This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our privacy policy.
I think I may have mentioned once or… 50 times that I love cheesecake. I am also a big fan of all things miniature. If you follow MBA, you may have noticed that the lovely Katie from GoodLife Eats and I have been hosting a Holiday Recipe Exchange.
Many of the recipes that have been posted look outstanding, but there is one particular creation that immediately caught my eye. That recipe was for mini cheesecakes with cranberry topping from Tessa of the blog, Handle the Heat. I thought Tessa’s recipe for creamy vanilla flecked individual cheesecakes topped with cranberry sauce would be the perfect festive dessert to make for our holiday potluck at work.
If you have never made mini cheesecakes before, don’t be intimidated because they are pretty simple. Not to mention, they are a great addition to any potluck or holiday spread because they’re quite portable if you keep them in the cupcake liners. I hope you enjoy this recipe for mini cheesecakes as much as I did, have a great start to the week and thanks so much for stopping by!
Individual Cheesecakes with Orange-Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
- 1 ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter; melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
For the Filling:
- 3 (8 ounce) bricks of cream cheese; softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 vanilla bean, split in half and seeds scraped
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
For the Orange-Cranberry Topping:
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup orange juice
Directions:
For the Cheesecake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cupcake pans with 24 paper liners.
- In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and cinnamon. Stir together with a fork until well blended and all dry ingredients are moistened and look like wet sand. Press 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Bake until just set, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed with an electric mixer just until smooth. Beat in sugar until well incorporated. Mix in the salt and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, add in the heavy cream. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Spoon 3 to 4 tablespoons of the cheesecake batter over the crust in each cupcake liner using an ice cream scoop or two spoons.
- Bake until the filling is just set, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for at least 4 hours before topping and serving, preferably overnight.
For the Sauce
- In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the orange juice. Stir in the cranberries and cook until the cranberries start to pop (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
- Before serving, top refrigerated cheesecakes with the cooled cranberry sauce.
Follow Jamie on Instagram. We love to see what you're baking from MBA! Be sure to tag @jamiemba and use the hashtag #mbarecipes!
I love having individual desserts and these are just gorgeous!
These are very pretty and festive. They look delicious! Did your coworkers just love them? Great pictures too.
I admit to being a certifiable cranberryaholic; I love cranberry relish, sauce and for desserts like this. Our have to have holiday dessert is a cake with a cream cheese frosting topped with cranberries so I have a glimmer of how good this must be. Love the mini version too!
These look gorgeous!
Everytime I make cheesecakes in cupcake pans, the middle sinks slightly. Did this happen to you too? I’m not complaining–it’s perfect for adding a scoop of cranberries, but I’m just curious. Thanks :)
I love cheesecake, and these mini ones look perfect for a holiday get-together! The cranberry orange sauce on top makes them look so festive!
This is such a popular and wonderful combination of flavors! I’m not much of a cheesecake eater but I love to make them. Will have to save this to make for the Mr sometime.
Lovely! I recently had a mini pumpkin cheesecake dessert at a restraurant. Just the right size not too much!
Gorgeous! We adore adore ADORE cheesecake and love the orange cranberry sauce! Makes it so festive!
I love mini cheesecakes! I find with regular cheesecake I go crazy and eat too much (and then get a tummy ache). Great recipe!
That looks so great! Love the individual portions. No mess. Happy holidays!