Individual no-crust cheesecakes

on Mar 28th, 2008Individual no-crust cheesecakes

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.