Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes with Cinnamon Whipped Cream
Pumpkin pie is, for many, synonymous with Thanksgiving. But why not try mixing things up this year by serving a different pumpkin dessert.
Go big and bold with lemon.
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 10 Pieces
Cheesecake
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, plus 1 teaspoon (for greasing pan)
- 8 ounces cookies (lemon, shortbread, vanilla wafers or your favorite cookie)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 10 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 6 ounces creamy fresh goat cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup crème fraîche or sour cream
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons firmly packed lemon zest (not strips, make sure it's very finely zested)
- 8 ounces cookies, enough to circle the cake (preferably the same kind you used for the crust)
- 2 tablespoons of your favorite jam or honey (for gluing on cookies)
Instructions
Heat oven to 350° F. Use 1 tablespoon of butter to coat interior of your spring form pan. Cut a piece of parchment to fit bottom of pan and press into pan. Butter top of parchment. Set aside.
Place remaining butter for crust in medium-sized pan over medium heat. Butter will melt, sizzle and foam up. Once it smells nutty and noise stops, watch closely. Turn off the heat once brown bits drop down to bottom of pan. Set aside.
Pulverize cookies in food processor. Pulse in brown butter and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Press into bottom and up about 1 inch of greased spring form pan. Bake until just starting to brown (about 10 minutes). Remove from oven to cool. Turn oven down to 300° F.
Place cream cheese and goat cheese in bowl of a standing mixer, and beat until light and smooth (about 3 minutes). Scrape down sides. Add sugar and beat for another minute. Scrape down sides. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down between each addition. Add remaining salt, crème fraîche and lemon juice and zest. Beat for another 30 seconds. If you see any lumps, beat for another 30 seconds or so.
Pour into crust in prepared spring form pan. Bake for 40 minutes. Don't peek. After 40 minutes, turn off oven and open door. Leave cake to cool for an hour. After an hour, remove from oven to cool completely. Cover and place in fridge for 8 hours or overnight.
To serve, place bottom of pan over a medium flame on stove. Move it around for about 5 seconds over flame. Use a warm paring knife (warmed under hot water or over the flame) to separate cake from pan. Remove outer ring from spring form pan. Slide cake off pan.
Encircle outside of cake with cookies used for crust. They will need a little help sticking; you can use any kind of jam or honey.
Eat immediately, or store in fridge until serving--though be warned, the cookies might get a bit stale the longer it sits.
Recipe courtesy of Phyllis Grant. DashandBella
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