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mini margarita cheesecakes with tequila whipped cream.

Mini Margarita Cheesecakes

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 23 reviews
  • Author: Sally
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 26 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours (includes cooling)
  • Yield: 12
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Description

These mini tequila-spiked lime margarita cheesecakes are thick, creamy, and ready for your next celebration. Bake them in a standard 12-count muffin pan. Step 4 is completely optional, but helps prevent the mini cheesecakes from sinking too much as they cool.


Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 cup (120g) graham cracker crumbs (about 8 full sheet graham crackers)
  • 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

  • 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons (30g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
  • 1 Tablespoon (8g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tablespoons (30ml) tequila
  • 1 Tablespoon (15ml) triple sec (or orange juice or more tequila)
  • 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons lime zest
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature

Tequila Lime Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup (240ml) cold heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
  • 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon (15ml) tequila
  • 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lime juice
  • optional for garnish: lime slices, lime zest, and/or coarse sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a standard 12-count muffin pan with liners. You could skip the liners and spray the pan with non-stick spray or grease with butter, but the mini cheesecakes are pretty stubborn to release from the pan. I recommend using liners to make things easier.
  2. Make the crust: Combine all of the crust ingredients in a medium bowl. Mixture will be sandy. Firmly press a heaping Tablespoon of crust mixture into each liner. Pre-bake for 6 minutes.
  3. Make the filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream, flour, tequila, triple sec, lime juice, and lime zest then beat until fully combined. With the mixer running on medium speed, add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined before adding the next. Do not over-mix. Batter will be thick. Divide the batter between liners, filling each all the way to the top. (It’s OK if the crust is still warm.)
  4. Optional Water Bath (prevents cheesecakes from excess sinking, skip this step if desired): Boil a pot of water. You need 1 inch of water in your roasting pan for the water bath, so make sure you boil enough. Place a large metal baking or roasting pan (I usually use a 9×13-inch baking pan—do not use glass) on the bottom oven rack of the preheated oven. Pour boiling water into pan, about 1 inch deep. Immediately place the cheesecakes on the center rack. Close oven to trap the steam inside. This unique water bath adds steam to the oven without having the muffin pan sit inside the water itself, which is a traditional water bath method used for full-size cheesecakes.
  5. Bake until the edges are set and the centers slightly jiggle, about 20 minutes.
  6. Set the pan on a wire rack and allow cheesecakes to cool at room temperature for 45 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. (Or place in the freezer for 1 hour to speed things up.) If chilling in the refrigerator for longer than 2 hours, loosely cover the cheesecakes. Even if you used the water bath method in step 4, the cheesecakes will slightly sink as they cool.
  7. Make the whipped cream: Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the cold heavy cream, sugar, tequila, and lime juice on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, about 3–4 minutes. Medium peaks are between soft/loose peaks and stiff peaks, and are the perfect consistency for topping and piping on desserts. I used Wilton 1M tip for piping whipped cream on the pictured mini cheesecakes. Garnish with lime slices and/or other toppings. Whipped cream can be made and piped/spread on mini cheesecakes up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate decorated cheesecakes until ready to serve.
  8. Cover and store leftover cheesecakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

  1. Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare the cheesecakes through step 3 up to 2–3 days in advance. Cover unbaked cheesecakes and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Continue with step 4. Baked cheesecakes can chill in the refrigerator for up to 1 day, with or without whipped cream and garnishes. Freeze individual baked and cooled cheesecakes for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before garnishing with whipped cream and serving.
  2. Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan (I also love this one) | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowl | Food Processor (for crust) | ZesterCitrus Juicer | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Roasting Pan or 9×13-inch Baking Pan (for optional water bath; do not use glass) | Cooling Rack | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 1M Tip
  3. Triple Sec: If you don’t have triple sec liqueur, use more tequila or swap with orange juice.
  4. Limes: Have 2–3 limes on hand, which would also be enough for the lime slice garnish.
  5. Non-Alcoholic Version: Replace tequila with 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and 1 Tablespoon lime juice (in addition to the 1 Tablespoon lime juice that is already in the filling for a total of 2 Tbsp lime juice). Skip the triple sec. Skip the tequila in the whipped cream and add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
  6. Full-Size Cheesecake: For a full-size margarita cheesecake, start with my key lime cheesecake recipe. Swap 3 Tablespoons of lime juice with tequila and 1 Tablespoon of lime juice with triple sec. Use regular lime juice instead of key lime if desired. Add 1 extra teaspoon lime zest. Follow the rest of that recipe as directed.
  7. Mini Mini Cheesecakes: Line 2 24-count mini muffin pans with mini muffin liners. Make the crust and cheesecake batter as directed. Press 2 teaspoons of crust into each mini muffin liner. Pre-bake at 350°F (177°C) for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and fill each to the top with cheesecake batter. Bake for 10–11 minutes or until the cheesecakes appear set on top. Continue with step 6 in this recipe. No need for the water bath if using a mini muffin pan (doesn’t really make a difference). Yields approximately 40–48 super mini bite-size cheesecakes.
  8. Non-U.S. Readers: Don’t have graham crackers where you live? Use these measurements for a biscuit crumb crust for these mini cheesecakes: 135g digestive biscuits (9 biscuits) + 30g butter, melted + 3 Tablespoons (37g) sugar. Grind the biscuits into crumbs, combine with sugar, then stir in the melted butter. Press into liners and pre-bake as directed in step 2. And from what I understand, spreadable cream cheese sold in a tub in countries outside of the U.S. is a little different from the spreadable cream cheese in the U.S. It’s thicker, sturdier, and more solid and should be OK to make cheesecake, though I haven’t tested this myself.