A mini cheesecake fiesta!
Little bite size pieces of Lemon Cheesecake Heaaaaaven!! Is what these little guys are…Yum yum in my tum. *A slight warning here* – Because these cheesecakes are so cute and SO delicious – You will not be able to resist them…And this can cause slight set backs to the new year healthy habits list.
I am so not mad at them though. Their lemoniness just bursts in your mouth and the ginger is ever so subtle, but it’s there and it adds something special to these smooth and creamy mini cheesecakes. The peach coulis with fresh peach slices tops them off with such freshness and summariness that they just wouldn’t be the same without.
I made these mini cheesecakes for my mom last week. It was her birthday on Thursday, and somehow we seemed to be celebrating her from Tuesday onwards with coffee dates and lunches out and about and then of course I presented these cheesecake delights on the day for morning tea.
Because they’re quite “mini” you end up with about 16 of them which is awesome! The more the better I say. These would be perfect for a dinner or lunch party where you are having a fairly full on main meal because they are so dinky. It’s just a perfect taste but not too much. And if you’re so inclined you can always have two!!
Looking for more cheesecake inspo? This Baked Vanilla Cheesecake with Cherry Coulis is literally to die for! You won’t regret trying it out for your next dinner party.
Peaches are my mom’s favourite which is why I did peach coulis but you can make any coulis using your favourite fruits or berries. Sometimes a combination of your two or three favourite fruits or berries can work really well.
It’s also OK to skip the coulis altogether and just top the cheesecakes with fresh fruit or berries. It saves time and they will still be totally delicious I can assure you!
Thinking about trying out this recipe? Let me know how yours turn out, I’d love to know!!
- FOR THE BASE:
- 150 g chocolate biscuits
- 3 tbsp butter melted
- FOR THE CHEESECAKE:
- 460 g cream cheese
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
- Rind of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- pinch of salt
- 200 ml cream
- FOR THE COULIS:
- 1 Ripe Peach
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 level tbsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp water
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TO MAKE THE BASE:
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Set oven at 175°C.
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Crush up the biscuits until fine, or blitz them in a food processor. Pour into a bowl.
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Melt butter in the microwave, pour in with the biscuits and combine.
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Press 1 tbsp of the biscuit mixture into each cup of a flexible rubber muffin pan (this is essential so that you can pop the cheesecakes out when they’re cooked) placed on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
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TO MAKE THE CHEESECAKE:
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Beat the cream cheese with an electric beater until smooth.
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Add the sugar and beat again until smooth and silky.
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Add one egg at a time and beat until fully incorporated, then add the second egg.
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Now add the lemon juice, vanilla essence, pinch of salt and cream and beat until combined. Stir in the lemon rind and grated ginger.
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Pour the mixture onto the cool bases and be sure to leave about 3 mm for the cheesecakes to rise. Place on a baking tray and place in the oven on the middle shelf.
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Now carefully pour in about 1 inch of boiling water into the baking tray so that the cheesecakes will stay extra moist and creamy.
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Bake for 45 minutes at 175°C.
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Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecakes inside for 1 hour to cool down very slowly.
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Take the cheesecakes out of the oven and let them cool completely before popping them out carefully from the moulds and placing them on a plate.
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TO MAKE THE COULIS:
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Peel and chop the peach and put it in a small saucepan with the sugar, water and ginger. Simmer on medium heat until the peach is very soft, then mash with a fork until almost smooth.
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Sieve the coulis mixture over a bowl to get all the liquid out - this is your coulis. Spoon over the top of the cool cheesecakes. Just enough so that it sits on the top of the mini cheesecakes.
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Slice the remaining peach into thin slices and place on top of the cheesecakes.
If you don’t have a food processor to blitz the biscuits, place them in a ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin until they are fine. If your baking tray is not deep enough to add 1 inch of boiling water, use what you have and keep topping the water up every half an hour or so.
These cheesecakes are best served the day you make them, if you need to make them the day before - only top them with the coulis and fresh peach just before you serve them.