An elegant and easy dessert for your next dinner party!

Hosting a dinner party can be a fun, but slightly stressful occasion with so many things to consider, but dessert doesn’t have to be one of them!  Cheesecake is a delicious option and is a wonderful make ahead dessert that keeps well until served.  And while I do love cheesecake, making a whole cheesecake can be a little daunting, as well as a lot of work – the water bath and wrapping the springform pan, ensuring it doesn’t crack in the oven while baking, hoping you don’t have the dreaded sunken middle once it has set, etc. 

To find an easier solution, I started to experiment with individual cheesecakes and I have not looked back! There was some test kitchen cooking at the beginning as I “mashed-up” a series of different recipes and cooking times, but in the end I came up with a foolproof recipe for individual cheesecakes that can be modified for different flavors and crusts.  

The cheesecakes that dazzle the most and that I serve at dinner parties and at Christmas are lightly infused with orange, have a chocolate cookie crust and are topped with a scrumptious cranberry compote.

The individual cheesecakes are baked in muffin tins using parchment paper cups, which allows you to take them out of the paper cup before serving once they are fully chilled.  The use of the muffin tin is so easy, no water bath to contend with, and the cook time is reduce by half the time of a traditional whole cheesecake. 

The cranberry compote is a classic cranberry relish recipe that I’ve added a little twist too.  I also don’t add any of the traditional spices to it like cloves or cinnamon to keep the fruit flavors bright.  The outcome is really delicious and it is a perfect topping for these individual cheesecakes.  You can also use it to top a brie wheel before wrapping it in puff pastry and baking – I did this for a New Year’s Eve table and it was fantastic! The cranberry compote is also a wonderful side to your Thanksgiving menu.  

Below you will find my recipe for the cheesecakes I serve a Christmas, which has been adapted from a recipe I found for a full cheesecake at Sugar in the Raw.  The recipe can also be modified by using gingersnaps for the crust and pumpkin pie spice for a delicious make ahead Thanksgiving Day dessert too.  Hope you enjoy!

Individual Cheesecakes with Cranberry Compote

FOR THE CHEESECAKES (MAKES 8)

INGREDIENTS

Cust:

10 chocolate wafers, crushed

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons melted butter

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 Teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, at room temperature

Orange zest from 1 large orange

• Preheat the oven to 325° F.  Place 8 parchment paper liners in a standard size muffin pan.

• In a small bowl, combine chocolate cookie crumbs, sugar and the melted butter until blended.  Press a small amount evenly into each paper cup to create ~ ¼ inch thick crust. Bake at 325° F for 5 minutes, remove and let cool for 10 minutes.

• Increase oven temperature to 350° F.

• In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, sugar, and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add 1 egg and just combine (do not over mix), then fold in the orange zest.  Spoon the filing evenly into each paper cup almost to the top.

• Bake at 350° F for 15 to 18 minutes until tops are set and centers are slightly jiggly.

• Remove from oven and let cool in pan before carefully removing from the tins. The cheesecakes will be loose, but will set completely once fully chilled. 

• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. Serve with cranberry compote over (see recipe below).

FOR THE CRANBERRY COMPOTE

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 cup sugar

12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries 

2 Tablespoons orange marmalade

2 Tablespoons Gran Marnier liqueur (or other orange flavored liqueur)

• In a medium saucepan, bring orange juice and sugar to a boil. Stir in cranberries, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. 

• Stir in the orange marmalade and liqueur, continue to simmer for another 5 minutes, or until sauce has thickened and some cranberries have burst. 

• Remove from heat and let cool.  Transfer to a food safe container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.