Tag: How To Make 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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Cheesecake · No-Bake

Best No-Bake Cheesecake

What Jessica Baked Next12 Comments

 No-bake cheesecake is a real crowd-pleasing dessert and it’s exceptionally easy to make! 

I don’t think I need to tell you how much I adore no-bake cheesecake, that’s pretty clear with the sheer number of cheesecake recipes already on my blog.

With the summer and warmer weather on the way, I figured a no-bake recipe would be greatly appreciated. In the kitchen during the summer it can get unbearably hot and when it’s sweltering outside the last thing you want to do is stand over a hot stove. That’s when no-bake recipes come to the rescue.

My cheesecake recipe repertoire is forever growing and I’m always happy to share my latest cheesecake creation. The cheesecake recipe I’m sharing with you today is inspired by my No-Bake White Chocolate Cheesecake, which went down a treat with readers of my blog.

This is the first recipe I’ve named as the “best”. I don’t normally throw that word around a lot, but I do believe this cheesecake truly deserves its title.

For all the no-bake cheesecakes I have made for my blog so far, they all have incorporated candy/sweets or chocolate into the mix. I was looking through my cheesecake recipes and realised I am yet to share a simple and plain no-bake cheesecake. As much as I enjoy cheesecake with different flavours added to it, I still do just prefer a basic and plain cheesecake.

I’ve made this no-bake cheesecake a handful of times already testing it out for family members or friends coming over for dinner. The feedback I have received has been really positive and after being asked for my recipe on many occasions, I knew it was about time to document the recipe.

Once your cheesecake is completely set, slice it up and serve it on its own or decorate with homemade raspberry sauce (recipe included below). If you’re not a fan of raspberries, you can swap them for blueberries and make a delicious blueberry sauce instead.

Here it is, my perfect no-bake cheesecake. It’s the best no-bake cheesecake recipe in my opinion, but I’ll let you be the judge of that!

(Serves 10-12)

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base:

300g digestive biscuits

140g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Cheesecake Filling:

500g full-fat cream cheese, softened – I leave mine out at room temperature for 30 minutes until soft

150g icing sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon lemon juice

300ml double cream, chilled

Raspberry Coulis:

300g fresh or frozen raspberries

2 tablespoons icing sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

  1. To make the biscuit base: Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor or in a ziplock bag with a rolling pin to a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and mix until moistened. Tip the biscuit crumbs into a 23cm springform cake tin and press down until compact. Use the back of a spoon or a glass to smooth over, place in the fridge to chill whilst you make the cheesecake filling.
  2. To make the cheesecake filling: In a large mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese with the icing sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice until smooth and thoroughly combined. In another mixing bowl whisk together the cream until soft peaks form. Fold the cream into the cream cheese mixture and incorporate fully. Then whisk until the mixture holds soft peaks, be careful not to over mix otherwise the cheesecake mixture will curdle. Spread over the biscuit base and smooth over with a spatula or palette knife.
  3. Now cover the cheesecake and leave to set for at least 8 hours or preferably overnight.
  4. To make the raspberry coulis: Place the raspberries, icing sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Heat gently and continue to cook until the raspberries break down and you’re left with a thick and glossy sauce. Take off the heat and pass the coulis through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Discard the seeds. Leave the sauce to cool before refrigerating.
  5. To serve slice up, top with raspberry coulis, fresh fruit or simply enjoy as it is.

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