Mini Cheesecakes with Berry Garnishes and Chantilly Cream Recipe
These mini cheesecakes feature a delicate digestive biscuit base with a smooth, creamy cream cheese filling, baked to perfection and topped with fresh berries and chantilly cream. Perfectly portioned for individual servings, they offer a deliciously rich dessert that’s easy to prepare and impresses guests with beautiful presentation.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 27 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours 47 minutes
- Yield: 12 mini cheesecakes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Base
- 150g / 5 oz digestive biscuits (10 pieces) or Graham Crackers (20 squares)
- 60g / 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
- Pinch of salt
Filling
- 375g / 12 oz cream cheese (block), at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tbsp plain/all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream (room temperature) or plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
Chantilly Cream & Garnish
- 1 1/2 cups thickened/heavy cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 15g / 2 tbsp icing sugar/powdered sugar, sifted (or 1 tbsp caster sugar)
- Strawberries (small), blueberries, and raspberries
- 12 small sprigs of mint
- Icing sugar/powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 160°C/325°F (140°C fan) and position the oven shelf 1/3 from the bottom. Line a 12-hole standard muffin tin with paper liners to prepare for the crust.
- Prepare Base Crumbs: Break the digestive biscuits or Graham crackers into pieces, then blitz them in a food processor until you get fine crumbs resembling wet sand texture after adding melted butter, caster sugar, cinnamon (if using), and a pinch of salt.
- Press Base: Evenly divide the crumb mixture between muffin holes and press firmly using a flat, round object like a 1/3 cup measure to create a compact base layer.
- Bake Bases: Bake the crust bases in the oven for 7 minutes, then allow them to cool for 5 minutes before adding the filling.
- Make Filling: Beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, then add flour, vanilla extract, sour cream, caster sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Beat until just combined. Incorporate the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated and the batter achieves a thick pancake batter consistency.
- Fill and Bake: Pour the filling mixture evenly over the bases in the muffin tin, filling nearly to the rim (within 3mm). Bake for 20 minutes until set.
- Cool and Chill: Cool the cheesecakes for 1 hour at room temperature in the tin. Then cover with baking/parchment paper and loosely with cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight until the liners can be removed cleanly.
- Prepare Chantilly Cream: Prior to serving, beat the thickened cream, vanilla extract, and sifted icing sugar on high speed until thick enough to pipe or dollop.
- Decorate: Remove cheesecakes from the fridge 30 minutes before serving to take the chill off. Pipe or dollop chantilly cream on top, arrange fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, garnish with mint sprigs, and dust with icing sugar.
Notes
- Use digestive biscuits or Graham crackers as the base for best flavor and texture.
- Make sure cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature for a smooth filling.
- Blitz the biscuit crumbs just until fine; avoid over-processing to retain a good crumb texture.
- Chilling overnight helps flavors to meld and improves texture, allowing clean removal from liners.
- Optional cinnamon in the base adds a warm spicy note but can be omitted.
- If you don’t have sour cream, plain yogurt is a suitable substitute.
- Ensure not to overbeat the filling mixture to avoid cracks on baking.
Keywords: mini cheesecakes, dessert, cream cheese, baked cheesecake, individual cheesecakes, easy dessert, berry topped dessert
