Mini Cheesecake Recipe
One of our neighbors is also pregnant with their first daughter and they came up with the idea to have our last bit of adult time before the girls come. She is also due 1 week ahead of me! This is going to be so much fun hanging out, playing games, eating good food, and the boys will get a chance to drink while the ladies well...we can pretend. She is bringing some appetizers while I'm in charge of dessert and drinks. Brad took care of the homebrew a while ago for the guys, now it's just up to me to come up with everything else.
I have been craving cheesecake. Instead of making one gigantic cheesecake I decided to try my hands at making mini cheesecakes. Normally I make a hazelnut pie crust, but didn't want to have to cut out a bunch of tiny little pie crusts. I have never made mini cheesecakes before and was a little nervous since cheesecakes can be finicky. I also couldn't decide if I wanted to add chocolate ganache or strawberries to the cheesecake--so I made both!!
Trust me on the hazelnut crust! I absolutely love hazelnuts and am a little obsessed with them, but it's amazing the difference they make. I love it so much we are going to buy 2 hazelnut trees (they need a friend to properly pollinate) because trying to find fresh hazelnuts is never cheap or easy to find. You just have to try this recipe, delicious and easy!
Mini Cheesecakes with Hazelnut Crust
Ingredients:
Crust-
3 oz hazelnuts, ground
3/8 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp butter, melted
Cheesecake-
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup whipping cream
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mix ground hazelnuts, flour, sugar, and melted butter in a bowl until combined.
3. Squish crust into the bottom of your cupcake cups. I used silicone baking cups, but feel free to use paper cups in your cupcake tin.
4. Since they are mini cheesecakes, the crust will not get enough time to cook all the way, so you must prebake it. Bake your crust for 20 minutes. You don't want it completely baked, but about 90% of the way done.
5. Allow to cool.
6. In the meantime, start your cheesecake mixture. Blend the cream cheese and sugar until combined.
7. Add your egg, blend until combined.
8. Add your whipping cream and vanilla extract, blend until combined. Blend on high for 1 minute.
9. Add a small amount of water into the bottom of a baking dish and place your baking cups into the water. The water will keep the cheesecake moist without them cracking. If you're using a cupcake tin, place a baking sheet on the rack below with water to create the moist environment. The key is to make sure you don't get any water in your cheesecake cups.
10. Spoon your cheesecake mixture on top of your crust and carefully place into your oven without spilling any of the water.
11. Bake cheesecakes for 18-25 minutes, but keep a close eye on them. You want them to lose their sheen. They will still be wiggly. Carefully remove them from the oven without spilling the now very hot water all over you.
12. Place them into the refrigerator for at least an hour to set up all the way.
13. Serve alongside your yummy sauces and enjoy!
Yummy Cheesecake Sauces
Ingredients:
Chocolate Ganache-
1 cup whipping cream
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
Strawberry Sauce-
frozen strawberries
water
sugar
Directions:
1. Add the whipping cream to a pot and warm. Do not boil or it will curdled your cream.
2. Once warm, cut off the heat and add your chocolate chips. DO NOT stir.
3. Let sit for 5 minutes. and then stir. Allow to cool and then place into a container to serve it alongside your mini cheesecakes.
4. Add your strawberries, splash of water, and about a cup of sugar to a pot.
5. Bring to a boil and then use a spatula to smash the strawberries. Continue to boil on low until thickened.
6. Once cooled, add to a serving container to serve along with your mini cheesecakes.
The cheesecakes were amazing, highly recommend trying them!!! What other sauces do you like to put on your cheesecake?