Several years ago, I posted a Mini Cheesecake recipe in honor of my sister, Donna, who passed away on April 3, 2013. That recipe was quite simple, using a vanilla wafer for the bottom ‘crust’ with the mini cheesecakes baked in cupcake wrappers.
When I recently saw this recipe for Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes in Cooking Light magazine, I was inspired to take my cheesecake skills to the next level. This recipe uses a Mini Cheesecake pan (by Chicago Metallic) which yields 12 stunningly cute cheesecakes- and they are easy to lift out too! If you don’t have one of these specialty pans, you could also use a cupcake or muffin pan.
I decided to use my own simple recipe for the crust, which combines graham cracker crumbs, crushed ginger snaps and melted butter. The cheesecake is baked and then topped with a raspberry purée and several fresh raspberries. You could also use blueberries or strawberries as a substitute.
With Christmas less than two weeks away, these mini cheesecakes would certainly liven up your holiday table!
- 1 cup Graham Cracker crumbs
- 1 cup Ginger Snap cookies, crushed
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- 16 oz. cream cheese (2 packages), softened
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp. white flour
- 3 cups fresh raspberries, divided
- 2 tbsps. water
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp. corn starch (mixed with a little water)
- Mint leaves (optional)
- Pre-heat oven to 325 F (160 C). Coat the inside of the mini cheesecake pan (or muffin pan) with cooking spray.
- Combine the Graham Cracker crumbs, crushed Ginger Snap cookies and melted butter in a bowl. Press about 1 tablespoon of the packed ‘dough’ into the bottom of each well, filling it 1/3 of the way up the sides of the well. Set the pan aside while you prepare the filling.
- Soften the cream cheese by placing it in the microwave for about 15 seconds (should be softened but not runny). Combine the cream cheese with the sugar, sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon juice, eggs and flower; beat with electric beaters until smooth. Spoon the mixture over the crust, filling to just below the top of each well. Bake for about 20 minutes or until set and slightly puffed (the filling will deflate slightly after you remove the pan from the oven).
- To prepare the topping, heat 2 cups of fresh raspberries and 2 tbsps. of water together on the stovetop. Heat for several minutes until the fruit becomes soft and liquidy. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer to remove the raspberry seeds. Make a paste by mixing the corn starch with a little water; add this to the strained raspberries along with the sugar. Heat until the mixture thickens and becomes like a syrup, then let cool.
- Remove the mini cheesecakes from the pan onto a serving dish. Top each cheesecake with 1 ½ tablespoons berry syrup and 2-3 fresh raspberries; add a mint leaf, if desired.
- If you don;t have a 12-well Mini Cheesecake pan, you could also use a regular muffin pan. Line the individual wells with baking paper to help lift out the cheesecakes after baking.
7 Comments
Joanne T Ferguson
December 17, 2016 at 2:51 pmI love mini bite delights Fran and cheesecake is one of my faves! Looks delicious and thinking of you and Donna too!
Fran
December 18, 2016 at 1:41 amJoanne, thank you so much for your reply! Donna has been gone now for over three years and time goes by so fast! Happy holidays to you!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
December 18, 2016 at 11:52 pmThese are beautiful. I love the mini size and the stunning color. Happy Holidays!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
December 20, 2016 at 8:11 amMy mother used to make mini cheesecakes whenever she was asked to be a dessert to a party. I always enjoyed them but they certainly weren’t as pretty as yours.
Amira
December 20, 2016 at 3:15 pmWow, love portioned food especially desserts, although I think I can eat them all by myself :). Lovely recipe Fran. I was just wondering how to use the regular cupcake pans? I think it would be very hard to get the cheesecakes out.
Fran
December 20, 2016 at 3:47 pmHi Amira. If you use a regular cupcake pan, I would first spray some cooking oil on the inside of the pan, then place several strips of parchment paper on the inside of each ‘well.’ When the baking is finished, then you can life the cheesecakes out using the ends of the parchment paper strips.
John/Kitchen Riffs
December 21, 2016 at 2:55 amLove cheesecake! Any and all. These are the perfect size — who doesn’t want to say they ate an entire cheesecake?:-) And with these, you can do that without doing violence to yourself! Thanks. And Happy Holidays!