepared springform pan.
Tap the baking pan on your counter to ensure the cake batter is completely even.
Bake for 23-25 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. (If you oven has hotspots, make sure to rotate your cake during baking so that it bakes evenly - you want a flat cake.)
Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes before adding the cheesecake layer.
(Note, if you cake doesn’t bake evenly or has a pronounced dome, you can carefully remove the springform pan, cut off the domed top and then carefully place the springform pan’s side back around the cake and secure before moving on to the cheesecake layer.)

For the cheesecake layer:

Place the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs until completely combined.
Stir in the sour cream, vanilla and sprinkles until incorporated.
Pour the cheesecake batter over the cooled cake.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until cheesecake appears set when you gently jiggle the pan. (The centre can jiggle slightly.)
Allow cheesecake layer to cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

For the whipped topping layer:

In a large bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream, vanilla and powdered icing sugar with an electric mixer. Beat for 4-7 minutes, until stiff peaks form.
Scoop the whipped cream frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Pipe about half of the whipped cream onto the cake and smooth down with an offset spatula.
Pipe the remaining whipped cream around the edge in star dollops. To form the dollops, put the piping tip directly on the cheesecake, and in one motion, squeeze the piping bag to push through the whipped topping as you swirl your wrist slightly, then flick your wrist up to stop the stream of frosting as you stop pressing on the piping bag.
Sprinkle the cheesecake with remaining sprinkles, as desired.
Place the cheesecake back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set before serving.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 789Total Fat: 44gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 155mgSodium: 626mgCarbohydrates: 92gFiber: 1gSugar: 65gProtein: 9g

Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.

I hope your family loves this fun mash-up dessert as much as mine did!

For more scrumptious desserts, check out our full Dessert recipe collection here:

Or, more for cake inspiration, check out our full Cake recipe collection here:

Halloween Cheesecake