Sunday 21 March 2010

Mini Lemon Cheesecake


I wanted to make cheesecake from leftover mascarpone cheese from the DB tiramisu challenge but unfortunately left it too long. So here's a traditional mini cream cheese cheesecake instead. I looked at a few recipes online and in my books and basically took inspiration from each recipe to come up with my own version. I was a little worried as I cut the amount of sugar drastically and added lemon juice but it turned out fine. I love the mini portions - don't they look cute?

Tip from joyofbaking.com - line a muffin tin with a long strip of parchment paper as pictured so that the cakes can be easily removed and it worked beautifully.

Crush digestive biscuits and mix with melted butter and sugar. Press 1-2 tablespoons of crumbs to create a base for the cheesecake.  Fresh from the oven

Top with raspberries or topping of your choiceEnjoy :)

Ingredients (rough approximations as shock horror I did not measure this time!)

For the base
200g digestive biscuits
~ 100g butter (melted)
1/2 tablespoon sugar

For the filling
~400g cream cheese
~50g sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon

Garnish (optional)
Raspberries (or other fresh berries)
Blueberry puree
  • Preheat oven to 160C
  • Line a 12 hole muffin tin with long strips of parchment paper (see picture)
  • Make the crust by crushing the biscuits and mixing with melted butter and sugar.
  • Press 1-2 tablespoons of crumbs on the bottoms of the muffin cups to create a base. 
  • Cover and refrigerate whilst making the filling.
  • Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and then the eggs, one at a time. 
  • Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice and zest and mix thoroughly.
  • Remove the crusts from the fridge and evenly divide the filling among the 12 muffin cups. 
  • Bake for about 18-20 minutes until firm but the centres still wobble a little.
  • Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack.
  • Remove cheesecakes by running a sharp knife around the inside edge of the muffin cups to loosen the cheesecake. 
  • Then, taking hold of the two strips of parchment paper, carefully lift each cheesecake from the muffin cups. 
  • Gently peel off parchment paper.
  • Top with garnish of your choice and serve. 


6 comments:

  1. Now that is a GREAT tip about lining the base with strips. I can't believe I didn't seek joyofbaking (my ultimate bible) to cure this problem! And all these while I was thinking about it. HAHA!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my, they are simply adoreable. Great tip about getting the little goodies out. I think I'm going to use that one!
    Thanks for taking part in my first ever giveaway!
    I hope you have a great weekend.
    *kisses* HH

    ReplyDelete
  3. lemon cheesecake wahoo! that is one of my favorite deserts. It is what I always order if it is on the menu. Of course baking is not my strong suit in the kitchen but I certainly envy those who are!
    I love your blog darling!
    xoxo
    KC
    http://www.letterstobetsy.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. those are so adorable. almost too cute to eat!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been using parchment strips for releasing baked items for years! It is a great solution. It works with mini pies as well. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. This tip is extremely welcomed since I can't see paying 20 dollars for a pan that I will probably only use once or twice. Thank you for the information.

    ReplyDelete

I've had to turn word verification back on as I've had a lot of problem with spam lately, Apologies! Please, please do leave a comment - I appreciate every one of them and will reply to all of them. Thanks!