These Mini Lemon Cheesecakes with Lemon Curd Topping are the perfect mix between sweet, sour, creamy and crunchy. Great for afternoon tea, a sweet snack or a party, these lemon cheesecake bites are completely addictive if you love the tanginess of lemon!
150gr (1 1/2 cup crumbs)Digestive Biscuitssee note below
Lemon Cheesecake Batter
500gr (16 oz)Cream Cheeseat room temperature
150ml (1/2 cup + 2 tablesp.) Sour Creamat room temperature
2Lemons, juice & zest75ml / 5 tablesp. of juice
80gr (1/3 cup)Caster Sugaror fine white granulated sugar
2Eggsat room temperature
Lemon Curd Topping
2Egg Yolks
80gr (1/2 cup)Caster Sugaror fine white granulated sugar
1 1/2Lemons, juice & zest65ml / 4 tbsp + 1 teasp. of juice
40gr (2 2/3 tablespoon)Unsalted Butterat room temperature, cut into small cubes
Instructions
Biscuit Crust
Melt the Butter in the microwave and set aside to cool down. Place the Biscuits/Cookies in your mixer or food processor and blend to get very small crumbs. Add the Melted Butter and mix to combine.
Place paper liners in your Muffin Pan. Scoop a little bit of the biscuit crumbs at the bottom of each liner and press down until flat and tightly packed. Place in the fridge to set.
Lemon Cheesecake Batter
Preheat your oven on 140°C/285°F and place the oven rack on its lowest position.
Place the Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Lemon Juice and Zest in the bowl of your Mixer (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer) and mix with the paddle attachment until combined and smooth (see note 1).
Mix in the Sugar, then the Eggs one at the time on the slowest speed (see note 2). Stop as soon as combined to avoid adding too much air into the batter.
Pour the Lemon Cheesecake Batter over the chilled Biscuit Crust. They will slightly rise in the oven so don't over fill them. Gently tap the muffin pan over a hard surface to pop any air bubbles.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (see note 3), then turn off the oven and leave to cool down inside the oven for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and leave to cool down completely at room temperature before placing in the fridge to fully set.
Lemon Curd Topping
Whisk together the Lemon Juice and Zest, Egg Yolks and Sugar in a small Pot then turn on low heat. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid has started to very slightly thicken.
Add the cubed Butter a little bit at the time, whisking until fully melted before adding more. Continue to whisk on low heat for 5 to 15 minutes until the curd has started to thicken and is fully cooked (see note 4). Taste and adjust the level of sweeteness if needed.
Pour through a thin mesh sieve to remove any bits of cooked eggs and get a very smooth curd.
Leave to cool down for a few minutes then pour about 1 tablespoon of curd over each chilled cheesecake (remove the liners first), spreading it with the back of a spoon if needed. Place back in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour.
Optionally, finish with a little bit of Lemon Zest just before serving.
Notes
General Disclaimer: I highly recommend using the quantities in grams/ml (instead of cups/spoons) for more accuracy and a better result.Yield: this recipe will make 12 to 15 individual cheesecakes, depending on the size of your muffin pan.Ingredients Notes:
Digestive Biscuits: I used about 10 Digestive Biscuits for the crust, or 150 grams. If you don't have (or can't find) digestive biscuits, you can use Graham Crackers or any of your favourite biscuit/cookies, really. If you don't have a scale, it should equal about 1 1/2 cups of biscuit crumbs.
Cream Cheese/Sour Cream/Eggs: it is very important for all those ingredients to be at room temperature to easily combine and avoid getting large lumps.
Lemon Juice: the size of lemons can highly vary, so I recommend using the juice measurement in ml / spoons rather than the number of lemons. The number of lemons is mainly noted to know how many lemons you need to zest.
Sugar: this recipe is definitely more on the tangy rather than sweet side. If you are after a sweeter dessert, you can increase the quantity of sugar in the lemon curd and/or cheesecake batter to suit your taste.
Instruction Notes:
It is really important for all the ingredients to be at room temperature to easily combine. Otherwise, you might end up with large lumps of un-mixed ingredients and/or an over-whipped batter.
You can pre-whisk the eggs in a separate bowl to help it combine with the rest of the ingredients more easily. It is important not to over-mix the batter at this point as large air bubbles could make the cheesecakes crack in the oven or sink when cooled down.
To know the cheesecakes are baked, gently move the muffin pan and see if the centre of the cheesecakes is wobbly. If not, they are ready. If they wobble, leave for another 3 to 5 minutes in the oven.
Make sure it never boils or you will get bits of cooked eggs in your curd. The time it takes for the curd to cook might vary based on the temperature of your stove. To know the curd is cooked, dip the back of a spoon in and draw a line with your finger. If the line stays clear, it is ready. If the liquid drips over the line, it needs to cook for longer. If you have a food thermometer, the curd is ready when it reaches about 82°C/180°F.