Mini cheesecake – Copyright Coquere
Mini cheesecakes are super easy to make and taste absolutely fabulous.
Mini cheesecakes
Mini cheesecakes are super easy to make and taste absolutely fabulous. You can top them according to your own preferences or follow the suggestions in the recipe. Mini cheesecakes are delightful treats that work well as a small dessert or just as an extra treat whenever you desire. They require some preparation since these are baked mini cheesecakes. Consequently, they need to cool down and stay in the refrigerator for a while to achieve the right consistency. The recipe yields 12–15 pieces, depending on the size of the muffin moulds.
Ingredients
Crust
150-gram digestive biscuits
60-gram butter
Filling
450-gram cream cheese (e.g., Philadelphia or Ricotta)
2.4 decilitres of sweetened condensed milk, equivalent to one can of 397 grams.
185-gram sour cream/crème fraiche
3 teaspoons vanilla sugar
15-gram cornstarch
2 eggs
Topping
Caramel sauce
Strawberry jam
Strawberries
Directions
Preparation
- Start by setting out all the ingredients. It’s essential that all ingredients are at room temperature.
- Use a non-stick muffin pan and paper muffin liners.
- It’s advantageous to use two paper liners per muffin to help the mini cheesecakes hold their shape during baking.
Crust
- Begin by melting the butter and setting it aside to cool.
- Crush or process the digestive biscuits in a food processor until you get a smooth mixture without any lumps.
- Add the melted butter and mix until the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Place about 1½ – 2 teaspoons of the mixture into each muffin form. Press it firmly down with a glass or similar flat-bottomed tool.
- Place the forms in the refrigerator to set.
Filling
- Use an electric mixer to mix the filling until it becomes loose and silky. Run the mixer on low speed to avoid incorporating too much air into the mixture. It’s also crucial not to overmix as this could cause the cheesecake filling to crack during baking.
- In a suitable large bowl that can accommodate all the remaining ingredients, add the cream cheese, crème fraiche/sour cream, condensed milk, vanilla sugar, and cornstarch. Mix until you have a smooth and even batter.
- It’s helpful to have the eggs in separate bowls. Whisk them lightly with a fork or similar utensil.
- Now add one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Tap the bowl several times on the table to remove any air bubbles. You can use a thin stick or similar tool to gently swirl in a zigzag pattern to release any trapped air bubbles.
- The cheesecake mixture is runny, and a tip is to pour it into a glass jug and then pour it from the jug into the muffin forms, leaving about a couple of millimetres to the top of the muffin forms so that the cakes can rise during baking.
- Gently shake the muffin pan to get a smooth surface and potentially release more air bubbles.
- Place them in the oven.
Bake: 160 °C in a preheated oven for 17-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Turn off the oven, and leave the oven door slightly ajar for 15 minutes before taking them out. Then, place them on a cooling rack and let them cool to room temperature. Cover them and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Serving: Top the mini cheesecakes according to your preferences and taste. In the suggestion, a slightly thick salted caramel sauce, strawberry jam, and strawberries are used. See a separate recipe for caramel sauce. It is sufficient to make a half portion of caramel sauce, simply divide all the ingredients in half: Caramel sauce
Allergy: Contains gluten and lactose. Easily made gluten-free by using gluten-free biscuits and lactose-free by using lactose-free cream cheese and crème fraiche. As far as known, lactose-free sweetened condensed milk is not available. You can substitute it with approximately 100-gram of sugar, you will then get at slightly ticker batter, or make lactose-free condensed milk yourself. See a separate recipe: Condensed milk
Learn more about cheese, how it is made, and the different types: Cheese
Comprehensive and extensive website covering everything related to cheese: All about cheese
Read an informative article about cheese from Harvard School of Public Health: Cheese