Whenever I can devise a recipe that does double duty in my interfaith life, I am happy. This lightened-up take on a favorite worked for Easter and will work for Passover, when dairy is appropriate. In fact, I can envision this any time a plated dessert is needed.
For those not familiar with Passover dietary laws, grains are forbidden. There are only so many ways to concoct a dessert without flour and I’d gotten into a rut of flourless chocolate cake. I was working on a pie crust made with coconut when it occurred to me to do away with crusts if I could. Since my favorite cheesecake has almost no crust, that was a natural place to start. Problem was, it uses cornstarch to eliminate the need for a bain marie, or water bath. I wondered if small cheesecakes, baking quickly, would be fine without either cornstarch or a bain and lo and behold, they are. Eliminating the heavy cream probably helped too.
This is a small recipe, making only about a cup of filling. I have a stack of little, disposable pie plates — the pot pie size — which worked well. I had some concerns about being able to remove the cheesecakes and knew if I got desperate, I could cut the foil plates. That wasn’t necessary at all; with a good spray as pan prep, the cheesecakes slipped right out after being chilled. Custard cups or ramekins also could be used for deeper cheesecakes or more portions.
I got four little cakes from this recipe and used a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop for each portion. I suppose this could be made in a 6″ springform but I don’t know how much longer the baking time would be. They can be served plain, with a dusting of cocoa or with a fruit coulis. If using fruit, I would vary the extract in the base, using almond as I did for raspberries or cherries, and lemon or vanilla for blueberries or strawberries.
This can be made with a wooden spoon or hand mixer, which I used. If using a stand mixer, stay at the lowest speed to avoid overbeating, as explained in the tips below.
Ella’s Individual No-Crust Cheesecakes
Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup/2.5 ounces/70g sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/8 tsp extract (almond, lemon or vanilla)
Topping
1/2 cup /4 ounces low-fat sour cream
1 TB sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Spray 4 to 6 small ovenproof containers, such as disposable pie plates or ramekins. Set a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F/180 C/Gas 4.
In a small bowl, beat together the sugar and cream cheese just until smooth. Add the egg and the extract and beat just until well-combined.
Divide the filling among the containers, bake on a baking sheet for 18 – 20 minutes, until golden at the edges. Remove to a cooling rack for 5 – 10 minutes.
Mix together the topping ingredients, divide among the cheesecakes and use the back of a spoon to spread evenly but not quite to the edges. [click small photo to enlarge.]
Return to the oven for another 5 – 7 minutes, until top is set. Immediately loosen the edges with a thin knife [see tips] and let cool completely on a rack before chilling, covered with plastic wrap, at least 2 hours or up to a day.
About 30 minutes before serving, slide cheesecakes onto plates or invert if necessary and turn right side up. [They are sturdy enough when well-chilled to do that.] Serve at room temperature for fullest flavor and with fruit topping, if desired.
Serves 4 – 6
Ella’s Tips: As with all cheesecakes, you don’t want to beat a lot of air into the batter; too much air will make the filling rise and fall, contributing to cracking — more important with a large cheesecake than here, but good practice nonetheless. For that reason, ingredients should be at room temperature and the cream cheese should be quite soft to avoid overbeating to make a smooth filling. As soon as a cheesecake comes out of the oven, you should run a thin knife around the edge, pressing the knife against the pan, to loosen it. Otherwise it will pull as it cools and shrinks, increasing the chance of cracks developing. See my post on making a better cheesecake for more.
Related: About Hand Mixers
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