Lovely mini chocolate cheesecakes are incredibly creamy and chocolatey. Made with just a few simple ingredients, they are almost guilt-free!
Creamy and chocolatey, these delightful 175-calorie cakes are made with reduced-fat cream cheese and dark chocolate and sweetened with stevia. They have a velvety texture and a lovely, deep chocolate flavor.
This is a very easy recipe – much easier than baking a classic keto cheesecake. The only reason I don’t make it more often is that I tend to overeat these cakes! They’re too good!
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make these mini chocolate cheesecakes. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Dark chocolate: The darker you can go and still enjoy it, the better. I use Lindt 70%.
Cream cheese: I use reduced-fat cream cheese, but full-fat is fine.
Vanilla extract: Try to use the real thing – pure vanilla extract – and not the artificially flavored stuff.
Sweetener: I use stevia glycerite. You can probably use a granulated sweetener instead.
Egg: I use large eggs in almost all of my recipes, this one included.
How to make mini chocolate cheesecakes
Melt the chocolate in the microwave and set it aside.
Beat the cream cheese, vanilla and stevia until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and beat until blended.
Add the egg and mix until just incorporated. Don’t over mix.
Spoon the batter into foil-lined and greased muffin cups. Bake for about 15 minutes in a 300°F oven.
Allow the cakes to cool completely, about 2 hours, before serving.
Tips for making this recipe a success
Although this is not a difficult recipe at all, I do have a few tips to ensure its success:
1. Room-temperature ingredients
To ensure a smooth texture, all ingredients must be at room temperature, which is always the case when making cheesecakes. One option is to remove the cream cheese and egg from the fridge two hours before you plan to start mixing the ingredients.
Alternatively, you can microwave the cream cheese for 30 seconds, and submerge the egg in warm water while you prep the ingredients.
2. Slightly underbake, then cool completely
Like all cheesecakes, these are ready when they are slightly underbaked. In my oven, I find that 15 minutes at 300 degrees F is perfect.
Also similarly to other cheesecakes, they should be completely cool before you can enjoy them. Although – thankfully – there’s no need to refrigerate them. They are perfect after cooling on a rack for about 2 hours (but sometimes I eat them after just 1.5 hours!)
3. Use foil liners
For some reason, these cheesecakes work really well with foil liners but stick to paper ones. So make sure you use foil liners when making this recipe.
How to store mini chocolate cheesecakes
Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. After that, they become less creamy and fluffy. Remove them from the fridge a full hour before you plan on enjoying them.
More tasty recipes that you might like
If you love cheesecake but don’t feel like baking, try this wonderful recipe for no-bake cheesecake balls, or these tasty mini no-bake cheesecakes.
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Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes
INGREDIENTS
- Avocado oil spray for liners
- 3 oz dark chocolate, 70% cacao, chopped
- 8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon stevia glycerite, heaping (equals about 1/3 cup sugar)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with 6 foil baking cups (cakes will stick to paper liners). Lightly spray the liners with avocado oil spray.
- Place the chocolate in a small bowl. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each microwave session, until the chocolate is completely melted. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer set to the lowest speed, beat the cream cheese, vanilla and stevia until smooth. This should take no more than 30 seconds.
- Add the melted chocolate and beat on low just until blended, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Add the egg and mix until just incorporated. Don’t over mix.
- Using a rubber spatula, give the batter one last mix to make sure everything is well incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, smoothing out the tops. Bake until the centers of the cheesecakes are just a bit jiggly, about 15 minutes.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack and allow the cakes to cool completely, about 2 hours, before removing the liners and serving.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.