Mini Gingerbread Cheesecakes

These mini gingerbread cheesecakes baked in a muffin pan are perfect for Christmas. They have a double dose of ginger with a buttery ginger snaps crust and a ginger laced cream cheese filling spiced with my homemade gingerbread spice blend consisting of warm ground spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg.

It all works so beautiful together in these mini cheesecake cupcakes and the balance of cheese and spices is just so wonderful.

Easy Mini Gingerbread Cheesecakes

I am more fond of making mini cheesecakes rather than the entire cheesecake itself. We love everything gingerbread during the holidays (who doesnt?).

These mini ginger cheesecakes are simpler to make than an entire cheesecake. There are times when we want to have a cheesecake but lets admit, baking an entire cheesecake is ton of work and waiting! Plus you do not need to deal with a water bath for making these.

They are even more fun to decorate. You may add caramel or toffee sauce if you like. I added whipped cream and mini ginger bread cookies.

Here are a few things you will love about my recipe

• Rich & Creamy - A cheesecake needs to be rich and dense and decadent. With an extra egg yolk and full fat cream cheese, I was able to achieve a decadent flavor in these mini versions.
• Warmly Spiced- These are so fragrant. You are going to love the scent of cloves and nutmeg and ginger. Here at Sinfully Spicy, we love keeping things spicy and I am also including recipe of my homemade gingerbread spice blend in this post.
• Small Batch Recipe If that interests you)- This recipe makes only 6 cheesecakes. Or 12 bite size cheesecakes.
• Easy & Quick to make- These are not tough at all. There are very staright forward ingredients that we will need. The filling comes together in 10 minutes in one bowl!
• Perfectly portioned dessert - One of the reasons I LOVE mini desserts.
• Make Ahead- You could make them 2 days in advance. Just top with whipped cream when serving.

Ingredients

• Ginger Snaps- regular/cinnamon graham crackers or biscoff cookies or digestive cookies also work.
• Full Fat Cream Cheese - For a rich filling, choose full fat cheese. Leave it out for a few hours to come to room temperature.
• Molasses - For that traditional gingerbread flavor. I didn't use a lot- just one tablespoon, however I wanted to not skip it. Grandma's Molasses Original is my choice. Make sure to check the pack that its unsulfured.
• Eggs - We need one whole egg and one egg yolk. Room temperature.
• Powdered Sugar - We need the tiny bit of cornstarch in the powdered sugar.
• Ginger Bread Spices - If you wish to make your own, read below. You could add just ground cinnamon or cloves and a dash of nutmeg to these and that would work.

My Gingerbread Spice Blend

It took me a while to wake up to gingerbread since the first time I tasted it. Even for someone like me who adores spices, a few overwhelmingly spiced ones spoilt my palate for it before I took matters into my hands and came up with the right ginger spice blend for us. Plus I really dont find a ready to use ginger bread blend at stores so I make my own at the start of holiday season and use it.

You will need

1. 1.5 tablespoon Ground Ginger (dry)
2. 1 tablespoon All Spice powder
3. 1 tablespoon cinnamon powder
4. 1.5 teaspoon ground cloves
5. 2 teaspoon green cardamom powder
6. ½ tablespoon ground nutmeg

How to Make Gingerbread Spice At home

Mix the above listed spices in a bowl and store in a dry air tight container. Use it in your bakes and beverages throughout the season.

How To Make Mini Gingerbread Cheesecakes in a Muffin Pan

• Preheat oven to 350F and line your muffin pan with liners.
• Add gingersnaps, sugar and 2 tablespoon melted butter to a food processor jar fitted with metal blade. Grind to fine crumbs. Combine with more butter if you feel that the crumbs are dry.
• Place a heaped tablespoon of the cookie crumbs in the cupcake liners. Press down using a drinking glass or a spoon. Keep near.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese. Beat using a hand mixer for 2 minutes.
• Stop and add the whole egg, egg yolk, powdered sugar, gingerbread spices and molasses.
• Beat again untill completely smooth. Dont over-beat the cheesecake else you will incorporate air into the cheese mixture leading to cracked cheesecake filling post baking.
• Using a ⅓ cup measuring cup, divide the cheese filling equally into the cupcake liners, filling them nearly to the top, leaving a ¼ inch at the top.
• Tap the muffin pan 3-4 times on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
• Place the muffin pan in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the center is slightly jiggly. I start checking after they have been in the oven for 12 minutes or so. The mini cheesecakes look puffy and the edges are completely set with jiggly centers. In about 2 minutes, its time to turn off the oven.
• Once centers are jiggly, switch off the oven. Open the oven door slightly but do not pull out the muffin pan. Let the cheesecakes cool gradually or 2 - 3 minutes or so.
• Pull the muffin tin out and let the cheesecakes cool completely. Cover the muffin tin with a cling film and chill in the fridge. for at least 4-6 hours before adding toppings.
• Carefully using a spatula, remove the cheesecakes from the muffin pan and place on serving plate.
• Add toppings. I added whipped cream and ginger cookie on top. You may decorate as you wish.
• Store the cheesecakes without removing the liner for up to 2 days in the refrigerator. I set them out of the fridge about 15 minutes before serving. Add topping when your are ready to serve.

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Use room temperature cream cheese and eggs. This helps in a smooth lump free cheese filling. Not only his room temperature cream cheese easy to work with, we also don't want a cold cheese filling hitting the oven (cracks will happen).
• Dont over mix the cheese batter. The more you mix, the more air will be incorporated in the batter. These air bubbles lead to cracks.
• Cookies scoops are really helpful in dividing the cheesecake filling between liners.
• Let the cheesecakes gradually cool in an off oven once the centers are jiggly. This way the chances of cracks are avoided.