Mini Lemon Meringue Cheesecakes

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Tangy and tart, Mini Lemon Meringue Cheesecakes are a small dessert package sure to please.  Smooth and creamy mini cheesecakes are a small dessert with high-impact flavor.

Luscious lemon cheesecake is topped with a swirl of sweet meringue.  Add a sprinkle of lemon zest for a bright splash of flavor and color.

Baked Custard

There is a lot of debate about what dessert category cheesecake falls into.  Some believe it is a cake. Isn't it obvious since cake is a part of the name?

Others believe it is a pie.  However, there is some question about the absence of pie crust enveloping the filling.  I guess a graham cracker crust is not considered a "pastry shell".

But what there doesn't seem to be any debate about, is that a cheesecake is a custard.  The alchemy of cheesecakes, the combination of eggs, cream, and sugar with cream cheese, creates a rich, smooth, and velvety dessert.

Ingredients

Crust

• graham cracker crumbs
• granulated sugar
• unsalted butter

Cheesecake Batter

• cream cheese
• granulated sugar
• cornstarch
• egg
• heavy cream
• lemon zest and juice

Meringue

• egg whites, room temperature
• sugar
• cream of tartar

Making a good cheesecake

The ingredients above will ensure your Mini Lemon Meringue Cheesecakes taste delicious.  But the following tips will make sure the texture of the desserts is luscious and velvety.

Softened Cream Cheese

Probably the most basic step but one of the most important is to let the cream cheese come to room temperature.  Softened cream cheese will mix easier with the other ingredients.  The texture of the batter will be smooth without lumps.

Baking Temperature

Since cheesecakes are custards, baking temperature is very important.   Baking at 325 degrees allows the cheesecakes to bake at a slower rate, which helps to maintain a smooth and creamy texture.  Also, using a bain Marie, better known as a water bath, will help ensure success.  This is because the water helps regulate the baking temperature because it can only reach 212 degrees.  After that temperature, the water will become steam which adds humidity to the oven.

Mixing speed

The enemy of cheesecakes is air.  Too much air in the batter will allow the cheesecake to expand while baking, which will then collapse as the dessert cools.  It is best to use a slow speed while mixing and only mix until the ingredients are incorporated.

Why cornstarch?

Cornstarch is added to the cheesecake batter and serves two purposes.  It, as well as the egg, are thickening agents for the batter.  Egg proteins coagulate as the cheesecake bakes.  The cornstarch helps prevent over-coagulation, thereby helping to create a smooth cheesecake batter.

Heavy cream

Generally, sour cream or heavy cream is added to cheesecake recipes.  The addition of either ingredient softens the texture of the cream cheese and adds moisture to the batter.

The main difference between sour cream and heavy cream is the impact on the flavor of the cheesecake.  Sour cream will add more tang to the batter.  I tend to use heavy cream, preferring to let other ingredients - such as lemon juice, chocolate, or caramel - impact the flavor of the cheesecakes.

How to make Mini Lemon Meringue Cheesecakes

Graham Cracker Crust

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Have hot water ready for the bain-marie.
• Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt.

• Add melted butter to the crumb mix, making sure to thoroughly mix ingredients.
• Add a heaping tablespoon of the graham crack crumb mix to each cup in a muffin tin.  Use a ¼ measuring cup to press the crumbs into place.

• Bake for 8 minutes.
• Remove and let cool while you prepare the batter.

Lemon Cheesecake

• Zest lemon with a Microplane or box grater.
• Squeeze lemon to remove the juice.
• Add 16 ounces of softened cream cheese to a mixing bowl. Using a paddle attachment, mix at a low speed and add the granulated sugar and the corn starch. Stop mixing when the ingredients are incorporated. Scrape the bowl with a spatula.
• Pour in the lemon zest and juice. Stop mixing when the juice and zest are incorporated and scrape the bowl with a spatula 
• Crack the egg into the bowl. Only mix until the egg is incorporated. Scrape the bowl with a spatula.
• Mix in ½ cup of heavy cream, again mixing only until everything is incorporated. Scrape the bowl with a spatula.

• I like to use an ice cream scoop to fill the cups in the muffin tin. Fill each liner about ¾ full.  You will need room for the meringue.

• Place the muffin tin on a cookie sheet with sides or in a roasting pan. Put the cookie sheet/muffin tin on the rack in the oven. Pour hot water into the sheet pan, so that the muffin tin is surrounded by hot water and going up the sides. This is important to regulate the oven temperature and helps to stop cracking in the cheesecake.
• Bake the cheesecakes for 20 minutes. The cheesecakes are done when the top feels a little tacky and the center may look jiggly.

Meringue

Ingredients

• 2 room temperature egg whites
• 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon of cream of tartar

Cream of tartar is a by-product of making wine and helps to create and stabilize the foam and bubbles that are created when egg whites are whipped.  Make sure there isn't any egg yolk in the egg whites.  Even the smallest amount of egg yolk will prevent the egg whites from whipping into stiff peaks.

Meringue Steps

• While the cheesecakes are baking, prepare the meringue.
• Using a whisk attachment, slowly whip egg whites in a bowl. Once the whites have started to break apart and there are small, foamy bubbles, increase the speed of the mixer. Add the cream of tartar to the bowl.

• Slowly pour the sugar into the egg whites while the beater continues at high speed. Whip for approximately 6 minutes, until the egg whites can hold a stiff peak.
• Fill a piping bag that is fitted with a star tip with the egg whites.
• Once the cheesecakes have baked for 20 minutes, take the pan out of the oven.
• Pipe the meringue into a swirl onto the cheesecakes.

• Place the pan back in the oven and continue baking the cheesecakes for approximately 15 minutes. The baked meringue should not feel sticky and the edges of the swirls on the cheesecakes will have brown edges.
• Take the pan out of the oven and drain the water. Let the cheesecakes come to room temperature.
• Once the cheesecakes are cool, place the muffin tin in the refrigerator. Let the cheesecakes chill for at least 1 hour.

Tips

• Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature.  Separate the eggs first before you start the rest of the recipe.  Room temperature egg whites will whip stiffer.
• Do not let any egg yolk into the whites when you are separating the eggs.  Egg yolk prevents the whites from whipping stiff and fluffy.
• Let the cream cheese come to room temperature to create a smooth batter.
• The cheesecakes are done when the top feels a little tacky and the center may look jiggly.
• Use foil liners for the cheesecakes.  They are much easier to remove once the cheesecakes have chilled.
• It is much safer to fill the sheet tray or roasting pan with water when it is on the rack in the oven.  Then you aren't trying to pick up a pan with hot water sloshing about.

Mini Desserts

Bring these beautiful desserts to a party or potluck dinner, and I promise they will be the first dessert everyone reaches for.  The combination of sweetened cream cheese and buttery graham cracker crust with the pucker of lemon juice is hard to resist.

That is assuming the desserts get out of your house.   I know when I make Mini Lemon Meringue Cheesecakes, they disappear quickly from my refrigerator.

Try this mini cheesecake recipe! - https://tenpoundcakecompany.com/mini-smores-chocolate-cheesecakes/