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Home RecipesDessertsMini Cheesecakes
By King Arthur Flour Company Inc.
Images
Serves
Makes 12 mini cheesecakes
Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/3 cup almond flour or ground almonds
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) butter, cold
Batter:
8 ounces (1 large package) cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream, or sour cream
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional swirl-ins:
1 ounce bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons good-quality jam, warmed slightly and stirred until smooth
Procedure
For an elegant presentation—and the perfect end to a holiday dinner—bake single-serving cheesecakes and top with fresh raspberries.
To make the crust: Preheat your oven to 425°F. Whisk together the flour, almond flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives, or rub together with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Sprinkle in a teaspoon or two of water if the dough is too crumbly to hold together when squeezed.
Divide the crumbs among the 12 cups of a mini cheesecake pan. Press them firmly to the bottoms and about ½" up the sides. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until set and just beginning to color. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
To make the batter: In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the cream, egg and vanilla; mix well. Spoon the batter into the cooled crusts, using about 2 tablespoons in each. Top with a scant half teaspoon of melted chocolate or jam, if desired, and use a knife blade to swirl it into the batter.
Bake the cheesecakes for 18 to 20 minutes, until just set. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes—the tops will sink slightly. Use a knife to gently loosen the edges, then carefully invert the pan and push the cheesecakes out. Immediately turn the cheesecakes right-side up and chill them. To remove the metal plates before serving, run the blade of a table knife under hot water to warm it, then run the knife between the crust and the metal disk to free up the cheesecake.
Just before serving, garnish with fresh berries or whipped cream, if desired.
8 ounces (1 large package) cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream, or sour cream
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional swirl-ins:
1 ounce bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted
2 tablespoons good-quality jam, warmed slightly and stirred until smooth
Procedure
For an elegant presentation—and the perfect end to a holiday dinner—bake single-serving cheesecakes and top with fresh raspberries.
To make the crust: Preheat your oven to 425°F. Whisk together the flour, almond flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives, or rub together with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Sprinkle in a teaspoon or two of water if the dough is too crumbly to hold together when squeezed.
Divide the crumbs among the 12 cups of a mini cheesecake pan. Press them firmly to the bottoms and about ½" up the sides. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until set and just beginning to color. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
To make the batter: In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the cream, egg and vanilla; mix well. Spoon the batter into the cooled crusts, using about 2 tablespoons in each. Top with a scant half teaspoon of melted chocolate or jam, if desired, and use a knife blade to swirl it into the batter.
Bake the cheesecakes for 18 to 20 minutes, until just set. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes—the tops will sink slightly. Use a knife to gently loosen the edges, then carefully invert the pan and push the cheesecakes out. Immediately turn the cheesecakes right-side up and chill them. To remove the metal plates before serving, run the blade of a table knife under hot water to warm it, then run the knife between the crust and the metal disk to free up the cheesecake.
Just before serving, garnish with fresh berries or whipped cream, if desired.
Oven temperature: A fluctuation in the oven temperature can cause the cheesecake to rise too quickly and then fall in the center as it cools. Overcooking: Cooking the cheesecake for too long can cause it to become dry and crack, leading to a sunken center.
Assuming there's a crust of some sort, take a thin, flexible blade (small offset spatula would be great) and run it around the edges of each mini cheesecake, making sure to get down to the bottom. Remember that muffin cups are almost always NOT straight sided so move the blade with the pan, not just straight down.
Enter the Mini Cheesecake Pan. Essentially, a muffin or cupcake style of pan that has individual removable bases for each cavity. The removable bottoms allow you to “pop” the little cheesecakes out of the pan just by pushing the base upwards – like this one. And they're not just circular. You can get square versions ...
Bake until the edges are set and the centers only slightly jiggle, about 18–20 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack and allow cheesecakes to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.
Overmixing may lead to cracks and a grainy texture
With a batter mainly composed of cream cheese, sugar, and egg yolks, you can quickly form cracks in your cheesecake with the excess air that comes from overmixing (via Cheesecakes World).
How to Store Mini Cheesecakes. Store the mini cheesecakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. Never let them sit at room temperature for more than two hours at a time.
Here's why: Cheesecakes Are Egg-Heavy: Eggs need a moist and humid environment to properly rise and avoid drying out or burning. Prevent Cracks in the Surface: The steam from the hot water will lift the cheesecake up slowly and evenly, reducing the risk of cracks on the surface.
Generally, you do not grease the sides of the springform pan. The delicate batter rises higher if it can cling to ungreased sides of the pan. However, some recipes direct that you need to lightly grease the side of the springform pan. Be sure to follow those specific directions.
Two deep-dish pie plates, 9-inch cake pans or 8×4-inch loaf pans would all work well. If you would like to remove the cheesecake from the pan, be sure to line the base and sides with parchment paper first. You could also bake the cheesecake in an aluminum foil pan and cut it away to reveal the cake.
I have a great tip for those of you that bring a cheesecake or other torte to a friend's or relatives house and forget to take back the metal bottom of the springform pan. Go to enough parties and you may even forget where you left it. Create your own substitute bottom with a cardboard cake circle.
A water bath helps cheesecakes cook evenly, ensuring the edges don't bake faster than the center. The process gently bakes the custard slowly, ensuring a smooth and creamy filling. Otherwise, the dessert may get a rubbery texture. It also prevents cracking along the surface and browning on the top.
Cheesecake is clearly a different animal from bundts or cupcakes, but sour cream has a place here too! Combined with even more densely rich cream cheese, sour cream actually tempers the star ingredient a touch, softening its texture. It also adds another layer of tangy flavor and moisture to a cheesecake.
Wrapping the springform pan in foil is known to help, but take it a step further and use plastic wrap (which will not melt!) or slow cooker liner bags as an additional seal.
If the cake has too much air, it will rise too much in the oven and then the middle will sink when cooling. Nobody wants a sad, sunken cheesecake. Allow your ingredients to come to room temperature and add them in the order given in the recipe.
The only thing that might be affected is the texture (it might be slightly coarse or a tad on the dry side – for a cheesecake), but I can guarantee it will still be delicious. There is only 1 very simple thing you have to do with your cracked (or sunken) cheesecake and that is: … cover it up with a topping!
Basque Burnt Cheesecake is deliberately undercooked in the center to give it its smooth, creamy texture. Since the proteins have not been set, the steam escapes when the heat is gone, and the cake will sink into the center. The sides remain high because they've been fully cooked.
Creamy foods made with eggs and milk, such as pumpkin pie, custard pie, and cheesecake, must be safely baked to a safe internal temperature between 150ºF and 160°F. Then, they must be cooled at room temperature (about 1 hour) to set and refrigerated.
Introduction: My name is Patricia Veum II, I am a vast, combative, smiling, famous, inexpensive, zealous, sparkling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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