One of the few things that I’m known for in my friends/family/coworker circle is that I can make a really great cheesecake. This particular cheesecake is smooth, creamy & almost has a light/airy texture to it that you don’t find with typical cheesecakes.
There’s no secret to my cheesecake – whenever people ask me about it, I happily share the recipe. However, I’ve noticed there’s some sort of intimidation when it comes to cheesecake – like that intimidation a lot of us have with bread. When it comes to cheesecake, the secret is in the mixing. Don’t skimp on mix times, and scrape down the mixing bowl a lot – like after every ingredient addition. You want the batter to have as few clumps as possible. Other than that, I find cheesecakes to be fairly simple to make – you just have to think ahead to make these, since they require a decent amount of chill time before serving.
This year – there’s no cheesecake for the coworker pot luck (we are all working from home), and there’s no cheesecake for family gatherings (we are all distancing in our immediate family circles). However, I still want to give them their holiday cheesecakes this year, so I purchased some 4″ springform pans.
I used the same recipe I always use, but instead of the typical bake time, I baked these for just about half the time. They still had that perfect texture, and a 4″ springform is a generous dessert for 2. Top these with the sauce of your choice – I made a homemade strawberry sauce.
Check out what other bloggers are sharing for #ChristmasSweetsWeek below this recipe!
Mini Tall and Creamy Cheesecakes
Source: Baking From My Home to Yours
Ingredients:
For the crust:
- 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
- 2 pounds (four 8-ounce boxes) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two (I used heavy cream)
Directions:
To make the crust:
- Butter 4-inch springform pans (this recipe makes enough for 6), and wrap the bottom of the pans in a double layer of aluminum foil; put the pans on a baking sheet.
- Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. Turn the ingredients into the buttered springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides (I like to use a round glass to make it flat.). Don’t worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach above or below the midway mark on the sides—this doesn’t have to be a precision job. Put the pans in the freezer while you preheat the oven.
- Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 350°F and place the springforms on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crusts aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake batter.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
To make the cheesecake:
- Put a kettle of water on to boil (or microwave water in a bowl).
- Working in a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and lives up to the creamy part of its name, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition—you want a well-aerated batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
- Put the foil-wrapped springform pans in a roaster pan.
- Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pans. The batter will reach the brim of the pans. Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake the cheesecake for 45-50 minutes, at which point the tops will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.
- After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster—be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil—remove the foil. Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.
- When the cakes are cool, cover the tops tightly and chill the cake for at least 4 hours, although overnight would be better.
Welcome to #ChristmasSweetsWeek 2020! Co-hosted by Terri from Love and Confections and Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures! What better way to celebrate the holidays than with food and fun? 21 bloggers from around the country have come together to share some of their favorite sweet Christmas recipes!! Deck the halls and get ready for very merry sweet treats, like fudge, cookies, Christmas morning breakfasts, layer cakes, cocoa, and more! Follow along on social media with our #ChristmasSweetsWeek hashtag. Happy Holidays!
Enjoy these #ChristmasSweetsWeek recipes from our bloggers:
Candy and Fudge Recipes
Peanut Butter Truffles by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Grinch Snack Mix by Sweet Beginnings
Chocolate Pecan Pralines by House of Nash Eats
Oreo Cookie Truffles by Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog
Pastry and Dessert Recipes
Gingerbread Poke Cake by Love & Confections
Mini Tall & Creamy Cheesecakes by The Nifty Foodie
Small Batch Chocolate Cake with Fluffy Peppermint Frosting by Kate’s Recipe Box
