These Mini Cherry Almond Cheesecakes are made with an almond filling studded with maraschino cherries and topped with cherry flavored whipped cream! It’s a flavor combination that I love and is so refreshing!
So we are officially on baby watch. We’ve got two appointments a week until they arrive and last week everything looked good at both appointments. In fact, the twins seem quite content in there apparently. They are growing and so am I. 😉
I’ve got some serious swelling of the hands and feet going on, pregnancy carpel tunnel (who knew that was a thing?!) making my right hand pretty much numb so it makes typing a little difficult (can hardly feel the keys), and I’m all but immobile. The hubs was sick last week, so together we were quite the mess.
It’s pretty hard to get me to stop and slow down (even despite all my physical limitations), so now that the hubs is feeling better, he’s back to making sure I stay off my feet. It’s a tough job for anyone to accomplish and requires a very watchful eye. He’s got a lineup of people scheduled to be at the house with me this week when he can’t be so that I can’t get away with anything. 🙂
Good thing I’m still allowed to share my treats with you guys! You definitely don’t want to miss out on these sweet little mini cheesecakes. Almond and cherry is seriously such a yummy flavor combo!
To start out, you’ve got the little crusts. I like to use vanilla wafer cookies for a cheesecake crust sometimes, but you can always substitute graham cracker crumbs. The cookies are a little sweeter than the graham crackers and true to my serious sweet tooth, I dig the cookies.
The filling is easy to put together and flavored with almond extract. The cherry flavor comes from adding in some chopped maraschino cherries, so don’t be too shy about adding them in. The fresh pop of fruit is delicious!
Once the cheesecakes are baked and cooled, they are topped with a light cherry whipped cream. It adds a little extra cherry flavor, which I’m a fan of.
The final cheesecakes are thick, creamy and so refreshing! With all the pink, they’d make a fun treat to share for Valentine’s Day too. I hope you enjoy them!
Mini Cherry Almond Cheesecakes
- Yield: 12-14 Mini Cheesecakes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Mini Cherry Almond Cheesecakes are made with an almond filling studded with maraschino cherries and topped with cherry flavored whipped cream! It’s a flavor combination that I love and is so refreshing!
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1 cup (134g) vanilla wafer cookie crumbs
- 2 tbsp (26g) sugar
- 4 tbsp (56g) butter, melted
CHEESECAKE FILLING
- 12 ounces (339g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (104g) sugar
- 3 tbsp (24g) flour
- 1/2 cup (115g) sour cream
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup chopped maraschino cherries
WHIPPED CREAM
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 5 tbsp (36g) powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp maraschino cherry juice
- 12–14 maraschino cherries
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C). Add cupcake liners to a cupcake pan.
2. Combine the vanilla wafer cookies crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Divide the mixture between the cupcake liners (about 2 tablespoons per cup) and press into the bottoms.
3. Bake the crusts for 5 minutes then remove from oven. Allow to cool while you make the filling.
4. To make the filling, reduce oven to 300°F (148°C). In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and flour until combined (Use low speed to keep less air from getting into the batter, which can cause cracks). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Add the sour cream and almond extract. Beat on low speed until well combined.
6. Add the eggs one at a time, beating slowly and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
7. Gently stir in the chopped cherries.
8. Divide the filling between the cheesecake cups until the cups are mostly full.
9. Bake the cheesecakes for 18-20 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the door closed for another 10 minutes.
10. Crack the oven door and allow cheesecakes to cool for 15-20 minutes, then put in the fridge to finish cooling.
11. When cheesecakes are cooled, remove them from the pan.
12. To make the whipped cream, add the cream, powdered sugar and cherry juice to a large mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
13. Pipe the whipped cream onto the tops of the cheesecakes and top with a cherry.
14. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Mini Cheesecakecake
- Calories: 204
- Sugar: 17.7 g
- Sodium: 155.2 mg
- Fat: 11.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.3 g
- Protein: 4.2 g
- Cholesterol: 53.2 mg
Keywords: how to make cheesecake, mini cheesecake recipe, easy cheesecake recipe, almond dessert recipe, cherry dessert
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Enjoy!
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Hi Lindsay.. Can I use a silicon pan instead of a cupcake pan with liners?
I imagine that would be fine.
I made these and they were delicious. I have a question, can they be frozen?
Glad you enjoyed them! I think they would do fine frozen. Sometimes fruit can get a little softer when it thaws, but cherries are fairly hearty so they may do fine.
I’ve made a bunch of your cheesecakes but this is the best one I’ve ever had! So easy to make and sooo yummy. Thank you for the amazing recipe!
★★★★★
These turned out fantastic! I did use the Luxardo Original Maraschino Cherries imported from Italy. Yeah, they are pricey, but worth every dollar! I always keep them in my pantry. I also soaked some pitted bing cherries with stems in Kirsch (cherry brandy) for a week for the topping, and rolled them in sparkly sugar. I didn’t like those much because I don’t like brandy, but others might.
★★★★★
Can I make this as a full-sized cheesecake? If yes, what would the cooking temperature and time be?
For a full-sized 9 inch cheesecake, you’ll want to double the filling ingredients. I’d check out this classic cheesecake recipe for reference. It’s basically the same thing, but with you’ll use the almond extract and the cherries. You can also follow that one for a full sized crust.
How long would the baking time increase for a full 9 or 10″ spring form pan? Thank you!!!
Finally got to make this recipe over the weekend! Amazing!! Making a 2nd batch now to take to my work team tomorrow. Thank you for sharing your recipes…. you have so many I want to try!!
★★★★★
That’s awesome! So glad you enjoyed the cheesecakes!
Hi Lindsay thank you so much for your lovely recipes. What can I use instead of mascharino cherries and mascharino juice as most probably wouldn’t find them here in Malta
You could probably use just cherries, but I haven’t tired. If you’d prefer a different fruit, check out my Mini Lemon Raspberry Cheesecakes or Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes. I hope this helps!
Hi can I replaced the almond with something else?
You could use vanilla, or any other extract you prefer.
You had me at almond and mini – mini cheesecakes that is. Definitely making these!