This cute little Mini Cheesecake is just perfect for you and your date . . . or if you don’t have a date for Valentine’s Day, just eat the whole thing yourself, and I won’t tell! If you are looking for a small cheesecake recipe, this is the one for you!
This past September Nathan and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. Just the other day, I looked at him and said that I would have never imagined how much stress kids add to a marriage. I mean, sure, I saw my parents fight, but surely it never had anything to do with us!
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t trade our kids for the world. And ultimately they have totally enriched our marriage and brought us together time and time again. But for the love of fish sticks, my dear lord. It is exhausting rearing these small little people who are full of demands and hungry all the time. It’s like a clown show around her most days, so no kidding it takes a toll on a marriage!
So one of my non resolution resolutions for the New Year (because making actual resolutions is just setting myself up for disappointment and frustration when I don’t do it) was to date my husband more. We have like zero babysitters. Yes, we have kind friends who are willing to sit for us in a pinch, but they also have little kids, and I hate to ask. So we are trying to do more date nights at home. The first one was actually on New Years Eve. We put on some jazz music (btw, with Alexa, who I begrudgingly love, but that’s a whole other post), we made some amazingly delicious and decadent food, and just cooked together. We ate most of it standing in our kitchen because I can’t time a meal correctly to save my life, but then we took the last bits and sat in front of our fireplace. It was low key and kind of magical.
And it really felt like a date.
I told Nathan right away that I want to recreate that date night for Valentine’s Day. Only this time, I want to serve this cheesecake at the end. This teenie tiny mini cheesecake for two was first created back in September to celebrate Nathan’s birthday. Nathan is a cheesecake connoisseur, and it got his stamp of approval. It’s just his style, uncomplicated and doused in cherries.
NOTES FOR THIS SMALL CHEESECAKE RECIPE
- When you are making a cheesecake, the cream cheese has to be at room temperature. Don’t microwave your brick of cream cheese. Just be patient, leave it on the counter for a couple hours (I like at least four) and do the same with your egg.
- This isn’t a lot of cream cheese to blend. It will want to just stick to the sides of the bowl. So make sure to scrape it down and blend again at least one time. You want it to be smooth.
- I got my mini cheesecake pans (four inches) from Target, but you can find them on Amazon as well.
- The cherry sauce is made with water and not juice. This was a recipe from my mom (that I’m 99% sure came from a cherry can). Her recipe called for juice, but I didn’t have any and just used water. It was the perfect amount of sweetness for the cheesecake. If you would like it sweeter, replace it with cranberry juice.
- Or just buy cherry pie filling. I won’t tell.
Mini Cheesecake for Two
Ingredients
For the Cheesecake
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature (see note)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the Cherry Sauce
- 1/2 cup water see note
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 TBSP corn starch
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup frozen cherries thawed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Beat the brick of cream cheese until it is smooth. Scrape down the sides, and beat for another 30 seconds. Beat in the sugar, then the vanilla, and then the egg.
- Pour into 4 inch springform pan . Bake for 22 minutes until the edges are lightly golden and the middle still has a wiggle to it. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in with the door closed for a half hour. Take the cheesecake out and leave it on the counter 10 minutes. Before putting it in the refrigerator, gently run a thin knife between the edges of the pan and the cheesecake. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.
- Before serving the cheesecake, combine the water, sugar, and corn starch, and cinnamon in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Stir continuously until fully combined.
- Add the almond extract and cherries. Continue to cook, breaking up the cherries slightly until the the sauce is a deep dark red color.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before topping the cheesecake and serving.
Notes
did you make this
Mini Cheesecake for Two
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Donna Radcliff says
I have one mini 4″ springform pan that was part of a children’s baking set I purchased several years ago, just in case I ever had grandkids wanting to cook (I bought a bunch of those kits). I was craving cheesecake anyway, but where would I find a recipe for one mini cheesecake? This was the first recipe that came up in my Google search so I gave it a try. It was fabulous! I had a can of cherry pie filling in the cupboard and used that for the topping, but your cherry topping looks wonderful. I can’t wait to play with the recipe for variations.
Well Donna, this comment absolutely made my day. I hope you have grandkids to bake with at some point! You’ll make a great grandma!
chicook13 says
You are my hero! My 13 yo son LOVES cheesecake but I’m not a fan. Now I can make a cheesecake just for him! I already have the pans, too (not sure why since I don’t like cheesecake). Thank you for this recipe!
Yay! I hope you like it!
Sheryl Clark says
Can you confirm that your ingredient list is for ONE of these spring form pans. I have 12 and am making them for a Thanksgiving display with different toppings. So a brick of cream cheese Times 12?
Yup! Let me know how they turn out!
Kim says
I think you may have forgotten to include the egg in your ingredients list.
It’s the fourth ingredient listed.
Kar says
Excellent cheesecake for 2! I made it this weekend – easy to make, very rich, and already gone! Will definitely make it again. Thanks
I’m so happy to hear that!
Julie says
I’d like to fix this for a couple that I’m delivering a meal to. Any suggestions how to get it off the pan bottom so I don’t have to bother them with returning it later? Possibly put a piece of parchment paper in the bottom?
You could try a piece of parchment paper or running some unflavored dental floss between the cheesecake and the pan.
kaye f says
Julie, I lined the bottom of my little spring-form pay with parchment..the cheesecake unmolded beautifully, just peeled the paper off the bottom and voila…perfect!! I did add a bottom crumb crust to mine, that might have had something to do with it. Hope yours works just as well!
Karen says
Cheese cake sounds great but what I would like to know is where you got that adorable cake stand?
Oh shoot! It’s from the dollar section at Target like FOREVER ago.
Trish Knight says
I use a 4″ “candle holder” from the Dollar Store…
I haven’t tried that, but I did just have a reader make this in a mug with good results!
Nina Miller says
I notice you don’t add a crust for this cheesecake. If you want to what amounts of crumbs would you use? A cup should be enough do you think? Right now I can’t give a star review since I haven’t made it yet, but am sure it is excellent.
I loved this so much without a crust. I would look up a good graham cracker crust, divide the ingredients by four and use that.
Sabrina says
This recipe is so good and so easy to make! The cheesecake texture is perfect, and just the right amount of sweetness! I ended up making two regular cheesecakes and one matcha green tea cheesecake and it was wonderful! Something I would like to point out that if you do not add fruit on top the vanilla flavor is a little strong, so I would recommend half a tsp of vanilla for those just going plain or just whipped cream. Overall it’s a great recipe and so glad I came across it!
Thanks so much Sabrina!
Patricia Mackay says
Thanks for this simple recipe. I had to tweek it somewhat (used the same amount of baking stevia) instead of sugar and I added a wee bit of lemon juice and grated lemon peel. I didn’t have a small springform pan but used a small round baking dish lined with parchment. I’m hoping to be able to lift it out for serving. It’s cooking now. A little treat for our 45th anniversary this evening.