Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 5 muffin cups with foil liners and brush the liners with melted butter.
In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sweetener, and vanilla. With a handheld electric mixer set to medium, beat until very smooth, about 1 minute. Or simply mix the ingredients by hand using a whisk.
Add the egg and beat until well-blended and fluffy, 1 more minute.
Ladle the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them almost full. Bake until set but not browned (the center should be almost firm), about 15 minutes.
Cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pan and cool them directly on the rack for 30 more minutes. Don’t remove the liners yet. As the cakes cool, their center will slightly sink. Perfect for toppings!
Once the cakes reach room temperature, place them in a sealed container and refrigerate for one hour. Then remove the liners, top, and serve.
Make the topping:
Place the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, sweetener, and cocoa powder in your food processor bowl.
Process until it all magically turns into thick whipped cream, about 1 minute. If needed, stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the food processor bowl.
Video
Notes
The cheesecakes stick to paper liners (even well-greased) but they don't stick to greased foil liners.
If you'd like to use a granulated sweetener for the whipped topping, make sure it's powdered, or the topping could feel grainy.
It’s very important to take the leftovers out of the fridge an hour before serving them. Cheesecake, like chocolate, is best at room temperature.
Nutrition info without the topping: Calories 172, Total Fat 17 g, Saturated Fat 9 g, Sodium 148 mg, Total Carbohydrate 2 g, Dietary Fiber 0 g, Sugars 2 g, Protein 4 g