I love cheesecake even though I have to prepare myself to eat it. Dairy and I started beefing a while ago but I pick my battles meaning I'll choose to go a round with it for certain things.
Cheesecake is one of those things.
I wanted to make mini cheesecakes for a dinner party so I could make them pretty and not have to worry about cutting it at the table. Yall know I like my presentation to be purty so yeah...there's that too.
The cheesecake is a basic recipe but when I make it to do individual portions, I don't do it in an actual cheesecake pan. I use glass baking dishes. Truth be told, the only reason I do it this way is once I couldn't find the bottom to my cheesecake pan but wanted cheesecake so I made it in glass and it was just fine so um...I kept making it in glass. LOL!
Crust:
1/3 cup melted butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (I use gluten-free ones.)
Mix together in a bowl and them dump into 8 x 8 pan. Using a piece of parchment paper on top, press smooth and even. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.
Cheesecake filling:
2 packages of cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons flour (heaping spoons if using a pre-mixed gluten-free flour)
Whip together cream cheese and sugar until blended. Don't overwhip. Remember...cheesecake doesn't like bubbles. Add eggs, sour cream, milk, and vanilla extract. Blend. Add flour and blend until you don't see flour.
Pour over crust shaking well. Take a big bath towel and fold it larger than the dish and drop the pan on it a few times to try and force out all air bubbles. (I do this because I use glass dishes. Be careful if you do too!) Put dish inside of large 9 x 13 pan. Pour boiling water inside larger pan until it reaches the mid-point of the pan the cheesecake is in. This is a water bath. You do this so the cheesecake won't crack. It helps it cook slower and evener. (Is that a word? Hmmmmmmm...) Anyway...every.single.time I've made a cheesecake without a water bath it cracked. I mean...you could still eat it, of course, but it wasn't cute to look at. LOL!
Bake for 50 minutes and remove from oven. (Pay attention to it. If it doesn't look done it's probably not done. Usually it looks "sinky" in the middle. If it's done...won't be any "sinky" spots. Yall know what I mean right? LOL!
Once it reaches room temp...put in fridge. Let it COMPLETELY COOL!
When it is COMPLETELY COLD...using a biscuit cutter, cut out 3-inch circles as individual servings. GO YOU! You'll get four good ones outta this. Save the pieces for your husband to devour later. Don't eat it yourself so you don't get farty. I mean...you know...if dairy gets you farty.
For a sauce, be creative with it. I do two different ones. Sometimes I do 1.5 cups of raspberries and sometimes I use a cup of raspberries and a half cup of blueberries. Bring to boil in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. The raspberries will melt but the blueberries will remain solid. You can use fresh or frozen. Put in a jar and put in fridge to cool with cheesecake. Be funky with it when you drizzle. Watch your elbow too. Why do I say this you ask? Cuz someone might tip your elbow making you PLOP sauce on top of them instead of delicately drizzling. You know...cuz people like sauce and believe the more sauce the mo'betta-er. LOL!
This is a basic cheesecake recipe. If you don't want to use the biscuit cutter to make mini cheesecakes, you can get a solid 9 squares outta this and folks will be fighting for the corner squares same as they do with brownies. LOL!
Do YOU ever make cheesecake?