FOODIE WEEKEND - Mini Lemon Cheesecakes

Happy Weekend, everybody! 

What a busy week it was for me.  As you may already know (or not) I am throwing a party for about 40 people this coming Monday.  Monday? Party? Yes, party on a Monday because this weekend is a long weekend since UAE is celebrating the Eid Al-Fitr that starts tomorrow, Sunday the 19th of August.  This celebration is to mark the end of Ramadhan where Muslims fast for a month.  I took advantage of the long weekend to get together with some friends.

Since it is going to be a lunch buffet, there will be a lot of cooking to be done and desserts are must.  I planned to make a few types including this Mini Lemon Cheesecake! Yesterday I tested the recipe and I think the cheesecake will be a hit especially with the kids.  The idea of mini appeals to me as it means no messing with cake cutter or being left with half a cake  that takes a lot of storing place in the fridge.  With mini cakes like this, stacking them up in a plastic container is sufficient and that means I have space in my fridge for other things! 

Mini Lemon Cheesecakes

Ingredients (makes about a dozen cakes)

500 grams of cream cheese

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest

1 table spoon of lemon juice

1/2 to 3/4 cups of sugar (depending on how sweet you like them to be, 

I used slightly over half a cup)

A dozen pieces of wafers or butter cookies or mini digestive biscuits to use 

as the base of the cake 

(I use a butter cookie that fits nicely at the bottom 

of my paper mold)

Chocolate chips, colorful sugar rice or thinly sliced lemon for decoration.

Method

Beat cream cheese, egg and sugar until creamy

Add in the vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice

Meanwhile line your cupcake mold with paper molds and place the cookies at the bottom.

When the mixture is nicely mixed and fluffy, pour the mixture into the mold, 

becareful not to overflow!

Sprinkle the preferred decoration and bake in a pre-heated oven of 175 degrees 

for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, don't worry, the cakes will be a bit wobbly, it's normal. 

Remove from the tray and leave to cool on the cooling rack.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Note :

If you cannot find the correct size cookies for your based try crushing a few digestive cookies and mix it with a little bit of melted butter.  Press some down flat at the bottom of the paper mold before pouring the cheese mixture.  This should create the same effect :)

For my Muslim readers and friends, Eid Mubarak!