Lemon Meringue Mini Cheesecakes
Lemon Meringue Mini Cheesecakes are light and lemony bite sized desserts and will be the perfect addition to your Easter or Mother’s Day menu!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs about 10-11 whole graham crackers
- 2 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter melted
Cheesecake
- 2 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla bean paste
Lemon Curd Filling
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
Meringue
- 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 16-18 muffin cups with liners. In a mixing bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar together.
- Divide mixture and press inside the bottom of a muffin cups to form little crusts. (about 1 tablespoon) Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven to cool.
- Prepare lemon curd. Separate the yolks from the whites, set the whites aside. In a double boiler over simmering water, whisk all lemon curd ingredients for 8-10 minutes .Pour into a small, heat-safe bowl, and let cool for 15 minutes. Cover bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool completely and continue to thicken.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer blend together cream cheese with sugar just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, then blend in sour cream. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla until blended.
- Once well combined, pour on top of your mini graham cracker crusts. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes, until the center is still a bit wobbly. Once it's done cooking, cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Carefully remove cheesecakes from pan, removing pan disc from the bottom of each crust. Spoon a 1-2 tsp lemon curd to each cheesecake. Return to cheesecakes to refrigerator.
- Meringue: In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the cream of tarter and gradually beat in sugar until glossy, about another 10 minutes. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue and top lemon mini cheesecakes.
- When ready to serve, preheat the broiler to high. Place mini-muffin pan under the broiler until the meringue is evenly toasted, about 2 minutes, or brown the merinque with a kitchen blow torch.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
NOTE: It's really important that the cream cheese, sour cream and eggs are at room temperature, otherwise you'll end up with a clumpy batter!