This mini cheesecake recipe for one (or two) is just like a regular cheesecake but it’s made in a 4-inch cheesecake pan. It is smaller in size but still maintains that creamy, luxurious smooth texture with a light tanginess.
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Cheesecake, cheesecake, cheesecake! New obsession? I think yes!
Can you believe I never had cheesecake before I moved to America?! Sure I had the fake wanna be cheesecakes from people from other places… But trust me when I say that those don’t compare at all to the real cheesecakes you guys have here.
Cheesecakes here are extremely rich and that is something I love about this dessert. Sure it is not the best for the waist line but that’s why I want to share with mini cheesecake for one ( or two if you are feeling generous).
This way you can have your cheesecake and portion control too. No more extra cheesecake in the fridge to have in the middle of the night… As embarrassed as I am, I sometimes get up and have sweets in the middle of the night because well… Insomnia is no fun!
4-inch cheesecake recipe?
Well, I knew I wanted cheesecake. I also knew I didn’t want to make a large cheesecake that was going to need more than one cream cheese container. So I had to find a way to make what I wanted without making a full on recipe that requires a huge amount of ingredients.
I pulled out my 4 inch springform pans and started playing around with different ratios of ingredients. (Yes, we did have cheesecake as a dessert for the past couple of nights) But I am proud to say that I finally nailed the baking time, consistency and texture of this delicious American cheesecake.
What’s so special about this mini cheesecake recipe for one?!
First off, I just want to say that this cheesecake doesn’t need 4 or more packages of cream cheese! To me that’s a win… I always feel so intimidated when a recipe has that much cheese. Now don’t get me wrong I absolutely understand that we are only having one little slice but I just feel like it is so dangerous for me. My self control goes out of the window when I see cheesecake so I prefer to be careful. Now, I am not saying I won’t post a large cheesecake recipe at some point. I would just like to have the gyms open back up before I can take that kind of risk!! (Yes, I really really love cheesecake)
This recipe for these mini 4-inch cheesecakes is velvety, smooth and oh so rich. It melts in your mouth while still giving you a nice crunchy graham cracker crust. I love making this recipe for my sister and I because we don’t eat too much and we really do not need a full large cheesecake.
What you will need to bake this mini cheesecake recipe for one
To make this mini cheesecake recipe you will need the following ingredients:
- Crushed graham crackers- For the graham crackers you can either crush your own or buy them pre-crushed. Whatever works for you.
- Sugar– You will need a small amount of sugar for the crust a little more for the cheesecake batter.
- Butter– We will need some butter to melt and add in to the graham crackers to make the New York cheesecake crust
- Cream cheese– You need cream cheese for any cheesecake recipe but the perk of this small batch cheesecake recipe is that you can make it with just one package of cream cheese. Actually, half a package of cream cheese if what you really need.
- Sour cream or creme fraiche – Adding sour creme or creme fraiche helps add a nice tangy flavor to the cheesecake as well as adding some moistness.
- Heavy cream- Heavy cream helps the cheesecake be softer and creamier.
- Vanilla – I love adding vanilla to my cheesecake to bring a light floral note.
- Flour– Adding a tiny bit of flour will help the cheesecake hold together a lot better.
- Egg- You will only need one room temperature egg to help the cheesecake bind together.
Tools to make the best 4-inch cheesecake
To make this perfect cheesecake for one you will need these tools:
- 4-inch cheesecake springform
- Measuring spoons and cups
- A hand and a stand mixer
- Aluminum foil
- A larger dish for the water bath
How to make homemade cheesecake for one?
Start by preheating the oven to 350F then proceed to greasing a 4-inch cheesecake springform pan. Cut out a circle and line the bottom of the pan then cut out a long strip to line the sides of the pan. Cover the outside of the 4-inch springform pan with aluminum foil to make sure that no water can get into your cheesecake.
Now, add the graham crackers, sugar and the melted butter to a small bowl and mix until everything is incorporated.
Pour the graham cracker mixture into the cheesecake pan and flatten it using the back of a spoon or your fingers.
Bake the graham cracker crust in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven lower the heat to 300F and let the cheesecake cool down.
Now onto the cheesecake batter. To make the cheesecake batter add in the softened cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, flour and sugar into a stand mixer bowl or a medium bowl and mix everything together with the paddle attachement of a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Don’t over mix!
Once you have a smooth cheesecake batter, add in the egg and mix gently until it is mixed it. This should take about 10-15 seconds. Don’t over mix again!
Pour the cheesecake mixture on top of the baked graham cracker crust and tap it on the counter a few times to make sure that the cheesecake has no bubbles.
Place the cheesecake pan in a 8X8 inch pan or whatever pan you have and place that in the oven. Fill up the 8×8 inch pan with boiling water and cook for 35 minutes. Once the cheesecake is done baking, turn off the oven, crack the oven door open and leave the cheesecake in there to cool for an hour.
After the hour is up, remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
Finally remove the springform pan, peel the parchment paper off and enjoy your delicious homemade 4-inch cheesecake!
Tips for making the perfect New York cheesecake
If you are ready to make this foolproof mini New York cheesecake for one, make sure to follow these handy dandy tips:
- Use full fat ingredients- This is a dessert that won’t forgive if you go with the fat free options. Make sure to use full fat cream cheese and sour creme or creme fraiche!
- Bring your ingredients to room temperature before starting- Make sure to bring all your ingredients to room temperature before starting. This will ensure that all the ingredients get incorporated well to make a homogenous cheesecake batter.
- Avoid over mixing the batter- Don’t over mix the cheesecake batter in order to not add in too much air into the cheesecake. Too much air in the cheesecake batter with make the cheesecake inflate when it bakes and then deflate when you cool it down completely.
- Use a water bath- Don’t skip the water bath. It will create the much needed humidity in the oven to prevent the top of the cheesecake from cracking.
- Cool down your cheesecake slowly– After turning the oven off, let the cheesecake sit there and crack the oven door open. This will make sure that the cheesecake you worked so hard for doesn’t have any cracks.
Try this 4-inch mini burnt basque cheesecake or The creamiest chocolate cheesecake mini recipe!
What to top cheese cake with?
You can enjoy your luxuriously creamy 4-inch cheesecake as is, which is something I love to usually. But sometimes a little change makes this dessert even better. Some fun toppings you can add to your cheesecakes are :
- Fresh fruits
- Fruit jams or sauces
- Chocolate sauce
- Dulce de leche or caramel sauce
- Whipped cream piped on top
- Melted peanut butter
- Chocolate shavings
- Chocolate shavings
These are only a few ideas that I usually go for but the sky is the limit so if you have any other ideas, make sure to share them with us in the comments below. 🙂
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Mini Cheesecake recipe for one! (or two if you want to share)
If you tried this 4-inch mini cheese cake for one, make sure to give us a 5 star rating! It would help us a ton 🙂
The creamiest mini cheesecake recipe ever!
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- 4-inch cheesecake pan
Ingredients
for the crust
- ¼ cup crushed graham crackers
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
for the cheesecake
- 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon sour cream or creme fraiche
- 1 ½ tablespoon heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon flour
- 1 egg at room temperature
Instructions
Make the graham crust
- Start by preheating the oven to 350F then proceed to greasing a 4-inch cheesecake springform pan. Cut out a circle of parchment paper and line the bottom of the pan then cut out a long strip of parchment paper to line the sides of the pan as well. Cover the outside of the 4-inch springform pan with aluminum foil to make sure that no water can get into your cheesecake.
- Now, add the graham crackers, sugar and the melted butter to a small bowl and mix until everything is incorporated.
- Pour the graham cracker mixture into the cheesecake pan and flatten it using the back of a spoon or your fingers.
- Bake the graham cracker crust in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven lower the heat to 300F and let the cheesecake cool down.
Make the cheesecake batter
- Now onto the cheesecake batter. To make the cheesecake batter add in the softened cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, flour and sugar into a stand mixer bowl or a medium bowl and mix everything together with the paddle attachement of a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Don't over mix!
- Once you have a smooth cheesecake batter, add in the egg and mix gently until it is mixed it. This should take about 10-15 seconds. Don't over mix again!
- Pour the cheesecake mixture on top of the baked graham cracker crust and tap it on the counter a few times to make sure that the cheesecake has no bubbles.
- Place the cheesecake pan in a 8X8 inch pan or whatever pan you have and place that in the oven. Fill up the 8×8 inch pan with boiling water and cook for 35 minutes. Once the cheesecake is done baking, turn off the oven, crack the oven door open and leave the cheesecake in there to cool for an hour.
- After the hour is up, remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
- Remove the springform pan, peel the parchment paper off and enjoy your delicious homemade 4-inch cheesecake!
Nutrition
If you made it all the way down here, I would like to say thank you so so much. If you made this mini cheesecake for one (or two) make sure to let me know how you liked it in the coments below.
Have a great day and come back soon for some more awesome recipes
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Hope Palyok
AMAZING i quadrupled the recipe then i added caramel apple pie filling into all 4 of my cheesecakes and to 2 of them i added dried blueberries came out amazing a little sticking but still amazing only stuck because i ran out of parchment paper
Chahinez
So glad to hear you loved them! Apple pie filling on these sounds wonderful!
Hope Palyok
It was now I plan on making a blueberry one using pie crust because my grandpa doesn’t like gram cracker crust
Helen
This was soooo good! Alot of the cheesecake recipes I have been using always makes the top brown. They were delicious too. But your recipe doesn’t. I think it’s because the oven temp stays consistent at 300. Great recipe. Thank you!
Chahinez
So glad to hear this turned out perfectly!!
Mae
Made this cheesecake today for my roommate who s diabetic. I did not put sugar in the crust and used only 1 TBSP of sugar for the cheesecake. She LOVED the little portion she allowed herself.
Thanks for n absolutely lovely, creamy cheesecake!
Chahinez
Thanks Mae! It’s great to hear that adapting the recipe worked out for you.
Danielle
Followed recipe as directed…..love it. Even my husband who said he doesn’t like cheesecake hadme make him his own mini cheesecake.
Chahinez
YAY!! So glad to hear this 🙂
Aimee
Subbed whole milk greek yogurt for the sour cream and half&half for the heavy cream (yay for quarantine baking!), and swirled in about a tablespoon of slightly warmed strawberry jam – turned out beautifully! Cook time was right on and the finished cheesecake was wonderfully rich and creamy.
Chahinez
YAY for quarantine baking for sure!! Strawberry jam sounds amazing in this! Glad you enjoyed this Aimee!