Amanda Cook This might be a controversial statement, but I don’t enjoy most aspects of summertime: I’m literally allergic to the sun, the heat makes my chronic illness worse, and I hate going to the beach (despite living in New England). While I do appreciate the longer days and the lush green colors, you’ll usually find me hiding indoors in the air conditioning for the better part of June, July, and August. But one of the redeeming aspects of the season is the beautiful fresh produce, which makes for very tasty desserts!
These mini, individually-portioned cheesecakes are so cute and bring bright summer flavors, including the classic combo of blueberry and lemon. The crust is vegan and can be made gluten-free, the cheesecake is lactose-free, and the whole recipe is refined sugar-free. This recipe is specifically written using Meyer lemons, which are sweeter and less acidic/sour than regular lemons. If you choose to sub regular lemon in this recipe, you may need to reduce the amount of zest and juice in the cheesecake.
We start with a refined sugar-free vegan oatmeal crust. Graham crackers are loaded with added sugars, so the traditional cheesecake crust was a no-go. Melted coconut oil binds everything together and gives the crust a soft, oatmeal cookie feel.
The cheesecakes are a modified version of these mini honey cheesecakes from Baking with Josh and Ange. The most important step here is removing the excess liquid from the lactose-free cream cheese. This can be accomplished by putting the cream cheese between two paper towels and gently pressing the water out. Most bakers know that you always use a block of cream cheese, which is higher in fat, instead of a tub of cream cheese spread, which tends to hold too much water and get soupy. The problem is, most lactose-free cream cheese options only come in a tub. So this extra step of pressing out the excess liquid ensures that you will get the right texture for your cheesecake!
Be careful not to overwhip your cheesecake mixture, and let the baked cheesecakes fully cool on the countertop before moving them to the fridge to finish setting up. These two potential missteps could cause your cheesecakes to sink in the middle. But if you find yourself with slightly sunken cheesecakes, they’ll still be just as delicious, and you can just pile more blueberry compote on top and no one will know the difference.
These cheesecakes have a very strong honey taste on the first day, which significantly mellows out overnight in the fridge. If you don’t like the taste of honey, you can substitute pure maple syrup at a 1:1 ratio. In general, I’ve found that maple syrup imparts a less noticeable taste when used as a sweetener in baked goods.
If you enjoyed these refined sugar-free honey lemon cheesecakes, you should also check out my cranberry orange cheesecakes for the winter months!
Refined Sugar-Free Honey Lemon Cheesecakes with Blueberry Compote
Ingredients
For the Vegan Oatmeal Crust
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 TBSP all purpose flour (or sub 2 TBSP oat flour to make it gluten-free)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 TBSP pure maple syrup
- 3 TBSP coconut oil (melted)
For the Cheesecake
- 2 8 oz containers lactose-free cream cheese
- 1/4 cup lactose-free plain whole milk yogurt
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp Meyer lemon zest
- 3 TBSP Meyer lemon juice
For the Blueberry Compote
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
- 1 TBSP water
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 TBSP meyer lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Make the oatmeal crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper baking cups.
- In a food processor, pulse oats, flour, and salt until oats resemble a coarse meal.
- Add maple syrup and melted coconut oil and pulse until evenly moist.
- Scoop one heaping half tablespoon of the oatmeal crust mixture into each baking cup.
- Press down firmly and evenly with fingers, working the mixture to the edges of each baking cup.
- Blind bake for 5-8 minutes or until the mixture begins to dry out.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Make the cheesecake filling
- Reduce oven temperature to 325°F
- Remove cream cheese from the tub and place between two paper towels. Gently press excess liquid out of the cream cheese like its a block of tofu.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat together cream cheese and yogurt until smooth.
- Add the honey, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and mix until incorporated.
- Add eggs, mixing on low speed until combined, then mixing on medium speed until light and fluffy. Be careful not to overwhip the mixture at this stage.
- Evenly fill the baking cups almost to the top.
- Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until cheesecake is mostly set. It should still have a slight wobble.
- Remove from oven and let cool on countertop before placing in the refrigerator for 2 hours to set completely.
Make the blueberry compote
- In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, water, maple syrup, and salt.
- Stir to combine, then bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.
- Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and continue cooking for an additional 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally as some of the blueberries burst and reduce down to a jam-like consistency.
- Add the lemon juice, stir, and allow to cool before pouring over individual cheesecakes.
