Easy No Crust Mini Cheesecakes
These no crust mini cheesecakes are incredibly easy but utterly stunning, and I promise that you will not miss the crust. The luscious, creamy cakes are made with just a handful of ingredients, and they can be served in any number of ways—I encourage you to make the recipe your own. You can top the cakes with this simple Homemade Strawberry Sauce, you can arrange the cakes over raspberry puree (see the tips), or you can serve them with fresh berries, fruit compote, roasted rhubarb, lemon curd, stewed peaches or these Port Braised Cherries. Let your intuition guide you (and have fun!). Maple almond clusters provide a salty-sweet-crunchy contrast to the creamy cakes, but you can swap them out for a sprinkle of granola, crumbled gingersnaps or even crumbled graham crackers. Be sure to bring the cream cheese fully to room temperature before beginning—that will ensure a smooth custard.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (50g) organic cane sugar (or regular granulated sugar), plus more for ramekins
- 12 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup (240g) sour cream
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
For serving (optional):
- Homemade Strawberry Sauce raspberry puree (see the notes below), fresh berries, fruit compote or curd. Click to get the strawberry sauce recipe.
- Maple Almond Clusters, recipe below
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325˚F (160˚C). Spray six 8-ounce ramekins with cooking spray. Dust them with sugar to coat, tapping out the excess sugar (this will ensure a non-stick coating).
Make the cheesecakes:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment (or you can use hand beaters), combine the cream cheese and ¼ cup sugar. Beat until completely smooth and creamy, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Beat until combined. Plop in the sour cream and beat until smooth, stopping and scraping down the sides once or twice. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each. Be sure to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Divide the mixture among the prepared ramekins. Shimmy the ramekins back and forth on your counter to smooth out the batter. Transfer the ramekins to a straight-sided baking dish or roasting pan. Carefully pour hot tap water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.
- Bake the cheesecakes until they’re just set—they should look matte on top but should wobble ever so slightly in the middle—about 23–26 minutes. Let the cheesecakes cool in the water bath for 1 hour, then remove them from the pan and refrigerate (covered) until cold, at least 3 hours, or up to 2 days.
To serve:
- Run a small, thin knife around each cheesecake. Invert the cheesecakes onto serving plates—to do this, place a plate on top of the ramekin then flip it over. Give it a gentle shake up and down to release the cake from the ramekin. There will be some liquid that comes out of the ramekin—you can carefully pour it off, blot it dry, or simply not worry about it (it’s due in part to the sugar coating).
- Spoon the strawberry sauce on top of the cheesecakes or drizzle the raspberry puree around the edges (or garnish them any way you’d like!). Sprinkle the cheesecakes with the candied almond clusters, and enjoy.
Notes
- Vanilla paste gives these cheesecakes a more pronounced vanilla bean flavor than extract, at a fraction of the cost of fresh vanilla beans. It’s my secret weapon when baking, and lasts forever in the pantry. You can use the seeds from ½ of a fresh bean instead, or swap in vanilla extract if you must.
- The cheesecakes bake in 8-ounce ramekins. You can use smaller ramekins or even oven-proof cups, but the cooking time will vary, so check them early.
- The homemade strawberry sauce is also fabulous on waffles, pancakes, pound cake, yogurt and ice cream.
- To make raspberry puree, cook a 10-ounce bag of frozen raspberries in a small pot over medium-low heat until the berries are softened and bubbling (you can add a small splash of water, if needed). Strain the raspberries through a fine-mesh strainer, using a rubber spatula to push and scrape out as much puree as possible. You can serve the puree as-is, or sweeten it with powdered sugar to taste. It will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Maple Almond Clusters
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or virgin coconut oil
- 1½ tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
Line a small pan or a large plate with parchment paper. In a medium skillet (off heat), combine the butter (or coconut oil), maple syrup, salt and cinnamon. Put the pan over medium-low heat, and cook until the butter is melted. Stir in the sliced almonds and cook, stirring often (especially towards the end), until the almonds start to turn golden brown and smell nutty, about 5–7 minutes. Scrape the almonds onto the parchment-lined pan (you want them touching, so that they form clusters). Let cool completely. Do Ahead: The almond clusters can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Loved this recipe? Check out @nickisizemore for more!