No Bake Lemon Cheesecake
These mini no bake lemon cheesecakes are made with sour cream, cream cheese, a touch of sugar & gelatin, and plenty of lemon.
Yield: 12 mini cakes
Equipment
- Stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or handheld mixer
- food processor to process graham crackers into crumbs
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 ¼ cups (190 g) gluten free graham cracker crumbs store-bought or homemade gluten free graham crackers, pulsed in a food processor
- 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter melted
For the filling
- ¼ cup (2 fluid ounces) freshly-squeezed lemon juice (from about 2 medium lemons)
- 1 ⅔ teaspoons (5 g) unflavored powdered gelatin
- 2 packages (16 ounces) (8 ounces each) cream cheese at room temperature (light-style cream cheese works fine, too)
- 1 cup (227 g) sour cream at room temperature
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups (175 g) confectioners’ sugar
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Line the wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin.
- In a medium-size bowl, place the graham cracker crumbs and butter, and mix until all of the crumbs are moistened.
- Divide the mixture evenly among the wells of the muffin tin, and press the crust evenly and firmly into the bottom of each liner. Moistened fingers work well, and so does the moistened bottom of a juice glass. Set the pan aside.
- In a small, heat-safe bowl, place the lemon juice and sprinkle the gelatin on top in an even layer.
- Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes until the gelatin swells.
- Heat the mixture over low heat or in the microwave (or a small saucepan over low heat) for about 20 seconds or until the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture has liquified. Allow it to cool until no longer hot to the touch.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, place the cream cheese, sour cream, and salt and beat until light and fluffy.
- Toss all but about 1/4 teaspoon of the lemon zest in 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar, breaking up any lumps in the zest, and then add the sugar to the cream cheese mixture. Beat until well-combined. Taste the mixture, and add more confectioners’ sugar to taste.
- While continuing to beat slowly, add the dissolved gelatin mixture in a slow drizzle and continue to beat until the mixture begins to thicken (about 5 minutes).
- Pour the filling on top of the crust in each of the wells of the muffin tin, dividing it evenly among them.
- Sprinkle the reserved lemon zest lightly and evenly on top of each of the fillings.
- Place the muffin tin in the freezer for about 2 hours or until very firm. Remove the mini cheesecakes from the muffin tin and store in a freezer-safe zip-top bag.
- Allow to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving, chilled.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
