Mini Cheesecakes

    

 I had an "envie" for dessert but had no dessert in the house. Fortunately, I did have ingredients! With what I had on hand, I made two personal sized cheesecakes. 

     Cheesecake has four ingredients: cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. You can get fancy, of course, but basic is easy and delicious! 

                          

                            Mini Cheesecake  

  

8 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

*I made these "crustless," but you could certainly crush up Graham crackers (1/4 cup), and combine with 1 tbsp each softened butter and sugar, and press onto the bottom of the ramekins.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray 2 8oz ramekins with cooking spray and set aside. Combine all ingredients and stir until smooth. Divide evenly into prepared ramekins. 

Place ramekins into an 8x8 cake pan, place into the oven, and pour in 1 inch hot water around the ramekins. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until they are slightly puffed and you see the sides of the cakes pull away from the edges.

 Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack. The "Bain-Marie" will be hot! I found a spatula handy in removing the ramekins.  

    Once cooled, they really should be chilled in the refrigerator, but I couldn't wait! Run a knife around the edge, and then "jiggle" the ramekin a bit to loosen it up, and invert it onto a plate. I had mine with a dollop of lemon curd (you could substitute any fruit jam or topping) and a bit of whipped cream. It had a light, airy consistency, and was just the thing I was craving!

 

If you decide to make these with a Graham cracker crust, embellish them and enjoy/serve in the ramekin.