Mini CheeseCakes

I recently did a party for a christening. The customer wanted something other than cake. I suggested a platter of mini desserts. What started out as a party for 8 turned into "well, I want some for us after the party!" Brownies, Rasberry Bars, Key Lime Pies which I've already written about and then she requested Mini Cheesecakes. I have a great recipe for a cheesecake but had never done the minis before. I was surprised to see the recipe.

I would recommend using the baking cups which are sturdier and lined with a foil. I found the ones shown in the food store, Reynolds makes them.

The recipe I saw called for a vanilla wafer on the bottom which did not appeal to me so I made the traditional graham cracker crust or you could also crush oreos (delicious)

I ended up making 2 batches as I was not happy with the 1st and made some changes. Our family ate the 1st batch and they were certainly not unhappy!

So here goes:

12 Mini Cheese Cakes
Line a cupcake pan with 12 foil cups
For the crust, measure 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs, add 3 tbs of sugar and 3 - 4 tbs of melted butter. Fill each cup with a well rounded tablespoon and press the crumbs into the cup with a spoon.

For the filling you will need 2 packages of cream cheese(softened) please do yourself a huge favor and buy the good stuff (philadelphia) There is a total difference in the consistancy, at least to me there is.

Add 2/3 cup of sugar and mix well until smooth.

Add 2 eggs (room temp) Don't overbeat.

Add 1 tbs of vanilla or if you like lemon extract (as always the real lemon extract)

Fill each cup to the top (the other recipe called for 2/3 full but only do this if you want a topping on each as they tended to sink a bit. You may come up a bit short on batter ( just a friendly warning) so you may have to adjust each filling just a bit.

The recipe called for 15 - 17 min at 350. I don't know how this could be true as when I tested them ( I use a piece of pasta) they were certainly not done. So it ended up being about 25 minutes.

They were absolutely delicious. The recipe I found said they were 95 calories each. You had better add some more calories with the graham cracker crust. I would definitely bake these again and will probably bring some over to the store this week.

Don't be alarmed when the cheesecakes are baking if they start to crack. They come together as they cool.

I'm not a fan of cheesecake toppings such as canned cherries etc but I'm thinking that an oreo crust with a melted chocolate drizzled over each cake would be delicious or a fresh sliced strawberry sounds perfect to me.

Let me know what you think!

Just added to my Etsy Shop!