A quick post for some indulgent weekend baking.

Cheesecake always freaked me out as a kid. There was something about having cheese for dessert that just didn’t make any sense. At the time the fanciest my cheese knowledge got was a big block of tasty cheddar, often accompanied with a big piece of toasted bread. So imagining cheddar and sugar and it make for a pretty horrifying combination. I have to say that it was a pretty convincing apparition, because even when I understood flavours and combinations and cheese, I still gave cheesecake a wide berth.

That was until 5 years ago, after a pretty busy night shift in the kitchen, hungry and craving sugar, all that was remained was CHEESECAKE, cheesecake Noooooo! What about the chocolate mud cake? What about the banana cake? The hunger was bigger than the fear and I indulged, and loved that cheesecake.

This recipe is for not one big conventional cheesecake with a base, but for delicate sweet mini sized ones perfect for picnics in the sun and for accompanying that afternoon cup of tea. There is no base on these cakes, but once baked they set into a neat little cheesecake cupcake, where the patty paper easily peels away.

The cheesecakes are smooth and simply flavoured with vanilla, lemon zest and whole raspberries. You could omit the raspberries but reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes. For the perfect smooth set, the mini cheesecakes should have a slight wobble in the middle but be fully set around the edges. If you find that once they have cooled they haven’t quite set completely, just put them back into the oven for 15 minutes. Then cool and refrigerate. Over cooking isn’t necessarily bad, it just gives a more cakey/crumbly cheesecake.

If you don’t have raspberries, replace with any other fruit on hand or some brandy soaked raisins would be delicious and a little more traditional, although cooking times may be extended to compensate for the extra liquid in the raisins. For an added wow factor try drizzling the tops of the raspberry cheesecakes with white chocolate before serving.

Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes

250g cream cheese

1/2 cup Caster sugar

1 egg and 1 egg yolk

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1 tsp Zested Lemon rind

100g sour cream

Frozen Raspberries

Preheat oven to 140C (fan forced)

Line 2 Texas muffin tin with patty pans

In an electric mixer beat the cream cheese and sugar until thick and creamy and the sugar has dissolved, approx 4 mins.

Add the egg yolk and beat in well. Then add the whole egg and mix well.

Add the vanilla and lemon rind and sour cream mix on slowest speed for 3 minutes.

Spoon the batter into the patty pans and top with the a few raspberries.

Bake for 30 minutes or until they are set around the edge and have a slight wobble in the middle.

Leave to cool in the oven with door slightly, then refrigerated for at least 4 hours or overnight.

And the notes:

I usually use frozen raspberries in baking, they are far better at holding their structure. Don’t wait until they are thawed, add them whilst they are frozen.

One of my favourite cheesecakes are topped with a thick passionfruit syrup. Sweet and tart and smooth and luscious. How did your cheesecakes turn out? or what are your favourite flavour combinations?