Lemon White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes
These Lemon White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes have a creamy lightness & bright lemon tang for a fun & special dessert. Gluten-free option! 
This post is sponsored in conjunction with #SpringSweetsWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to help in the creation of the #SpringSweetsWeek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.
I love mini-desserts! With servings that are (more or less) bite-sized, you can eat more variety! Plus, they are totally cute!
And with spring celebrations coming up, these Lemon White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes are perfect for holiday brunches like Easter or Mother’s Day. Or garden parties or a light dessert anytime. Yes, we all hope entertaining will return as more Covid vaccinations roll out! 
But did you know that, even with a small gathering, you can still splurge on desserts? Last Thanksgiving, I wanted all the pie even with my family broken into separate gatherings. In the end, I made a half dozen pies, cut them into slices and left variety boxes at my brother and sister’s houses! Hmm, I may do this with mini-desserts at Easter! 
These Lemon White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes are based on my Mocha Mini Cheesecakes and are especially nice because you can easily make them gluten free. I just used Nairn’s gluten free graham crackers (lower sugar too!) which deliver all of the flavor of regular. And with so many people having dietary restrictions today, I may just keep these around the house! 
How To Make Lemon White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes
Despite their elegant appearance these Lemon White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes are easy to make.
You start by crushing your graham crackers, then mixing with the other crust ingredients. Spray cheesecake pan wells with non-stick spray, place a spoonful of crust mixture in each and press in tightly. Bake.
Mix the filling ingredients.
Chop, then melt white chocolate and stir this in.
Fill the pan wells almost to the top.
Bake. Cheesecakes will rise, then fall.
Cool completely in refrigerator, then remove from pan
Top with lemon curd & whipped cream
Serve and enjoy!
Notes and Tips
AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE AND MEMBER OF OTHER AFFILIATE PROGRAMS, I EARN FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU–SO THANKS!
The white chocolate flavor in these is subtle so if you are serving white chocolate avoiders, they will probably still like this. But in addition to adding a little creamy nuance to the flavor, the white chocolate adds a little structure to help the mini-cheesecakes stand up well on their own.
I use a special mini-cheesecake pan with removable push-up bottoms (affiliate link), which I think makes for a lovely presentation. But if you don’t want to indulge (or want to see how much you’d use it first), a mini-muffin pan with liners should work as well (mini muffin pan may make more than 12.)
When you are making the filling, It is important not to whip too much air in to avoid a sunken well in the finished cheesecakes (because they over-puff, then fall). So don’t use the whisk attachment on your mixture or blend too long.
Lemon White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
Filling:
- 3 ounces white chocolate finely chopped
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 4 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 lemon Juice & zest
Topping:
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon curd or a bit more, prepared or homemade
- 3 Tablespoons Whipped cream or a bit more
- 3 thin lemon slices cut into quarters
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray the inside of each cheesecake well with non-stick cooking spray. (Or line a mini-muffin pan with paper liners.)
- To prepare the crust, melt the butter, then crush the graham crackers in food processor or plastic bag. Combine graham crumbs with melted butter and mix well. Add about 1 tablespoon of the crust mixture into each of the 12 mini cheesecake wells. Pack down the crumbs using a shot glass or similar item. Bake crust for 10 minutes in preheated oven.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 250 F and begin making the filling. Using an electric mixer with beater, not whisk blade, blend cream cheese until very smooth. Add sugar and continue to blend until fully incorporated. Add egg and vanilla, and continue to beat on low, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Melt finely chopped white chocolate in microwave in 10 second bursts, stirring in between. Blend into cheese mixture by hand. Fold in lemon juice and zest by hand.
- Fill each well of the cheesecake pan until almost full. Place cheesecake pan in the oven and bake cheesecakes until the filling is set, 22-25 minutes. Place the pan on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool to room temperature, then place entire pan in the refrigerator about 4 hours before removing cheesecakes from the pan.
- Once cool, carefully remove the cheesecakes from the pan by pressing up on the removable bottom of each well. Keep the cheesecakes in the fridge until ready to serve, then top with a layer of lemon curd, a small dollop of whipped cream and a thinly sliced lemon wedge.
Nutrition
More #SpringSweetsWeek Recipes
- Carrot Pineapple Mini Loaves by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Hot Cross Bundt Cake by Nik Snacks
- Instant Pot Lemon Lavender Cheesecake by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
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- Kiwi Coconut Key Lime MIni Cheesecakes by The Spiffy Cookie
- Kumquat Pie by Eat Move Make
- Lavender Lemon Mini Loaves by Sweet Beginnings
- Lemon Lavender Macarons by Jen Around the World
- Lemon White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes by Art of Natural Living
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- Mini Blueberry Bread by The Carefree Kitchen
- Mini Lemon Cakes with Lemon Glaze by Family Around the Table
- Mini Pound Cake by Cheese Curd In Paradise
- No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake by Pook’s Pantry
- No Bake Lemon Cheesecake by Devour Dinner
- No-Churn Lemon Ice Cream by Kate’s Recipe Box
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- Strawberry Rhubarb Breakfast Bread by For the Love of Food
- Strawberry Oatmeal Cookies by Palatable Pastime
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping by Blogghetti
- Vegan Chocolate Loaf Cake by Shockingly Delicious
- White Chocolate Latte Cupcakes by That Recipe
We share recipes from #SpringSweetsWeek on Pinterest! Make sure you follow the board to see all the delicious recipes shared this week.
Can I leave make this the day before and leave them in the pan overnight, then unmold and serve?
Yes you can do that Sam. Just keep them refrigerated. They even freeze well. I made dozens for my daughters wedding, unmolded them and froze in a covered shallow contaainer and they were beautiful a couple weeks later when thawed.
I would love to try it. do you have the recipe in gramms also, that would be very helpful. or how much gramm is one cup graham cracker?
If you use the Nairn’s oat grahams, 3 packets makes 1 cup of crumbs. I found this link https://livingoncookies.com/conversions-substitutions/ which said that 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs is 120 grams. Hope this helps. Someday I’d like to have a recipe calculator that does both…
Mini cheesecakes have been a favorite of mine for years. It is hard to believe I’ve never made lemon ones and lemon desserts are my favorite. Thanks for the pretty inspiration.
I love the little dollop of curd on top. Just mouthwatering.
Favorite is cheesecake. Second is anything lemon.
Yes Karen! Yum and yum!
Nice one, can I have some 🙂
I love that you made them minis, sometimes the large ones comes with free guilt
Minis are the best!
I love my cheesecake pan and am always looking for good recipes to use it again. This will be one of them.
Looks like I’ll need to see what you have on your blog for this pan!
Look at the baby cheesecakes! They’re so cute! And the little details on each one is just so precious!
Thanks Nikki!
My favorite dessert is cheesecake – I love all kinds
A full slice is usually too much for me but these are perfect!
This mini version is a definite winner!
I love mini-desserts Cindy!
What a beautiful and delicious bite! These are perfection!
I’m not always that good at “cute” but was very happy with these!
First, I love love the flavors in the mini cheesecakes! Second, I want that pan!
I recommend it!
I have never seen one of these mini cheesecake pans with the removable bottom. I love serving mini cheesecakes. I may need to find one of these pans.
I love mine. Planning to make a bunch of these and freeze for a big summer party!
These mini cheesecakes look fabulous. I love how lemon really enhances the flavor of cheesecake.
Love lemon–especially when I’m craving summer!
i LOVE the flavors in these cheesecakes and I’ve never seen a pan like that before. I need one!
I love the pan for a professional look!
These mini cheesecakes look superb – and so pretty. Like sunshine! I love your mini cheesecake pan, too! I was wondering how you got them out looking so perfect!
The secret is in the pan–though not all recipes come out equally well. They need a certain solidity.
Really cute!
Thanks!