Mini Cheesecakes – A Creamy And Rich Bite-Sized Dessert

These Mini Cheesecakes are packed with pure creamy goodness, decadent textures, and rich flavors. Plus, my recipe is extremely versatile, making it easy to customize to your needs!

cheesecake close up.

Whether you’re into fruity flavors, cozy spices, or classic chocolate, these mini cheesecakes have got you covered. They are perfect for any occasion and make wonderful bite-sized desserts or gifts for events.

And if you fall in love with these, you’ll definitely LOVE my Dulce De Leche Mini Cheesecake Bites.

Ingredients for Mini Cheesecakes

Cheesecake Filling

  • Cream Cheese: the base for our filling which gives our dessert that luxurious creamy feel and pleasantly sweet and tangy flavor.
  • Ricotta: one of my favorite cheeses as it has that creamy smooth and mild taste that highlights the flavors in our mini cheesecakes.
  • Sugar: adds sweetness to our vanilla cream cheese filling. And it wouldn’t be a dessert without sugar, right?
  • Eggs: aside from helping our cheesecake achieve that smooth texture, eggs also act as a thickening agent to our filling.
  • Vanilla Extract: provides that mesmerizing sweet flavor and aroma.
  • Lemon Zest: a kick of lemon zest to tickle your taste buds. Feel free to swap it with lime or orange zest OR leave it out completely.

Cracker Crust

  • Graham: serves as the star of our cracker crust, however, feel free to swap it with any type of cookies. You can go with Oreo cookies, chocolate chip cookie OR any type of crackers for that matter. Sky is the limit!
  • Butter: holds together our cracker crust while adding that nice buttery flavor.
  • Ground Almond: adds more volume to our cracker crust. And, of course, who doesn’t want that added nutty flavor?

How to Make Mini Cheesecakes

This recipe for mini cheesecake is actually foolproof. If you’re a newbie when it comes to baking, you’re welcome to try this first.

  • Assemble the graham cracker crust and bake it for 6 minutes.
  • Mix all the cheesecake filling ingredients with a hand mixer.
  • Pour the mixture into the muffin pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour.
  • Cool the pan for an hour.
  • Remove the cheesecake from the pan and refrigerate them for 5-7 hours or overnight.
  • Top them with your desired cheesecake topping.

Expert Tips For Making Mini Cheesecakes

  • Make sure you always use room temperature ingredients, especially the ones like butter, cream cheese, and ricotta. This helps the cheesecake batter come out smooth and lump-free.
  • Do not overbeat the cheesecake filling. If you do, the batter will lose air and become incredibly dense once baked.
  • It’s CRUCIAL that you leave the mini cheesecakes to cool completely, but SLOWLY. If you don’t, all of your mini cheesecakes will have cracks or dents in them.

How To Properly Cool Mini Cheesecakes

This is an essential step that prevents the mini cheesecakes from falling flat or cracking. Remember, mini cheesecakes are exactly like a traditional cheesecake filling. All the same rules apply!

Once the mini cheesecakes are baked, switch off the oven and open up the door slightly. Leave the mini cheesecakes to cool inside the muffin pan for about an hour.

After an hour, remove them from the oven and place the muffin pan on a cooling rack at room temperature. Allow the mini cheesecakes to cool completely.

How to Store the Mini Cheesecakes

If in rare cases you have leftover cheesecakes (which I highly doubt so), just store them in the fridge for 2-3 days.

You may also freeze them for up to 3 months. And when ready to serve, just let them thaw in the fridge overnight.

MORE BAKED RECIPES LIKE THIS

Close up of the mini cheesecakes.

MINI CHEESECAKE

Keesha
This is the best recipe for mini cheesecake – smaller in size yet packed with delightful flavors. Watch it fly off the table in a matter of seconds!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine International
Servings 12
Calories 293 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 ¼ cups Cream cheese
  • 1 cup Ricotta
  • cup Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • ½ Lemon zest

FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

  • 1 ¼ cup Cookies
  • ½ cup Butter
  • ¼ cup Ground almonds

Instructions
 

  • FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
  • Preheat the oven to 370°F / 180°C. And line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
  • Take out the graham crackers and mince them with a blender or rolling pin. Then take a mixing bowl, pour the crushed crackers, stir in the melted butter, and ground almond. Mix it well together.
  • Fill each lined cupcake with the minced graham cracker with about 2- 2 1/2 tablespoons. Press it firmly using your fingers or the bottom of a shot glass.
  • Bake for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature at 300°F / 140°C.

HOW TO MAKE THE CHEESECAKE FILLING

  • In a large bowl using an electric mixer, mix the cream cheese and ricotta together until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and mix until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is mixed well. Mix in the eggs at low speed until well combined.
  • Evenly distribute the batter between all 12 liners in the cupcake pan, filling each one almost all the way to the top.
  • Bake at 300°F / 140°C for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the tops of each mini cheesecake is set.
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 1 hour. Carefully remove from the pan and chill in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 hours or overnight.
  • Decorate it with fresh fruits; I used strawberries and blackberries.

Notes

  • I highly recommend sticking to the recipe – no fat-free options or what not. There’s a reason why cheesecake happened to be a very rich and decadent dessert.
  • Bring all your ingredients at room temperature so it’d be easier for you to mix them.
  • DO NOT over mix the batter or you’ll end up cracks on cheesecakes. 
  • If you can’t find graham crackers in your area, feel free to swap it with digestive biscuits or go for cookies as the cheesecake crust base.
  • Your crust should be tight fit. Use the bottom of a glass or your measuring cups to press hard the crust.
  • Bake the graham crust to seal everything down and to avoid soggy cheesecakes.
  • Allow the cheesecake to settle and cool in the refrigerator at least 5 hours or preferably overnight.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 mini cheesecakeCalories: 293kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 7gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 243mgPotassium: 109mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 487IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 96mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

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