These Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes with Strawberry Compote topping are delicious light and flavourful treat that are perfect for afternoon tea or a party. They can be made in advance with fresh or frozen strawberries.
150gr (1 1/2 cup crushed)Digestive Biscuitscrushed
75gr (5 tablespoons)Unsalted Buttermelted
Strawberry Cheesecake
100gr (3,5 oz)Strawberriesfresh or frozen (see note 1)
450gr (16 oz)Cream Cheeseat room temperature
120gr (1/2 cup)Sour Creamat room temperature
1teaspoonVanilla Paste
80gr (1/3 cup)Caster Sugar
2Eggsat room temperature
Strawberry Compote Topping
175gr (6 oz)Strawberriesfresh or frozen
25gr (2 tablespoons)Caster Sugar
15ml (1 tablespoon)Lemon Juice
1/2teaspoonVanilla Extract
Instructions
Cookie Crust
Melt the Butter and Crush the Digestive Biscuits (or your choice of cookies) using a food processor or by crushing them inside a freezing bag.
Combine the crushed biscuits and melted butter in a small bowl and mix with a spatula until it looks like wet sand and all the cookie crumbs look evenly coated in butter.
Prepare a muffin pan with paper liners, then firmly press the cookie crust into each liner. Place in the fridge.
Strawberry Cheesecake
Prepare the strawberry puree: blend the strawberries with an immersion blender or regular blender until smooth (see note 2). Set aside.
Preheat your oven on 140°C/285°F.
Mix the Cream Cheese and Sour Cream in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for a few minutes until very smooth (see note 3).
Add in the Sugar, blended Strawberry Puree and Vanilla. Mix until just combined, stopping to scrap the edges and bottom of the bowl with a spatula if required.
Slowly mix in the Eggs one at the time and stop as soon as combined (see note 4).
Scoop the mixture over the chilled crust. Tap the pan on a hard surface to bring any air bubbles to the surface and pop them.
Bake on the lowest rack of your oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The filling should be slightly wobbly in the centre (see note 5).
Turn the oven off, open the door slightly and and leave the cheesecakes to cool down for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool down at room temperature for another 30 to 60 minutes, then in the fridge until completely cool and set.
Strawberry Compote Topping
Cut the Strawberries in half and place them in a small saucepan with the Sugar, Lemon Juice and Vanilla. Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon (see note 6)
Turn on low to medium heat and leave to simmer for 10 to 20 minutes (see note 7) until the fruits have softened and the liquid starts to thicken.
Leave to cool down then place in the fridge.
Assembling the Cheesecakes
When the cheesecakes have completely set, remove the paper liners then spoon a little bit of strawberry compote over each cheesecake. Optionally, finish them with a strawberry slice. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
Notes
If using frozen strawberries, make sure to thaw them fully and drain any excess liquid before blending them.
Optionally, you can pour the strawberry puree through a thin mesh sieve to remove any seeds or unblended chunks.
Make sure the cream cheese and sour cream are at room temperature or it will be hard to combine and you will see lumps of unmixed cream cheese. Stop mixing as soon as the cream is smooth to avoid adding too much air into the batter.
It is really important to avoid over-mixing the mixture because you do not want to add air bubbles in the cream. You can also mix the eggs in by hands with a spatula if preferred.
To check if the cheesecakes are baked, gently move the pan back and forth. You should see a little bit of movement in the centre of the cheesecake, but the edges shouldn't move.
If using fresh strawberries, I recommend adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to help the fruits start cooking. This is not necessary with frozen strawberries.
The exact cooking time will depend on the size of the strawberries and how much water they naturally contain.