I love party food. I’m all for crafting a meal, too, but I really enjoy making anything mini. So when we had a little get together for my husband’s birthday, I knew I wanted to make something mini. My goal for this year is to challenge myself with cooking. It started with making raspberry soufflés and now I can say I have also made mini cheesecakes, without having to use a springform pan!
I don’t know how we (being those who have learned to cook recently) decided that some things are too difficult to make. Some dishes may be complex or time consuming, but the ones I had convinced myself were difficult are usually not. I always assumed you had to have a special kind of pan to make cheesecakes and that they could be very temperamental to make! The reality is that these are so easy! Not quite a cake box mix, but you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you made an amazing homemade dessert!
What I love about these cheesecakes is they are quick to make and you don’t need a springform pan! All you need is a muffin tin! You could even use a mini muffin tin, we did that as well for some of them. The crust though, y’all. I’ve never really met a crust I didn’t like, but this one. I could eat it by itself- of course I would NEVER- ahem.
Ingredients
- 1 sleeve of graham crackers
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 lb (2 packages) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- zest from 1/2 lemon
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 6 oz. fresh raspberries
- 2 tbsp. sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Grease cupcake pan.
- In a food processor, place graham crackers and pulse until fine. Add melted butter and combine. Press 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake spot.
- Combine the raspberries and sugar in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, then pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds (you can skip the straining if you'd like).
- Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Blend in the sugar until smooth. Mix in the salt, vanilla, and zest. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Pour cheesecake batter into muffin tin, about 3/4 of the way full. Add a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the raspberry puree. Use a toothpick or a wooden skewer to lightly swirl and create a marbled effect.
- Bake until the filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
I would definitely recommend making these the day before a party, when you can. But in a pinch they can be made before the event, as long as they spend some good time in the fridge or freezer. They are just delicious when they’re nice and cold! You could easily make this into a full size cheesecake if you wanted to, but I think minis are much more fun!
These raspberry cheesecakes are the perfect dessert for a party coming up!
What is your favorite kind of party food?
Latest posts by Madison Wetherill (see all)
- Coffee Infused French Toast - July 19, 2017
- $80 PayPal Cash Giveaway - October 14, 2015
- $100 Target Gift Card Giveaway - September 16, 2015
- 16 Fall Dinner Recipes Ideas - September 11, 2015
I’ve been wanting to find this recipe ever since you used it in your Food Photography guest post on my blog! I love mini desserts, and the fact that it is raspberry and cheesecake makes it even better!
Yeaaaaaaaaaah. This is my kind of dessert, and seeing this recipe makes me want to whip these up pronto because, well, cheesecake is ALWAYS a good idea! Loving the addition of raspberry to it, as well! Nice work, lady.
These look so yummy Madison! And your photography is on point! 🙂