Red Velvet is super popular right now. I don’t know why but I don’t care because I love it and it gives me an excuse to bake more Red Velvet flavored things!
People like to argue that Red Velvet is just chocolate dyed red. I thought so too but once I started baking more I realized there is a major difference between the two flavors: vinegar and cocoa powder.
Before you say “yuck” to vinegar, vinegar is used not for flavor but for texture. Red velvet recipes call for vinegar and baking soda because when combined, a bunch of little oxygen bubbles are released to make a very fluffy, lighter cake than plain chocolate (in this recipe we will use lemon juice instead because we are making cheesecakes). Chocolate flavored recipes frequently call for melted chocolate alone or on top of cocoa powder to give the baked good flavoring, but Red Velvet uses strictly cocoa powder instead, giving it a richer and more pure taste. Needless to say, Red Velvet is definitely better. Why the red dye? I think I’ll never know, but it definitely makes the dessert a little more fun.
And what’s the other best dessert out there? Cheesecake! You can only imagine what combining the two would taste like…
So why not try it out!? I’ve tweaked a mini cheesecake recipe to create little Red Velvet cheesecakes, and they are delicious. The fact that they are the size of a cupcake makes them easier to make and to eat (although I always throw portioning out the window and eat four, whoops).
I make a stabilized whipped cream to put on top of my cheesecakes, but this part is totally optional. It gives the cheesecakes that little extra touch and is very easy to make if you have an electric mixer, but if you don’t have one or if you don’t want to buy the extra ingredients, the cheesecakes turn out super delicious plain as well.
To make these mini Red Velvet cheesecakes, you will need:
- Cupcake pan and cupcake liners (Not foil liners! Cheesecakes stick to foil liners.)
- Electric mixer, stand mixer, or muscular endurance and a whisk.
For the crust:
- 1 cup (6 sheets) of crushed, chocolate graham crackers
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 4 tbsp melted butter
For the cheesecake:
- 16 ounces room temperature cream cheese
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 3 egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Red food dye (optional and amount varies)
Steps:
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Preheat the oven to 350 and mix together the crust ingredients. Put one tablespoon of mixturre in each backing cup and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake for 5 minutes and remove to let cool.
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While the crust is cooling, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Beat in the sugar and cream cheese on medium speed (or at a constant, medium level pace if not using an electric mixer). Beat in the cocoa powder until no clumps remain and mix in the teaspoon of lemon juice.
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On low (or slowly), beat in egg whites one at a time.
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Beat in teaspoon of vanilla on medium until everything is incorporated. If using food dye, slowly mix in the food dye teaspoon by teaspoon until the desired color is reached.
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Pour into baking cups until ¾ of the way full (about 2 tbsp).
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Bake for 15-20 minutes. Check periodically to make sure the tops haven’t started to crack, and if they have then remove them. The tops should be smooth on the outside but jiggly and puffy in the middle.
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Allow to cool COMPLETELY at room temperature (about 2 hours, sadly) then place in the refrigerator (1-2 hours). Serve cold.
Enjoy!