These Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes are my new love. Aren’t they just the darlingest little cupcake-sized babies? And yes, they’re adorable – and just as delicious as they look.
Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes
But beyond that? Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes are perfectly portable and easy to share. Unless you want to hoard them all to yourself? That would be my vote, except for the awkward fact that I’m a grown-up and have some self-control!
About Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes:
If you have a small family, like ours, full-sized cheesecakes are probably few and far between and become more of a company dessert. While a cheesecake is always impressive, they’re large, sometimes a little heavy, do take a long time to bake and cool and sometimes they are a little fussy – and often need a water bath. These cute little Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes are absolutely the answer. The recipe makes 24 of the lightest, luscious little cheesecakes you’ll ever taste.
These are quick to make and bake; no water bath is needed. They’re also perfectly portioned and perfectly portable. They pack easily to share. (Plus, there are no worries about retrieving your springform pan if you bring them somewhere.)
Think of these mini cheesecakes if you’re going to a potluck or a bake sale or need something to share at an event. Or maybe you want to do like we did last week, want to bake a little something for a thank you but still have a little something at the house.
A dozen of these beauties went to a neighbor and the rest stayed here. Now that couldn’t happen with a large cheesecake. You’d be like, “Here, thanks and have half a cheesecake!” Naw, that’s not gonna happen.
These cheesecakes were adapted from Martha Stewart. If you wanna check out my other Cheesecakes (and cheesecake concoctions) see my menu under desserts.
Making Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes:
Although these cheesecakes are quick to make and bake and have just a handful of ingredients, it still is important to follow good cheesecake-making protocol! When mixing, beat the cream cheese until fluffy, then mix in the sugar, then salt, and vanilla.
At this point, you’ll want to stop and scrape down the sides and make sure everything is mixed on the bottom, then give it another little burst. Once the eggs are added, make sure to put each one in and mix and scrape down after each. And only mix until the egg is incorporated. Mixing as little as possible after each egg is going to help your cheesecake to be nice and smooth with no lumps or cracking.
I do want to note, when I make these again, I will be more careful to drop the fruit spread or jam in several places so it swirls better – and doesn’t sink as much! I gottla admit, though, it was kind of nice to get the intense little taste of strawberry in the center.
Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes
Options for Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes:
I made these Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes because strawberry is one of my favorite flavors. And I used a basic, always classic graham cracker crust.
You can easily change up the flavors by simply subbing in another jam. Any jam that turns your crank will be great!
- If you want to, you can play around with the extract in the cheesecake. It doesn’t have to be vanilla. Maybe you’d like to change up the extract to enhance whatever flavor jam you use. How about orange marmalade with a little orange extract?
- Or maybe you want to change things up with classic combo. Blueberry jam and almond extract come to mind immediately.
- The crust, too, is changed up easily enough. Some options are vanilla wafer, oreo, or shortbread. You’ll just need the same amount as called for in the recipe. 1 cup finely ground (about 5 ounces) to sub in for the graham crackers. Everything else should stay the same in the crust portion of the recipe.
Anyway, I’m sure you get the idea! What flavors would you choose for your ideal dreamy, creamy mini cheesecakes?
Storing Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes:
Just like any cheesecake, you’ll want to allow these to come to room temperature before stashing them away in the fridge. Even though they’re light and airy, after they are cooled down in the fridge, they are sturdy enough so you can put them in a container, place a piece of cardboard on top and then add another layer.
These cheesecakes can be frozen. Most cheesecakes can be, although with the larger full-sized ones, by the time they thaw, the crust might suffer a bit. Not so with these beauties. They are small enough to easily thaw overnight in the fridge or for an hour or two on your counter.
They’re an asset stowed away in the freezer for when you need a little sumpin sumpin for dessert on short notice.
Saving Money:
- When shopping, look for cream cheese on sale, especially around holidays when it’s often half-price. Cream cheese has a long shelf life in the fridge; it keeps for weeks. It can be frozen, too, and thawed for recipes.
- I pretty much know what jams, jellies, and spreads my family likes, and try to pick up multiple jars when they are on a deep sale. I find that they’re often cheapest in the late summer when the warehouses are full and sometimes around Easter and/or Mother’s Day.
- Graham cracker crumbs will usually be at a discount (often unadvertised) around just about any holiday, and so will graham crackers if you’d like to crush your own. The advantage in using the crumbs, for me at least, is that I am unlikely to eat them so I can count on having them on hand!
If you’d like to see what items are usually on sale prior to any holiday, check out my post on Win at the Grocer. There are links to each major food holiday with my best pick for saving and what to leave behind.
Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes
Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes
- Total Time: 30 minutes + cool
- Yield: 24 cupcake sized cheesecakes 1x
- Category: desserts
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Base
- 1 cup finely ground graham crackers (5 ounces, about 8 sheets)
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Cheesecake:
- 32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (4 eight ounce packages)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- about 4 ounces of strawberry fruit spread or thick jam
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place paper liners in the cups of two standard 12-cup muffin tins, and set aside.
Stir together cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the crumb mixture in bottom of each cup in muffin tin and divide any remaining crumbs among the cups. Press firmly. Bake until set, about 5 minutes. Let cool in tins on a wire rack. Leave oven on.
Put cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With mixer on low-speed, add the sugar in a slow, steady stream.
Add salt and vanilla; mix until just combined, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each until just combined (do not over mix) stopping to scrape after each egg.
Spoon about 3 tablespoons filling into each cup, again, dividing any remaining mixture among the rest. Drop the fruit spread or jam over the cakes, about a 1/2 teaspoon total on each cheesecake, in two or three places. With a wooden skewer or toothpick, swirl into filling.
Bake until set, 10 to 14 minutes. Let cool completely in tins before refrigerating.
notes:
- a small cup or glass works well to press out the crumb mixture.
- make these any flavor you’d like
Keywords: Cheesecake, Cream Cheese, Desserts, Graham Crackers, Jam Jelly or Preserves, Martha Stewart
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