Easy Cheesecake Toppings for Delicious Desserts

The Best Store Bought Cheesecake

You can find a plain cheesecake at most grocery and super stores. Sometimes they are in the freezer, sometimes just the refrigerator section.

They're a popular item for exactly this reason: You can turn a plain cheesecake into a variety of desserts just by switching up the cheesecake toppings.

Growing up, my mom always made the Jell-O No Bake Cheesecake and I have a very deep fondness for that treat.

Now as an adult, I personally prefer the Costco plain cheesecake. I've heard amazing things about the Trader Joe's cheesecake and The Cheesecake Factory even has one available at Walmart.

In the end, the best store bought cheesecake is the one you enjoy topped with your favorite custom toppings! Fresh toppings go such a long way in sprucing up a plain cheesecake.

Super Easy Homemade Cheesecake

If you don't want to grab a prepared cheesecake from the store, you could easily make my crescent roll cheesecake in just minutes.

The crispy cinnamon sugar topping pairs well with all the cheesecake toppings listed below.

How to Decorate a Cheesecake

There are three main ways I like to decorate a cheesecake:

1. Decorate the entire whole cheesecake top with a single topping
2. Decorate the entire cheesecake top with multiple topping options in sections
3. Decorate individual slices when serving

For a special holiday or event with a theme, I enjoy doing the whole cheesecake top with one topping.

For a party where you want to offer lots of options, decorating the top with sections of topping options is super fun.

But the easiest way to keep every guest happy is to decorate individual slices and let your friends and family mix and match just what topping they want on their own slice.

If you want to decorate the whole cheesecake, here are some of my favorite styling tricks:

1. Flood the Top of the Cheesecake

Use a thick cheesecake topping like the pineapple filling or lemon curd and spread it evenly over the entire surface of the cheesecake.

Then place it in the fridge to chill and set so it is firm.

Decorate around the perimeter edge of the cheesecake top with dollops of whipped cream. This makes a gorgeous border.

2. Make a Pretty Drizzle

Use thinner cheesecake toppings like the salted caramel sauce to pipe a pretty drizzle pattern over the top of the cake.

Chill and set in the fridge and then decorate the edges with whipped cream dollops.

3. How to Decorate with Nuts

Chopped nuts or whole pecan halves make a beautiful cheesecake topping decoration.

You can press chopped nuts into the outer sides of a cheesecake by hand or sprinkle them in a border around the outer edge of the top.

Consider adding a whole pecan half on each dollop of whipped cream for garnish or you could use the spiced pecans and arrange them in circular patterns over the entire top of the cheesecake.

Make a Cheesecake Toppings Bar

If you're hosting the party in your own home, setting up a cheesecake toppings bar is an awesome dessert idea.

Place the plain cheesecake in the center of the table and then set out a wide variety of options including:

• Bowls of Fresh Fruit: Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi fruit, slices of apple in fall, clementine oranges.
• Different Dessert Sauces: See some of my favorites in the list of recipes below.
• Crumbled Cookies: Oreos, Nila Wafers, Graham Crackers, etc.
• Crumbled Candies: Butterfingers, Snickers, Heath Bars, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Mini M&Ms, chocolate chips, etc.
• Whipped Cream
• Chopped Nuts