This cute little Mini Cheesecake is just perfect for you and your date . . . or if you don’t have a date for Valentine’s Day, just eat the whole thing yourself, and I won’t tell! If you are looking for a small cheesecake recipe, this is the one for you!
This past September Nathan and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. Just the other day, I looked at him and said that I would have never imagined how much stress kids add to a marriage. I mean, sure, I saw my parents fight, but surely it never had anything to do with us!
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade our kids for the world. And ultimately they have totally enriched our marriage and brought us together time and time again. But for the love of fish sticks, my dear lord. It is exhausting rearing these small little people who are full of demands and hungry all the time. It’s like a clown show around her most days, so no kidding it takes a toll on a marriage!
So one of my non resolution resolutions for the New Year (because making actual resolutions is just setting myself up for disappointment and frustration when I don’t do it) was to date my husband more. We have like zero babysitters. Yes, we have kind friends who are willing to sit for us in a pinch, but they also have little kids, and I hate to ask. So we are trying to do more date nights at home. The first one was actually on New Years Eve. We put on some jazz music (btw, with Alexa, who I begrudgingly love, but that’s a whole other post), we made some amazingly delicious and decadent food, and just cooked together. We ate most of it standing in our kitchen because I can’t time a meal correctly to save my life, but then we took the last bits and sat in front of our fireplace. It was low key and kind of magical.
And it really felt like a date.
I told Nathan right away that I want to recreate that date night for Valentine’s Day. Only this time, I want to serve this cheesecake at the end. This teenie tiny mini cheesecake for two was first created back in September to celebrate Nathan’s birthday. Nathan is a cheesecake connoisseur, and it got his stamp of approval. It’s just his style, uncomplicated and doused in cherries.
NOTES FOR THIS SMALL CHEESECAKE RECIPE
- When you are making a cheesecake, the cream cheese has to be at room temperature. Don’t microwave your brick of cream cheese. Just be patient, leave it on the counter for a couple hours (I like at least four) and do the same with your egg.
- This isn’t a lot of cream cheese to blend. It will want to just stick to the sides of the bowl. So make sure to scrape it down and blend again at least one time. You want it to be smooth.
- I got my mini cheesecake pans (four inches) from Target, but you can find them on Amazon as well.
- The cherry sauce is made with water and not juice. This was a recipe from my mom (that I’m 99% sure came from a cherry can). Her recipe called for juice, but I didn’t have any and just used water. It was the perfect amount of sweetness for the cheesecake. If you would like it sweeter, replace it with cranberry juice.
- Or just buy cherry pie filling. I won’t tell.
Mini Cheesecake for Two
Ingredients
For the Cheesecake
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature (see note)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the Cherry Sauce
- 1/2 cup water see note
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 TBSP corn starch
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup frozen cherries thawed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Beat the brick of cream cheese until it is smooth. Scrape down the sides, and beat for another 30 seconds. Beat in the sugar, then the vanilla, and then the egg.
- Pour into 4 inch springform pan . Bake for 22 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and the middle still has a wiggle to it. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in with the door closed for a half hour. Take the cheesecake out and leave it on the counter 10 minutes. Before putting it in the refrigerator, gently run a thin knife between the edges of the pan and the cheesecake. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.
- Before serving the cheesecake, combine the water, sugar, and corn starch, and cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Stir continuously until fully combined.
- Add the almond extract and cherries. Continue to cook, breaking up the cherries slightly until the the sauce is a deep dark red color.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before topping the cheesecake and serving.
Notes
did you make this
Mini Cheesecake for Two
Luana Boulanger says
How would I adapt this to make lemon cheesecake, which is the only cheesecake I love? Thank you.
If I were going to make this into a lemon cheesecake, the first thing I would try is subbing out the vanilla extract for lemon extract and then also adding some lemon zest to the batter. That said, I haven’t tried it, so no guarantees that it will be lemony enough for you.
Melva Reid says
Perhaps a topping of ‘lemon curd’ would fill the bill? Lots of recipes online.
I even have one!
Teri Vail says
So very good!! I modified to cook in the instant pot. Cooked at high pressure for 15 minutes but I think next time I will do 17 minutes so the middle is a little firmer. Covered top with foil and I should have pushed it up a bit for expansion as I had some cake that stuck to the foil. I just scraped cake off and put it back on the top before putting the cake in the fridge to cool under glass bowl dome. Thanks so much for the recipe! Love the little size so I didn’t have lots of leftovers to tempt me!
What a great update to this post, thank you for sharing!
Ava Becker says
I made the sauce but it was way too much, you may want to adjust your quantities
Therese Costeniuc says
Made this today…so good! Made it with a graham cracker crust and it was delicious. Could have even used a bit more sugar as it wasn’t very sweet for what we expected. Totally going to be making this again and again. Thanks!!!
I’m really glad you liked it!
Alissa says
Looks like a great recipe!! Do you have any ideas for transforming this recipe into a chocolate cheesecake?
I would have to try it, but I would start with cocoa powder and melted chocolate.
Aaron says
The recipe turned out very well, I will be making this many times during the pandemic! I made a plain cheesecake the first time, but I will try using a cornflake crust and blueberry topping the next time.
I’m so glad Aaron! And that variation sounds delicious!
Laurie says
So CUTE! I made it !however mine was spongy and dry…overbaked or over mixed ? I’m still searching for a mini cheesecake recipe that is super creamy.
Hi Laurie! I don’t think it was over mixed. I think it was probably just a little over cooked. If you cut back about 10 minutes next time, it should be better.
Isabel says
¿Could it be made ahead of time and frozen?
Isabel, I haven’t tried that with this recipe, but I think it would be fine. Cheesecake freezes really well.
Susan says
Hi, I am going to make this !!!! Haven’t made cheesecake in years. Is there a standard height for a 4 inch springform pan? Or, what should I use?
So many comments over so many years!!!
Hope you are doing well in these crazy times.
Susan
Mine is two inches tall!
Kate says
5″ springform? I only have a 5″ – same baking time, you think?
**note – I’ve never tried making cheesecake before or even USED a springform pan, so any/all advice useful! :)
Hi Kate! I think it would be just a little less time as the cake will be slightly thinner.