I LOVE cheesecake but most recipes are quite huge and require a crowd to share it with. Since crowds are not encouraged these days, I’ve developed a recipe for a small batch cheesecake. It’s made in a loaf pan and only uses ONE BLOCK of cream cheese! It makes four good-sized slices of cheesecake so it’s perfect for Valentine’s day – no shame in eating the whole thing yourself if you’re single, but also great for sharing with someone special. You can choose your flavour of crumb crust, as well as your toppings so customize it to your liking. I made an Oreo crust and topped with strawberry compote and fresh raspberries and it was absolutely delicious! This recipe was adapted from The Book on Pie by Erin Jeanne McDowell (a wonderful resource for creative crusts and pie fillings).
Small Batch Cheesecake with Berries
Classic cheesecake with your choice of flavour for the crumb crust and topped with berry compote. Made with just one brick of cream cheese and baked in a loaf pan for a perfectly decadent dessert for 2-4 people!
Servings: 4 slices
Equipment
- Food processor (electric/stand mixer OK too)
- Loaf pan
Ingredients
Crumb Crust
- ¾ cup (90g) cookie or cracker crumbs (Oreo baking crumbs, graham cracker crumbs, see notes for more*)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Cheesecake
- 1 brick (250g) Philadelphia original cream cheese, ROOM TEMPERATURE*
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- grated zest of ½ lemon, lime, or orange
- 1½ teaspoon fresh lemon, lime, or orange juice
- 2 large eggs, room temperature*
- 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream*
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Berry Compote
- 1 cup frozen berries (I used strawberries), thawed
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- grated zest of ½ lemon, lime, or orange (optional)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon, lime, or orange juice (optional)
Fresh Berries for topping (optional)
Instructions
Crumb Crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a loaf pan with a sheet of parchment paper, like a sling going up the long sides. You can grease the bottom of the pan first and the exposed sides to help the parchment stay in place. Make sure your parchment is long and can be folded over the sides of the pan so that it doesn't fall into the filling while baking later on.
- In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and salt. Add the melted butter and mix until combined. The crumbs should hold together in clumps when you press them together between your fingers. If they don't and mixture seems dry, add ½-1 Tablespoon more of melted butter.
- Pour the crumb mixture into the prepared pan and press it in evenly and firmly. You can use your hands or even the bottom of a measuring cup to press in the crust.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
Cheesecake
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Place a roasting pan or another empty loaf pan in the oven on the rack below where the cheesecake will bake. Put a kettle on to boil.
- If you have a food processor, pulse together the room temperature cream cheese, sugar, citrus juice and zest until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, pulsing after each and scraping the bowl well after combined. Add the vanilla, cream, and salt. Process to combine. Scrape the bowl and pulse a couple more times until smooth. Don't over mix, but make sure the mixture is smooth.If you only have an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, citrus juice and zest and mix on low. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low after each addition. Scrape the bowl well and add the vanilla, cream, and salt. Mix on low until combined and mixture is smooth.
- Pour mixture into the cooled crust. Fill the empty pan in the oven half full with boiling water from the kettle. This helps prevent the top of your cheesecake from cracking (see notes*). Bake in preheated oven until cheesecake is set on the edges and slightly jiggly in the centre, about 45 minutes.
- Leave the cheesecake in the oven, but crack the oven door open and let cool in the oven for 1 hour. Remove cheesecake from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. This gradual cooling is important to prevent the top of the cheesecake from cracking.
Berry Compote
- Put the thawed frozen berries in a small saucepan with the sugar, citrus juice and zest (if using). Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally and mashing the fruit with the back of a spoon to break up large pieces. Cook for about 10-15 minutes until slightly thickened. If you prefer a smoother consistency, mash it more or blend until it reaches your desired consistency. Let cool. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
Notes
- Crumb Crust – I used Oreo baking crumbs, but you can use pretty much any cookie or cracker crumb you want for the crust. Graham cracker crumbs or Ginger cookie crumbs both would work well too. If you only have whole crackers or cookies, use a food processor to break up into a fine-medium crumb, being careful not to over-process and make a powder.
- ROOM TEMPERATURE CREAM CHEESE IS CRUCIAL!!! Take out your cream cheese and cut it into cubes and set it somewhere warm in your kitchen (not on a cold stone counter top). Let soften to room temperature for a couple hours.
- Room temperature EGGS are also helpful, so take out your eggs at the same time as the cream cheese
- Heavy Cream – My guess is that you could substitute this for a lighter cream or milk, and most likely sour cream but I cannot guarantee this since I haven’t tried it. I’ve made numerous cheesecakes with sour cream though, so I’d be most confident in that substitute if you don’t have heavy cream on hand.
- Preventing Cracks in the top of your cheesecake
- A water bath (pan of boiling water placed on rack below cheesecake during baking) helps prevent the cheesecake from developing cracks in the top.
- I have tried this with and without a water bath. I had a tiny crack with the water bath, and larger cracks without the bath however the cracks were not significant and did not bother me. Especially when topping with berry compote or fresh berries, the cracks were not noticeable. So if you miss the water bath step, it’s not a big deal – it will still taste perfect just won’t look as pretty.
- GRADUAL COOLING – letting cheesecake cool in the oven for at least an hour, then at room temperature before cooling in the refrigerator is important to prevent cracking.