Most people tend to think that cheesecake is complicated to make. To be quite honest, it's pretty damn easy to whip up as long as you have all the ingredients.
I bought a few cheesecake pans recently that bakes individual sized portions. Though setting them up is a bit messy, and the clean-up almost seems like a hassle, I was very happy with the results. Always keep in mind to wipe down the sides after pressing in your graham cracker crust; I had two pans of cheesecake made where I wiped down the sides of one, and I didn't do it for the other. The one where I wiped the sides down looked beautiful and evenly baked, whereas the pan I decided not to wipe... those ones came out mostly ugly, uneven, and with slightly browned edges.
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 stick butter, melted
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 package cream cheese, room temp
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
Mix together the first 3 ingredients. Place desired amount in each cavity (this new pan required about 1tbsp packed) and press down.
Beat cream cheese and sugar together. Add egg and paste and beat until just blended. Divide evenly among pan, and bake in preheated 350 oven for 14 minutes or until centers are almost set. Let cool for 10 minutes, then take out of pan to cool completely.
My pan had removable bottoms, so I took those off after the cheesecake cooled completely. I also put 1 tbsp of the vanilla paste instead of the recommended 1 tsp so I can see the lovely specks.
