Tag: How To Make Baked Cheesecake

Baking · Biscuits and Cookies · Cheesecake

Mini Cheesecakes

What Jessica Baked Next51 Comments

Made in a muffin tin, these mini cheesecakes are a yummy bitesize dessert with whipped cream and decorated with various toppings. This easy recipe makes a dozen delicious mini vanilla cheesecakes – I dare you not to eat the whole batch!

Originally posted in January 2015, recipe and photographs updated March 2020.

We’re pressing fast forward and jumping straight from 2015 to 2020 with the recipe re-do I’m sharing today! Back in 2015, little did I know many times I would bake these divine (and super adorable) mini cheesecakes. I had so much fun going back and baking an older blog recipe and I’m really pleased with the updated photographs I’ve taken of these cheesecakes.

These mini vanilla cheesecakes are scrumptious little bites of creamy cheesecake bliss and what’s so amazing about this recipe is that you can bake a cheesecake in a muffin tin! I even adapted the recipe by adding lemon juice and zest to the cheesecake filling to make Mini Lemon Cheesecakes (one of the most viewed recipes on my blog).

It’s not really a secret, I think I’ve probably told you a million times already that cheesecake is my favourite dessert? Chocolate brownies/cake is a very close second, but cheesecake (something I used to hate when I was younger) takes the crown for my most loved dessert ever.

I usually prefer No-Bake Cheesecake, but lately I’ve been really enjoying baked cheesecakes, as when made well, they’re super light and creamy and a gourmet dessert that’s pretty hard to resist.

This recipe perfect for when you don’t have the time to make a whole cheesecake, they take less than half the time to make compared to a full-sized cheesecake baked in springform tin does! These mini cheesecakes remind me of my favourite New York Baked Cheesecake, but you won’t have to wait as long to devour these. I love cheesecake a lot, but sometimes I don’t want a big cheesecake hanging around in my kitchen – it’s too tempting for a massive cheesecake fan like myself to fight the urge to grab slice after slice of cheesecake straight from the fridge!

As the cheesecakes bake they will rise slightly and upon cooling the cheesecakes will sink a little and may even develop a dip in the centre. But don’t worry too much about this as you can pile on toppings and hide this and if your cheesecakes do happen to crack you can cover it up very easily!

Once baked the cheesecakes will need to be left to cool completely to room temperature, then cover the tray tightly and chill the cheesecakes for at least 4 hours or overnight for best results. I do recommend chilling overnight if you have the time, as this will make a lot of difference regarding the taste and texture of your cheesecakes.

I chose to top my batch of cheesecakes with various toppings like homemade raspberry sauce, whipped cream, chopped strawberries and because it’s nearly Easter, I topped a few of my cheesecakes with Cadbury mini eggs. Decorate the cheesecakes right before you’re planning to serve them otherwise the toppings will go soft from the moisture in the cheesecake.

Because these are vanilla cheesecakes they suit lots of flavours. Instead of a fruit coulis/sauce why not drizzle the tops with caramel, chocolate sauce or a spoonful of curd or jam. You could even sprinkle over some chocolate chips or curls, top with pieces of your favourite chocolate bar or scatter over chopped nuts.

(Makes 12)

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base:

150g digestive biscuits (1 and 1/2 cups of biscuit crumbs), crushed – alternatively you can use graham crackers

2 tablespoons caster or granulated sugar (optional)

70g (5 tablespoons) butter (salted or unsalted), melted

Cheesecake Filling:

450g (16 ounces / 1lb) full-fat cream cheese, softened – I leave mine out at room temperature for an hour to soften

130g (2/3 cup) caster or granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 170°C / 150°C Fan / 325°F / Gas Mark 3. Line a 12-hole cupcake/muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

2. Mix together the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter until well combined. Using a tablespoon measure distribute the biscuit crumbs into the muffin cases and press down with a teaspoon until level. Bake the biscuit bases for 5 minutes until lightly toasted. Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

3. Whilst the biscuit bases are cooling make the cheesecake filling. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer beat the cream cheese for to soften. Gradually add the sugar and once it’s all added continue to mix for another minute. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix through – at this point make sure you scrap down the base and sides of your mixer to make sure the batter and ingredients are all well incorporated.

4. Evenly distribute the cheesecake batter between the paper liners – spoon roughly 3 tablespoons of the batter into each prepared mini cheesecake base making sure you fill 2/3 of the way up of each. (I start with a tablespoonful in each case and go round again until the batter mix is used up.)

5. Bake the cheesecakes for 22-24 minutes or until the centres are just set. Once set take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, gently run a butter knife around the outside of the muffin case to help release the cheesecakes from the tin, as the biscuit base can sometimes release some butter which makes the case stick slightly. The cheesecakes will keep stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Recipe Notes: 

  • For the biscuit base I like using a plain flavoured biscuits like digestives or rich tea. Graham crackers are a good substitute for overseas readers.
  • To save you time weighing out ingredients: 150g of digestive biscuits crumbs is exactly 10 digestive biscuits and that’s 1 and 1/2 cups of biscuit crumbs for anyone using cup measurements.
  • I like adding a couple of tablespoons of sugar to my biscuit base to sweeten it, however this is optional and you don’t have to add any sugar to the base ingredients if you prefer not to.

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Baking · Cheesecake

New York Cheesecake with Mixed Berry Coulis

What Jessica Baked Next6 Comments

Classic New York-style cheesecake served with a deliciously tangy mixed berry coulis. This is a restaurant quality dessert you can easily bake in your own kitchen! 


We’re nearly at the end of January, but I’m back and it’s time now to share my first recipe of 2019!

The New Year comes as a time of reflection and thinking about your goals for the next year. This blog has given me so many wonderful opportunities and I’ve achieved so much through being a food blogger, personally and professionally. This blogging journey has enabled me to work with prestigious companies and attend some wonderful events over the years – something I’d love to continue doing in the future. My blog is a fantastic and fun hobby and I get so much joy out of working on it, so I’m looking forward this next year where I’ll continue to share my favourite recipes.

Today, I’m serving you a virtual slice of cheesecake ready for you to bake and celebrate the weekend with.

You’re going to fall head over heels with this cheesecake. It’s creamy, incredibly light for a baked cheesecake and pairs wonderfully well with a drizzle of homemade mixed berry coulis.

This cheesecake starts with a buttery biscuit base. I like to use plain digestive biscuits as they’re not too flavourful and won’t distract or steal any glory from the cheesecake filling.

The cheesecake filling requires the usual cheesecake ingredients: softened cream cheese, caster sugar, sour cream, plain flour, vanilla extract and whole eggs and an egg yolk. I would always recommend that you use full-fat cream cheese and sour cream – using low or reduced fat varieties will not work and are likely to jeopardise the overall taste and texture.

The baked cheesecake tastes amazing alone, but I particularly enjoy cheesecake served with a coulis or a sauce. I couldn’t decide what flavour coulis I wanted to make to serve with this cheesecake. At first I thought I would prepare a strawberry sauce, but I worried it might be too sweet, next I thought about making a raspberry coulis but then I discovered the pack of frozen raspberries I thought I had in the freezer were actually mixed berries, so because I didn’t feel like rushing out to get some different fruit I decided to stick with using the mixed berries.

I also usually make my coulis/sauces with icing sugar, but again I used the last of that and forgot to replace it so I ended up using caster sugar, which works just as well and produced a deliciously tangy mixed berry coulis.

This New York cheesecake has stolen my heart. Many baked cheesecakes I have eaten have never impressed me, but this recipe changed my opinion completely! It was incredibly easy and simple to make and tasted and looked like a dessert you would be served at a restaurant.

(Serves 12)

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base: 

200g digestive biscuits

100g butter (salted or unsalted)

Cheesecake Filling: 

900g / 2lb full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

200g caster sugar

200ml full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

3 tablespoons plain flour

3 large free-range eggs plus 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten and at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mixed Berry Coulis: 

500g mixed fresh or frozen berries (mine included blackberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants and strawberries)

4 tablespoons caster or icing sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice or water

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C Fan / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line the base of a 23cm / 9-inch springform cake tin.
  2. To make the biscuit base: Crush the biscuits to fine crumbs. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and then add to the biscuit crumbs and stir to combine. Place the biscuit mixture into the cake tin and spread into an even layer pressing it down until firm using the back of a spoon or your fingers.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Once baked remove from the oven and leave to cool while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
  4. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C / 140°C Fan / 320°F / Gas Mark 2.
  5. To make the cheesecake filling: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with a spatula or wooden spoon until smooth. Add the sour cream and flour and beat again until incorporated. Gradually add the beaten egg a bit at a time along with the vanilla extract – you want to beat the mixture and not whisk it as whisking will add too much air and may cause your cheesecake to crack.
  6. Pour the cheesecake filling on the biscuit base and then bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until the cheesecake is just set with a slight wobble. It should still be cream on top and a little golden around the edges. My cheesecake took an extra 10-15 minutes before I was confident that it was ready.
  7. Now turn off the oven, leave the door open slightly ajar and leave the cheesecake to cool completely in the oven – this prevents the top of the cheesecake from cracking, but if it does crack it’s not the end of the world! Once the cheesecake is cool, cover it and leave to set in the fridge for at least 8 hours or for best results leave it overnight.
  8. To make the mixed berry coulis: In a medium saucepan add the mixed berries, sugar and lemon juice/water. Gently heat and cook on a medium heat, crush the fruit with the back of a spoon until the fruit starts to break down and has started to reduce and the juices coat the back of the spoon. Strain through a sieve, then chill the sauce at the same time as the cheesecake – I find making mine the night before and leaving it to chill overnight produces the perfect consistency.
  9. To serve the cheesecake, take it out from the fridge and allow it to sit for about 5-10 minutes before removing from the cake tin. Slice and serve with the mixed berry coulis and more fruit.

Recipe slightly adapted from BBC Food

Recipe Notes:

  • Before starting to the prepare the cheesecake, you must make sure that all the ingredients for the filling are at room temperature. I always leave the cream cheese and sour cream out at room temperature for about an hour to soften.
  • Cheesecake will keep stored in the fridge for up to one week. You can freeze the cheesecake for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
  • You can switch the mixed berries for frozen raspberries to make a raspberry coulis or you can serve the cheesecake with caramel or chocolate sauce if you prefer.

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