Jump To Recipe
Author: Sally
Published: 02/10/2017Updated: 12/09/2020
My friend Christina (from the crazy popular and completely delicious blog Dessert for Two) has a new cookbook called Sweet & Simple. The name actually doesn’t do this beautiful cookbook justice. Christina, can we change it to *Extra* Sweet and *Extra* Simple?
I wanted to share a recipe from her cookbook because the focus of her books—and blog—is small batch baking. Not something we usually focus on over here, so I figured you’d absolutely LOVE something new. And something that doesn’t leave enough leftovers to feed an army. Leftovers that taunt and haunt you until you eat every last cookie. Eeeeeeat meeee. What? Um, what were we talking about?
Flipping through the picture-filled book, my eyes immediately landed on this creamy small batch cheesecake. Such a thing exists? Yes, it absolutely does. And the best part is the cheesecake is made in a loaf pan—something you may already own. No matter how you slice it, a loaf cheesecake is pretty cool!
This is the kind of dessert we all love eating: creamy, thick, and rich cheesecake that’s not overly sweet with acrazy thick and butterygraham cracker crust.I got 5 glorious slices, which is perfect when there’s only 2 of us. By the way, if you need a larger cheesecake that is just as easy to prepare and bake, you’ll love this easy cheesecake pie.
You only need a handful of ingredients like cream cheese, graham crackers, sugar, and an egg. Vanilla and a squeeze of fresh lemon add just enough flavor. Don’t worry, you don’t taste the lemon. It just complements the tart cream cheese.
The crust is a graham cracker crust, only scaled down. I added a little more butter than her original recipe because mine was pretty crumbly. I blame the super dry weather.
Any excuse to add a condiment and I will. I made strawberry topping for the cheesecake! I made the entire recipe for it and had a little extra after the cheesecake was gone. Can I admit it’s *really* good just with a spoon? Christina has a version of this cheesecake on her blog as well—and she topped hers with homemade cherry topping. Give hers a try if you like cherries and cheesecake.
I encourage you to check out Christina’s latest cookbook! She has 2 others as well, both of which focus on small batch baking and cooking. These dishes and desserts are perfect for date night and Valentine’s Day next week. I had the pleasure of meeting Christina last year and we immediately hit it off. Her down-to-earth, kind nature radiates through her blog and social media. Check her out!
5 from 28 reviews
- Author: Sally
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 6 hours
- Yield: 5 slices
- Category: Cheesecake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Save Recipe
Description
If you don’t want to make a big regular cheesecake, try this easy creamy small batch cheesecake with only 5 slices!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 and 1/3 cups (160g) graham cracker crumbs (about 10–11 full sheet graham crackers)
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon (12g) granulated sugar
Cheesecake
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- optional for serving: strawberry topping, cherry topping, or even salted caramel!
Instructions
- Lower the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the cheesecake from the pan. Set aside.
- Mix all of the crust ingredients together. Pour into prepared loaf pan and using medium pressure, press the crust mixture down with your hand so it’s compact in the pan. Bake the crust for 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown on the edges and top.
- While the crust is pre-baking, prepare the filling.In a large bowl using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until completely smooth. Beat in the sugar, egg, vanilla, and lemon juice until completely combined and smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl and beat again as needed.
- Pour the batter on top of the warm crust and smooth into an even layer. It will look like a lot of cheesecake batter, but it will sink down as it bakes.
- Bake the cheesecake for 40–45 minutes, until the entire surface is set. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cheesecake should come out *mostly* clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. Once cool, refrigerate the cheesecake for 4 hours and up to 1 day.
- Remove the chilled cheesecake from the pan using the overhang on the sides. Slice and serve with optional toppings, if desired.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Make this cheesecake ahead of time and let it sit in the refrigerator for up to 1 whole day in step 6. You can also make the filling and pre-bake the crust ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate both for up to 1 day before continuing with step 4. Cheesecake can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Parchment Paper |Food Processor(for graham crackers) | Glass Mixing Bowl |Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Non-US Readers: Don’t have graham crackers where you live? Use 180g ground digestive biscuits instead (about 12 biscuits), with the same amount of butter, and add 1 extra Tablespoon (12g) of sugar. You may need to add a few extra minutes to the pre-baking time, as digestive biscuits are not quite as crispy-crunchy as graham crackers. And from what I understand, spreadable cream cheese sold in a tub in countries outside of the US is a little different from the spreadable cream cheese in the US. It’s thicker, sturdier, and more solid and should be OK to make cheesecake. I have no experience with it, but this is what I’ve heard from other non-US readers.
