Individual Raspberry Cheesecakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are mini cheesecakes topped with a raspberry jelly, melted chocolate and fresh raspberries. They are not only attractive to behold, but also taste great. They offer a very complex flavor profile which come from the addition of lemon zest to the cheesecake batter and the use of real raspberries. This recipe is an adaptation of a recipe by Stephanie Jaworski with other elements of mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

Makes 12 Individual Cheesecakes

Crust:

(1) 100 Grams Graham Cracker Wafers (1 Cup) (Crushed) (See Note 1)

(2) 1 Tablespoon Granulated White Sugar

(3) 55-65 Grams Butter (4-5 Tablespoons) (Melted)

Cheesecake Filling:

(1) 16 Ounces (454 Grams) Creamcheese (Two 8 Ounce Packets)

(2) 130 Grams Granulated White Sugar (2/3 Cup)

(3) 1/8 Teaspoon Salt

(4) 2 Large Eggs

(5) 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

(6) 1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Zest

(7) 1/2 Cup Sour Cream (See Note 2)

Raspberry Jelly:

Recipe here. Use half of the recipe for a dozen individual cheesecakes.

Toppers:

(1) Fresh Raspberries

(2) 1 Ounce Semi-Sweet Chocolate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES:

(1) This recipe can also be made with any type of biscuits or cookies. I have made it in the past with ginger snap cookies and digestive biscuits. You can also add cocoa powder to the crust and flavor the crust with spices like ginger or cinnamon.

(2) Though this recipe calls for sour cream, I have used Greek yogurt for it several times before and it came out great. Greek yogurt is often a good substitute for sour cream when a recipe calls for the latter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROCEDURE:

For Crust:

(1) Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

(2) Line muffin pan with cupcake wrappers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) Melt butter.

(4) Place Graham crackers in a food processor and crush. This can also be done by hand or with a rolling pin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(5) Add sugar and melted butter to crushed Graham crackers and mix well to coat crumbs with sugar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(6) Fill muffin cups with about a tablespoon of the crushed crumbs and press down with your fingers or the back of a spoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(7) Place muffin pan in the fridge while you make the Creamcheese filling. This would set the crust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Creamcheese Filling:

(1) Place Creamcheese in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until creamy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be careful not to over process as Creamcheese thins quite easily. I have mixed this batter with a food processor before but it was quite runny as the food processor overworked the Creamcheese. It can however be mixed by hand (wooden spoon & bowl). To do this, ensure that the Creamcheese is at room temperature so it creams easily.

(2) Add sugar and salt and beat to incorporate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(3) Next add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(4) Finally add sour cream, vanilla extract and lemon zest to the batter and mix to incorporate.

(5) Take muffin pan out of the fridge and fill cupcake wrappers with Creamcheese filling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIP: Use an ice cream scoop to fill cups to ensure that they all have equal amounts of batter.

(6) Bake in preheated oven for 20 – 22 minutes. The edges of the cakes will be set while the middle will jiggle when shaken . The cakes will also puff up but will deflate as they cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(7) Allow cakes to cool completely before taking out of pan. Then transfer cakes to the fridge to cool down.

Cakes can also be kept in the fridge to cool in the muffin pan. If doing this, rotate the individual cheesecakes every hour for the first couple of hours so they do not stick to the pan. The butter in the crust could make the cakes stick to the pan as it cools and hardens.

For Raspberry Jelly:

(1) While the cheesecakes are cooling down in the fridge, make the raspberry jelly. A recipe for how to make the jelly can be found here.

(2) After making the jelly, allow the mixture to cool down for about 30 minutes then top cheesecakes with raspberry jelly and return them to the fridge. The jelly would solidify after about 2 hours in the fridge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topping:

After jelly has set, melt chocolate in the microwave. Fill a pipping bag with the melted chocolate. Cut a small hole at the tip of the pipping bag and drizzle chocolate over cheesecakes. Top with fruits and berries of your choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For other individual cheesecake recipes, see my Triple Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes