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Mini Lemon Cheesecake are the ultimate finger food dessert– so light and airy, and just the right size! See the recipe here!

Mini Lemon Cheesecakes

I have to say, I am SO excited to share this Mini Lemon Cheesecake dessert recipe, since it’s one of those that won’t stress you out or take all afternoon to make! If you’re looking for a dessert idea for a bridal or baby shower, you will need to add this to your list.

These Mini Lemon Cheesecakes are the perfect size for dessert tiers, servers, or dessert boards. And, the yellow from the lemons is just so bright and cheery.

This recipe comes together easily in a muffin tin, mixing bowl, and only uses a handful of ingredients. Definitely not an expert level recipe! If you’re looking for a cheesecake recipe along these lines, this one is for you.

Mixing Up the Cheesecake Crust

To make this recipe, start by making a Graham Cracker Crust. A glass mixing bowl and hand blender is the fastest way to mix up a crust.

Your mixture should resemble “sandcastle” sand when it’s ready to go into the cupcake liners.

If you have issues with your graham cracker crust being too crumbly or too moist, my kitchen tip is to have an extra 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs available. If you end up with a solid “ball” of graham crackers and butter after it’s mixed, add a small amount more of crumbs into the mixture and keep mixing until it looks like the photo above.

The consistency should be not tacky or sticky, but at the same time not overly crumbly– you don’t want it falling apart on its own. 

Scoop by Tablespoons into the cupcake liners.  This is an easy way not to get too much or too little of the crust mixture in each cupcake liner. 

Mini Lemon Cheesecake Filling

Set your prepared muffin tin and crusts aside after they are ready to go. Do not bake at this point. In a separate mixing bowl, blend your cheesecake filling ingredients:

• (2) 8oz cream cheese blocks, softened
• sugar
• sour cream
• Pure vanilla extract
• Salt
• Large eggs
• 2-3 Large lemons

You will zest your lemons, and use the sliced lemon for garnish, but won’t actually add any lemon juice into the filling. 

The reason for this is that lemon flavoring doesn’t actually come through in the baked product. It takes quite a bit of lemon juice to taste the lemon! We do get a lot of lemon flavor out of the zest, so for this recipe we are sticking to the zest only. I think lemon zest compliments cheesecake so well!  If you want to add additional lemon, you can always add a few drops of Lemon Extract.

Assembling your Lemon Cheesecakes

You will need about 1/2 cup of cheesecake filling in each cupcake liner.  This will allow a good layer of cheesecake on each individual dessert, without overfilling your muffin tin.

If you need to, use a measured ice cream/cookie scoop to help make them uniform in size. This measured scoop is 1/4 cup, so you will need two scoops per muffin cup.

Measured scoops help me SO much when making cookies or cupcakes! My scoop is a lifesaver and actually has lasted many years. I think I got it for a gift.

Toppings for Mini Lemon Cheesecake:

Your Mini Lemon Cheesecake will be delicious without any extra additions, of course, but for these we will add a swirl of fresh whipped cream a lemon wedge, and the lemon zest over the top.

Fresh Whipped cream can be made by beating Heavy Cream with a hand mixer and whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Do NOT go past stiff peak stage, or you will start seeing it “curdle” and see yellow flecks pop up– at that point, it’s gone too far and actually has been turned into butter.

After your whipped cream is ready, use a cake decorating attachment or a ziploc bag with a cake decorating tip in the corner to create a pretty swirl on each Mini Lemon Cheesecake.  This makes them so pretty. I would hesitate to skip this step, unless you didn’t have the kitchen tools to do it.  Definitely do not opt for cool whip, since it does not hold its shape.

If you simply cannot top with the whipped cream, my recommendation would be top with a little bit of a buttercream icing over the top, or some powdered sugar.  🙂

Ideas for Serving:

These are idea for baby showers, bridal showers, birthday parties, or any special occasion during the spring or summer. I hope you can get the chance to make this decadent dessert!

Print your Mini Lemon Cheesecake Recipe Here:

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