This mini strawberry cheesecake recipe is the perfect treat for strawberry season, made in a muffin pan with cupcake liners! It's made with graham cracker crumbs, topped with creamy cheesecake filling, and loaded with strawberry topping and fresh strawberries! Great for a special occasion, these mini cheesecakes are sure to be a hit and is an easy recipe to make!
This mini cheesecake recipe is such a great recipe for summer (or Valentines day) and is the perfect dessert to feed a crowd. It's got a buttery graham cracker crust and is made with a standard cheesecake batter with sour cream for extra tanginess, it's SO creamy and delicious. The best part? No water bath necessary!
A mini cheesecake pan (or mini springform pans) is not necessary, and the little cheesecakes store incredibly well for days. This may have become my favorite recipe for a delicious cheesecake, and the homemade strawberry sauce really elevates the dessert. They're the perfect mini strawberry cheesecake bites!
For more delicious dessert recipes featuring cheesecake, try my:
- speculoos mini cheesecakes
- caramel pecan cheesecake
- raspberry white chocolate cheesecake bars
- pumpkin swirl cheesecake bars
- blueberry cheesecake no-churn ice cream
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Simple Ingredients for Individual Cheesecakes
- Graham crackers. I find that Nabisco brand produces the most structurally sound crust.
- Unsalted butter. Melted.
- 12 oz cream cheese. It's imperative that this is at room temperature so it easily incorporates and no chunks remain. I also always recommend full-fat cream cheese for any cheesecake bakes, as the fat contributes greatly to a nice texture.
- Sour cream. Also, be sure this is at room temperature. Feel free to add up to 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and a bit of lemon zest, as well, for extra zing.
- Large eggs. Again, at room temperature.
- Vanilla extract.
- Heavy whipping cream. For the whipped cream cheese topping - this should be very cold!
- Strawberries. These will get cooked down for a strawberry sauce, and also used fresh.
Tools for the Strawberry Cheesecake Cups
- Food processor
- Stand mixer or hand mixer. Note it's better to use a stand mixer, as the low speed is lower than a hand mixer. Whipping too much air into bake cheesecakes is never good (it can cause it to crack).
- Cupcake liners or paper liners
- Cupcake pan or muffin pan
How to How to Make the Mini Strawberry Cheesecake Recipe
STEP 1: Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor into fine crumbs. Then, add a bit of sugar and melted butter and mix it in a medium bowl by hand or add it to the food processor and continue blitzing.
STEP 2: Line a regular muffin tin with liners, and add a heaping tablespoon of the mixture to the muffin cups. Use the back of a spoon or the bottom of a drinking glass to push the crumbs down and compact them. Bake the cheesecake crust for a few minutes to set it.
STEP 3: Make the cream cheese mixture by adding the cream cheese, sugar, and corn starch to the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a large bowl for a hand electric mixer) and mix on low speed then scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add the whisked eggs and beat slowly, then add the sour cream and vanilla and mix until a smooth texture develops.
Hot tip! Never mix cheesecake batter on high speed, as this can incorporate too much air into the batter and cause it to crack. Always mix on low for best results.
STEP 4: Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to completely fill the liners with batter, then spread it into an even layer. Bake until set. Take care not to slam the oven door if you check on them at any point.
Remove from the oven, cool for one hour, then transfer to the fridge for at least two hours.
Homemade Strawberry Sauce
STEP 5: To make the fresh strawberry sauce, roughly chop strawberries and cook them down over medium heat with a little bit of sugar until they break down and juices release.
Puree the strawberry mixture until smooth, then return to the pot and cook with a cornstarch slurry to thicken it slightly. Transfer it to a small bowl and place it in the fridge to cool completely.
Making the Cream Cheese Whipped Cream
STEP 6: Using very cold cream cheese, combine the cream cheese with the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix on high speed with the whisk attachment until it breaks down and becomes smooth.
Scrape down the sides, then with the mixer running on medium speed, drizzle in the heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Scrape the sides again, then whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Assembling the Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes
Once the cheesecakes are chilled, remove them from the muffin tins. Then, top them with enough sweet strawberry sauce to fully cover the tops without it falling over the sides, and sprinkle on finely diced fresh strawberries.
Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag with a star tip or freezer bag (zip-top bag) and pipe onto the tops of the mini cheesecakes. Add a small piece of mint to the top of each to garnish (this is optional).
Variations
- Use vanilla wafer cookies in place of the graham cracker crumbs.
- Add the strawberry sauce on top of the unbaked cheesecake, then use a butter knife to work it into the batter slightly for mini strawberry swirl cheesecakes.
- Half the recipe and bake time and make them in a mini muffin tin!
Storing and Freezing
Store the cheesecakes in an airtight container (assembled or unassembled) in the fridge for up to 5 days. Note the fresh strawberries will begin to deteriorate before the other portions of the homemade cheesecake.
To freeze the mini strawberry cheesecake recipe, wrap the individual cheesecakes (without the strawberry sauce or topping) in plastic wrap and freeze in a sealed container or zip-top bag for three months. Unwrap completely and thaw in the fridge, then add the strawberry sauce, heavy cream topping and serve.
FAQs & Tips
Why did my cheesecake crack?
This may be because too much air was whipped into the batter, the oven temperature was too high, or the bake time was too long. Not to worry, you'll cover it up with delicious toppings!
After slightly puffing up in the oven, it is natural for the cheesecake to fall and sink in slightly. This is due to the very dense batter, which is why we want to fill the cheesecake batter to the very top!
You'll know when they're cooked when they have puffed up slightly and are no longer sloshy. A bit of jiggle is what we want to see, and it will finish cooking and set during chill time.
More strawberry recipes
- Strawberry Rhubarb Tartlets
- Strawberry Almond Bostock Pastry with Croissant
- Strawberry Crunch Cupcakes
- Strawberry Shortcake Layer Cake (sponge cake)
- Strawberry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- Double Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
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📖Recipe
Mini Strawberry Cheesecake Cups
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment and whisk attachment, or handheld mixer
- Rubber spatula
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs 75g (about 10-12 sheets)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar 38g
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted (29g)
Cheesecake Layer
- 12 ounces full-fat cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar 100g
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup sour cream room temperature (57g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Strawberry Sauce
- 300 grams strawberries about 10 large strawberries
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 25g
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 4 large strawberries small dice (to go on top of the strawberry sauce)
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 ounces cream cheese cold
- ¼ cup powdered sugar 30g
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream cold (120ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325℉/163℃ and line a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Graham Cracker Crust
- Add the graham crackers to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fine crumbs are formed.
- Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, add the melted butter and sugar and mix until the crumbs are completely moistened.
- Add one heaping tablespoon of crumbs to each muffin well, then press it down to compact using the bottom of a drinking glass or spoon.
- Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then remove and cool completely.
Cheesecake Layer
- Combine the sugar and cornstarch, then add it to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the softened cream cheese. Mix on low speed until smooth, then scrape down the sides.
- Whisk the egg and drizzle it into the cream cheese with the mixer on low speed until combined. Scrape down the sides again.
- Add the vanilla and sour cream and fold the mixture into the batter using a rubber spatula until combined.
- Use a cookie scoop to evenly disperse the cheesecake among the graham cracker crusts in the muffin tin. Spread the cheesecake evenly.
- Bake the mini cheesecakes for 15-18 minutes until the cheesecakes gets lightly puffy and still has a slight jiggle in the center.
- Place on a wire rack to cool for one hour, then transfer to the fridge for at least 2-3 hours to finish setting.
Strawberry Sauce
- Hull and quarter the strawberries and add it to a medium saucepan with the sugar.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the juices release and the strawberries begin to break down.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, then put back into the saucepan.
- Mix together the cornstarch and water, then add the the strawberry sauce and mix for 30 seconds over medium heat. Transfer to a bowl to cool completely.
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and mix on low to combine, then switch to high speed to get it really smooth. Scrape down the sides.
- With the mixer on low, drizzle in the heavy cream until combined, scrape the sides one more, then increase the speed to high until still peaks form.
Assembly
- Remove the mini cheesecakes from the muffin tin. An offset spatula helps with easy removal.
- Add one tablespoon of the strawberry sauce to the top of each chilled mini cheesecake and spread it to meet the edges.
- Hull and finely dice the remaining strawberries, then nestle them into the strawberry sauce on each mini cheesecake.
- Add the whipped cream frosting to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip (I used a 1M open star tip) or to a zip top bag and pipe the frosting onto the top of each mini cheesecake.
- Garnish with a mint leaf or halved strawberry (optional), and serve!
Nancy
These were very good. Wondered if you can freeze these with the strawberry topping on them and just leave the whipped frosting off until you are going to serve them. I have an abundance of strawberries right now and thought if I could freeze with the strawberry topping on them it would be great.
The Cozy Plum
Hi Nancy - so happy to hear you enjoyed these! Theoretically, you could freeze these with the strawberry topping on. While I haven't tried, my only concern would be them getting potentially watery once they thaw, but I can't imagine it would be enough to ruin the texture (if it is different at all). I would leave the fresh strawberry pieces off if you do go this route, though. Let me know if you try this!