Baked Mini Cheesecakes

Cheesecakes are perfect for morning teas or to serve as a dessert. I always make these for work bake sales and they are always popular. As with everything I make, they are super easy. The secret to making a great cheesecake is to use full fat cream cheese and sour cream – none of that fat free crap. I know, I know, it’s not great for those on a diet but these are meant to be eaten in moderation so don’t stress.

Ingredients

Crust
150g sweet biscuits
70g butter, melted

Filling
500g cream cheese, softened
110g castor sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons lemon zest

Topping
220g apricot jam
1 teaspoon of brandy or brandy essence

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (or 160°C for fan forced ovens)
2. Line a 12 hold muffin pan with patty cases.
3. Crush biscuits until they resemble breadcrumbs (a food processor is awesome at doing this!). Add the melted butter and mix until combined. Divide the mixture between the patty cases, firmly press mixture down with the back of a spoon, and refrigerate.
4. To make the filling, mix the cream cheese and castor sugar until smooth and sugar has dissolved.
5. Add eggs one at a time and mix until smooth.
7. Add the lemon zest and mix until combined.
8. Divide the cheese mixture evenly amongest the patty cases. Spoon the cheese filling over the biscuit crust.
9. Bake cheesecakes for 20 minutes or until set. To prevent cheesecakes splitting, allow to cool in the pan.
10. To make the topping, melt apricot jam in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the brandy and mix until combined. Divide mixture among cooled cheesecakes. Spread topping over cheesecakes with the back of a spoon until smooth. Refrigerate until set (approx 1 hour).

Enjoy!