Classic, rich gluten free chocolate cheesecake made in miniature jars. For your Valentine, or any time!
I'm not usually given to big displays on Valentine's Day (or any day, for that matter). But if I do intend to express myself, it's most likely going to be in the kitchen. And this mini gluten free chocolate cheesecake makes it really, really easy.
To make them look as special as they taste, cut a heart-shaped hole in a piece of paper, and sprinkle confectioner's sugar through the heart. Sugar. Right through the heart. If that doesn't say “Valentine's Day,” I don't know what does.
Pour in the easy chocolate cheesecake filling, then bake in a water bath so the cheesecake bakes evenly.
If you're not feeling the sugar heart, just skip it. Chocolate is really its own love language, don't you think?
Miniature Gluten Free Chocolate Cheesecake
Ingredients
1 8-ounce package K-Toos gluten-free chocolate sandwich creme cookies
4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs (200 g, weighed out of shell), at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 300°F. Set aside 6 to 8 wide-mouth mason jars that are 8 to 10 ounces in capacity.
Place all of the chocolate sandwich cookies in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until finely ground. Add the butter to the food processor, and pulse until the mixture starts to come together. Divide the cookie mixture among the mason jars. Press the mixture firmly into the bottoms of the jars with the bottom of a glass covered in either unbleached parchment paper or plastic wrap. Set the jars aside.
In a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl, place the chopped chocolate. Microwave the chocolate in 45 seconds bursts at 70% power, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Set the chocolate aside. Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, and beat until light and fluffy. Add the condensed milk, eggs and vanilla extract, and beat until well-combined. Add the melted chocolate, and beat again to combine. The mixture will be pourable. Pour the cheesecake mixture into the mason jars on top of the cookie crust, stopping about an inch from the top of each jar.
Place the mason jars in a large roasting pan, pull the center rack part way out of the oven, and place the pan on it. Pour warm tap water into the roasting pan until it reaches at least an inch up the sides of the jars. Carefully push the rack back into the oven, and close the oven door. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cheesecakes are set around the edges but still a bit loose in the center. Turn off the oven, and, with the pan with the cheesecakes still in the oven, leave the door slightly ajar. Allow to sit in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and the jars from the pan and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until set, about an hour. Before serving, sprinkle with the optional confectioner’s sugar.
Heather :) :) :) says
Cheese is my number one favorite dessert. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)
Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga says
So adorable!
You commented after me re the spacing issue on Dianne’s site. Thanks!
Nicole says
Hi, Averie,
I did! I always see you “at Dianne’s.” I think of Dianne’s blog as kind of the like the ‘beauty parlor’ where food bloggers go to speak the truth! Thanks for stopping by. :)
xoxo Nicole
Emily @ Our Frugal Happy Life says
I made a cheescake this week for my hubby. But yours look like much more fun! We celebrate our anniversary (3 yrs) today! We do not celebrate Valentine’s Day in this house. ;)
Nicole says
I made a cheescake this week for my hubby. But yours look like much more fun! We celebrate our anniversary (3 yrs) today! We do not celebrate Valentine’s Day in this house. ;)
Elizabeth says
Happy Valentines Day Nicole AND Brian!!! Girl, what do you mean your not crafty!!! Look at what you create EVERY single day on this blog! If that is not a craft then I don’t know what is. These look wonderful. I will definitely need to try these. As always, thank you for all your hard work!!
Nicole says
Thanks, Elizabeth! I secretly wish I could MacGyver a lamp and retile my bathroom and then make a scrapbook about it or something, though. Actually, now that I think of it, I’ll just stick to baking. :)
xoxo Nicole
Lisa @ GF Canteen says
Not by a jar, Brian. By a whole bunch of jars. (kidding. really.)
The heart stencil is very crafty of you – kudos. I do like cheesecake and chocolate cheesecake is even better. I might be making this real soon, but I’m skipping the stencil effort. I can’t even cut out proper paper dolls.
Nicole says
She’s not kidding, Brian. We’re all replaceable.
For me, that heart stencil is about a crafty as I get. I wish I were craftier. I read crafty-person blogs, and then I feel bad about how uncrafty I am.
xoxo Nicole
Brian says
I can’t believe I’ve been replaced. By a jar.
Kristi says
Happy Valentine’s my friend! Brian is one lucky man if you ask me. You are in book crunch time and you still have time to post this! I am impressed. We are having our traditional Valentine’s night. Baked Brie and roasted garlic on baguettes (gee eff of course) and watching a movie with the kids. Started this right before Mitch was born! It’s tradition.
Nicole says
Hi, friend,
We have no Valentine’s Day traditions to speak of. Unless my kids suddenly demand one. Which happens sometimes. Brie and roasted garlic on baguettes sounds perfect. Throw in a glass of wine, and the kids are putting themselves to bed while I chill!
xoxo Nikki
Kristi says
We are not Valentine’s people. I say “Happy Valentine’s Day” and Russ replies “You Too”. He then says “We good?”. lol That’s it. Except that my daughter is Miss Tradition and wants things to be exactly the same every year. Except they never are and I am trying to teach not to expect because then there is disappointment. I digress.
Wine will definitely in order.
Brian, Russ is replaced by a glass sometimes. It’s ok, it’s not sharpie so it’s not permanent.
JoAnn C says
Yum! Happy Valentine’s Day Nicole. It’s okay to feed family sugar for dinner. I’m making breakfast for dinner, (mom’s request), and that’s alright too.
Nicole says
Hi, JoAnn,
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, too! Breakfast for dinner is not only alright, it should be a regular occurrence! You’re so good to your mom. :)
xoxo Nicole
Jennica says
Completely unrelated, but I made cakepops last night (the full-of-gluten cake mix kind) in one of those nifty pans so my daughter had something different to take to school. Not impressed! Those things take way too much work! I looked back at your recipe and pictures, and they were so pretty. Ours were all lumpy and weird. So, what kind of chocolate did you use? My white chocolate was thinner, and seemed to work better than my dark, which was just thick and gooey!
Nicole says
Hi, Jennica,
Yeah, most of those niche pans either don’t work or make complicated what really should/could be quite simple. If the trouble you had was with the chocolate coating, then success is about a few things: 1. Using good chocolate. Poor quality chocolate, like chips, which have wax in them to help them keep their shape, or just chocolate with a very low percentage of cacao butter, won’t melt or coat well. 2. Tempering the chocolate properly (in today’s cheesecake recipe, I describe how to properly temper chocolate by “seeding” the melted chocolate with some unmelted pieces – read through that, it should help), and 3. Working relatively quickly when the chocolate is at the right temperature. When it really matters how well things turn out, I always use Scharffen Berger Baking Chocolate.
xoxo Nicole
Jennica says
Thanks, Nicole! I think the problem we had was using chips. Had no idea they melt and act differently. Good to know.
Adam's Gluten Free Surprise on Facebook says
K-Toos make the ‘best’ crusts! yum!