Mini Mango Cheesecakes

For the last few weeks, I had kept my mango puree in the freezer with the intention to make a mango cake.  But I was so busy + lazy + no motivation + low energy + many excuses, as a result, there was no cake!  Finally in the middle of the night I decided to make these mini cheesecakes.  These mini mango cheesecakes have the mango jelly on the top with the optional crowning of the maraschino cherries just for the fun of it.

See the color?  I just love the color contrast of the three – yellow, red, and green!  They are so pretty!  Don’t you think?    

The mango puree was from four small very ripe manila mangoes that I cut, pureed, and got two cups out from them.  I don’t usually like my dessert too overly sweet. These mini cheesecakes have the perfect amount of sweetness and the mango jelly on the top has no sugar added at all.  Again, it depends on how sweet the mangoes are and sugar should be adding accordingly. 

These mini cheesecakes make the perfect dessert, especially for the party where people can just grab it and walk away eating it without the need of utensils, except a piece of napkin to wipe of any remain crumbs on your lips.  The hubby loves these mini cheesecakes for that reason.  

So, what are you waiting for?  This Memorial Day weekend is the perfect reason to make mini cheesecakes to feed your family and friends.  They sure will be please and praise you for making them happy. 

Makes 12 servings

For the crust 

3/4 cup ground graham cracker

3 tbsp. melted butter, cooled

1. preheat the oven to 350’ F

2. line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liner cups

3. add melted butter into the ground graham cracker and mix well

4. fill each muffin cup with a 1 tablespoon of the crust mixture and firmly press down with the bottom of the glass that fit the muffin cup to compact the crust

5. bake the crust for 5 minutes, take them out, and leave the oven on but decrease the temperature down to 325’ F

For the filling

*everything should be in the room temperature before mixing

1 (8 oz.) Philadelphia cream cheese

1 large egg

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup mango puree

1. in the medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with the handheld mixture at medium speed until smooth. Then add egg, egg yolk, sour cream, and vanilla extract into the bowl and continue beat until completely smooth.  Stir in mango puree and mix well.

2. fill each cup evenly with the batter

3. bake at 325’F about 20 minutes or until the center of the cheesecake is just set.

4. when they are cooked, take them out and let cool.  **Meanwhile, let make the mango jelly to go on top of the cheesecakes (see below).

5. when the cheesecakes and the mango jelly have cooled down completely, fill each cheesecake with the mango jelly evenly.  Chill the cheesecakes in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to one hour for the jelly to set before serving. 

***Garnish with maraschino cherries is optional! 

Mango jelly

1/2 cup mango puree

1 tsp. lemon or lime juice

1 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin powder

3 tbsp. water

1. in a small bowl, stir water into the gelatin powder and set aside to let it bloom for a few minutes.

2. heat mango puree and lime juice over low heat. When it gets bubbles, add the bloomed gelatin, stir quickly for a few seconds, take off the heat, and let it cool down completely before fill in on the top of the cooled cheesecakes.