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These Mini Lemon Cheesecakes are so easy to make! The perfect Spring/Summer dessert, this creamy citrus cheesecake with a buttery graham cracker crust is topped with a delicious lemon curd that is bound to be a crowd pleaser. You’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to make these mini lemon cheesecakes!
Made with simple ingredients, these mini cheesecakes are bursting with citrus flavors and don’t require a water bath unlike a traditional cheesecake. They are the perfect summer dessert for any gathering. They can be made the day before to make things even easier for you.
Want to try more delicious dessert recipes with lemon? My Creamy Lemon Pies, Lemon Macarons, Creamy Lemon Bars, are some of my family’s favorites and I’ll bet your family would love them as well!
Why You’ll Love These Lemon Mini Cheesecakes
- They’re easy to make! You can make these mini cheesecakes without needing to do a water bath which is definitely the more tedious part of baking cheesecakes.
- They don’t take long to make. Since these are mini cheesecakes, they take less time to make and don’t require you to set them in the fridge overnight.
- Perfect for spring! The bright lemony flavor makes these individual cheesecakes perfect for the springtime.
Lemon Cheesecake Ingredients
For Crust:
- Graham crackers — finely crushed. You can crush them in the processor or get pre crushed graham crackers.
- Salt-to balance out the sweetness.
- Granulated sugar-to add sweetness to the base.
- Unsalted butter — melted, but not hot.
For Filling:
- Cream cheese — room temperature, helps with mixing
- Granulated sugar-adds sweetness to the filling
- Eggs — room temperature.
- Heavy cream — room temperature.
- Vanilla-pure vanilla extract.
- Lemon juice-fresh squeezed.
- Lemon zest-from fresh lemon.
For Lemon Curd:
- Granulated sugar-helps sweetens the curd
- Lime juice — fresh squeezed.
- Egg-room temperature.
- Egg yolk-room temperature.
- Unsalted butter — cubed, room temperature.
How to Make Mini Lemon Cheesecake
- Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a 12 cavity cupcake tin with cupcake liners and set aside. In a small bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, salt, sugar, and melted butter. And then firmly press 1-1 ½ tablespoons of the crumb mixture into each liner.
- Bake the crust: Bake the graham cracker crusts for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- Change the oven temperature: Turn the oven down to 300F.
- Make the mini cheesecake filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together on low speed until fully combined and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, before adding the heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix until fully combined. Fill each liner up almost to the top.
- Bake the cheesecakes: Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven off and allow the cheesecakes to sit in the oven for 30 minutes. Crack the oven door open and allow to sit until cooled to room temperature.
- Chill the mini lemon cheesecakes: Transfer cheesecakes to the fridge until ready to serve.
- Prepare the lemon curd: In a medium heat-proof bowl whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, egg, and egg yolk.
- Cook the lemon curd: Place the bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and add the cubed butter. Let the mixture cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, whisking occasionally. The lemon curd is ready when it hits 180 F or is a very thick consistency.
- Chill the lemon curd: Remove the curd from the heat and cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap. Place the curd in the fridge until fully cooled.
- Top the cheesecake with the lemon curd: Once the curd and cheesecakes are fully cooled, transfer the lemon curd to a piping bag and pipe your desired amount on top.
Tips To Make Lemon Cheesecake
- Beat ingredients on low speed for best results.
- Be sure to use a double boiler to cook the curd.
- Be sure your ingredients are at room temperature as cold ingredients will make your filling lumpy.
- Be sure to fully preheat your oven for the best results.
- You can quickly crush your graham crackers by pulsing it in the food processor.
- If you don’t want to crush the graham crackers yourself, you can purchase it pre-crushed.
- Be sure to use full fat blocks of cream cheese and not the spreadable cream cheese.
- Do not substitute the fresh lemon juice for bottle lemon juice as it won’t taste as fresh.
- Be sure to zest the lemon before you juice them, It’s much easier doing it in that order.
Frequently Asked Questions
At first glance, Meyer lemons are smaller than regular lemons. However, Meyer lemons are less acidic and sweeter in taste than regular lemons. You’re welcome to use either because regular lemons are easier to find year round than Meyer lemons.
You can carefully use a vegetable peeler to get the lemon skin off and then cut it up finely with a knife.
To see if your cheesecakes are done, you can do the jiggle test for your mini cheesecakes! When your mini lemon cheesecakes are done, the center of the cheesecakes should jiggle slightly.
Usually the middle of your cheesecake will sink down if there’s too much air in the batter. It’s important to not over-mix your batter and have room temperature ingredients.
The mini cheesecakes will last for up to 5 days in the fridge. You can store the lemon curd separately and top your mini cheesecakes when ready to eat.
If you’d like to freeze the lemon cheesecakes, skip adding on the toppings and allow the cheesecakes to fully cool before attempting to freeze them. Transfer the cold cheesecakes to a sheet pan in the freezer and let it freeze, uncovered. When frozen solid, transfer the mini lemon cheesecakes to a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
Thaw your cheesecake in the fridge overnight. If you’re in a rush, you can place it at room temperature until it’s no longer frozen.
More Cheesecake Recipes to Try
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Mini Lemon Cheesecakes recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it and share it with your friends and family!
If you try this recipe and like it, please leave a star rating and comment below. Use my hashtag to share it with me on Instagram so I can see your delicious recreations! Also, follow me at Cookin’ With Mima on FACEBOOK |INSTAGRAM |PINTEREST for all of my latest social posts and recipes.
Mini Lemon Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For Crust:
- 8 sheets graham crackers, finely crushed
- ⅛ tsp salt, just a pinch
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
For Filling:
- 2 8-oz blocks cream cheese, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 whole eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
For Lemon Curd:
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ cup lime juice, fresh squeezed
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
Instructions
For Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a 12 cavity cupcake tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, salt, sugar, and melted butter. Mix until fully combined. The mixture should be the texture of wet sand.
- Firmly press 1-1 ½ tablespoons of the crumb mixture into each liner.
- Bake the crusts for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely.
For Filling:
- Turn the oven down to 300F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together on low speed until fully combined and smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.
- Add the heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix until fully combined.
- Fill each liner up almost to the top.
- Bake the cheesecakes for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven off and allow the cheesecakes to sit in the oven for 30 minutes. Crack the oven door open and allow to sit until cooled to room temperature.
- Transfer cheesecakes to the fridge until ready to serve.
For Filling:
- In a medium heat-proof bowl whisk together the sugar, lemon juice, egg, and egg yolk.
- Place the bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water and add the cubed butter.
- Let the mixture cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, whisking occasionally.
- The lemon curd is ready when it hits 180 degrees (F) or is a very thick consistency.
- Remove the curd from the heat and cover the surface of the curd with plastic wrap. Place the curd in the fridge until fully cooled.
- Once the curd and cheesecakes are fully cooled, transfer the lemon curd to a piping bag and pipe your desired amount on top.
Notes
- Be sure your ingredients are at room temperature as cold ingredients will make your filling lumpy.
- Be sure to fully preheat your oven for the best results.
- You can quickly crush your graham crackers by pulsing it in the food processor.
- If you don’t want to crush the graham crackers yourself, you can purchase it pre-crushed.
- Be sure to use full fat blocks of cream cheese and not the spreadable cream cheese.
- Do not substitute the fresh lemon juice for bottle lemon juice as it won’t taste as fresh.
- Be sure to zest the lemon before you juice them, It’s much easier doing it in that order.
