Individual sized cheesecakes made with a buttery graham cracker crust, an extra creamy coffee cheesecake batter, and topped with extra Dalgona (whipped) coffee! This post is sponsored by Highground Coffee, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I am SUPER excited to be bringing you this recipe for Mini Dalgona Cheesecakes. If you know me, you know my love of coffee runs deep. Like don’t even look at me before I’ve had a cup. And also I’m a long time fan of cheesecake. And individual sized desserts. So basically this is my dream come true. And I know I’m a little late to the Dalgona game, but I think you’ll forgive me once you taste these babies.
What is Dalgona Coffee?
Dalgona – or whipped – coffee is a beverage made from whipping equal parts instant coffee, granulated sugar, and hot water until they become a whipped-cream-like foam. Then it’s added to hot or cold milk. It’s easy, fun, and super delicious. So of course I had to take this trend and make it into a coffee dessert.
My version of Dalgona is made with Highground Instant Coffee. Not only does it smell amazing and taste delicious, but Highground uses Fair Trade Certified beans. Which means the quality standards are HIGH and farmers are treated right and paid fairly. Now that’s a cup of coffee I can really get behind – y’all know I’m forever team farmer.
How to Make Mini Dalgona Cheesecakes
Bring all of the Cheesecake Ingredients to Room Temp
Any time you make cheesecake, it is SO important to make sure that everything is room temperature. It’s what will give you the best, creamy, lump-free texture. I let my cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs sit out for a minimum of three hours before I start baking.
If you don’t have that kind of time or just didn’t plan ahead, you can sit the eggs in some warm water, and wrap the sour cream and cream cheese in a hot towel for a few minutes.
Make the Cheesecake Crust
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and get out 8 mini cheesecake pans – I used these 4″ ones. Crush 2 sleeves of graham crackers (18 crackers) and stir them together with the salt, brown sugar, and melted butter. Add a heaping 1/4 C of crust to each mini springform pan and press the crust flat using the bottom of a drinking glass. Bake for 7 minutes, then allow to cool completely.
Make the Dalgona Coffee
In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the Highground Instant Coffee and sugar, whisk to combine. Stir in the hot water. Then mix using a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Start out slow so it doesn’t splash everywhere, then crank the speed up to high as the mixture thickens. Set aside.
Make the Cheesecake Batter and Bake
Preheat the oven to 350.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese by itself for 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl down halfway through to make sure all of the cream cheese is getting mixed. Add the vanilla and sour cream, mix to combine. Add the flour and sugar, mix to combine. Add the eggs one at a time until combined.
Fold in 1 C of the Dalgona coffee. Divide the cheesecake batter evenly into the mini springform pans. Place the mini pans on one cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until the cheesecakes are set, but still slightly wobbly in the center. Turn the oven off and crack the door open. Let the cheesecakes sit in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Then cool on the counter. Once completely cooled, place the cheesecakes in the fridge to chill.
Taking all of these steps to let the cheesecake come from hot, to warm, to room temp, to FINALLY chilled, seems annoying, but it will help so much in preventing cracks from forming.
Once the cheesecakes are chilled, top them with some extra dalgona coffee and enjoy! The coffee lover in your life will LOVE these. Trust. Best served immediately after you top with the extra dalgona. But if you want to make ahead, the cheesecakes will keep in the fridge for up to a week, and just make and top with dalgona right before serving.
Mini Dalgona Cheesecakes
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 1 hr + chill time
- Yield: 8 Individual Cheesecakes 1x
Description
Individual sized coffee cheesecakes with a buttery graham cracker crust and topped with fluffy dalgona coffee.
Ingredients
For the Graham Cracker Crust
- 2 Sleeves Graham Crackers (18 Crackers)
- 1/2 C Unsalted Butter, melted (1 Stick)
- 2 TBSP Brown Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
For the Dalgona Coffee
- 1/4 C Highground Instant Coffee
- 1/4 C Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 C Hot Water
For the Dalgona Cheesecake Batter
- 32 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature (4 packages)
- 2/3 C Sour Cream, at room temperature
- 2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 C Sugar
- 1/3 C All Purpose Flour
- 3 Lg Eggs, at room temperature
- 1 C Whipped Dalgona Coffee
Instructions
For the Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 and grab 8 mini springform pans (4″)
- Crush the graham crackers.
- Stir together the crushed graham crackers and remaining ingredients.
- Add a heaping 1/4 C of the crust mixture to each springform pan.
- Press the crust down using the bottom of a drinking glass.
- Bake for 7 minutes then allow to cool completely.
For the Dalgona Coffee
- In a medium bowl, stir together the Highground Instant Coffee and sugar.
- Stir in the hot water.
- Using a hand mixer, whip until stiff peaks form.
- Set aside.
For the Cheesecake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese by itself for 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl down halfway through.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla. Mix to combine.
- Add the sugar and flour. Mix to combine.
- Add the eggs, one at a time and mix until just combined.
- Fold in 1 C of the dalgona coffee.
- Divide the cheesecake batter into the springform pans. Place the springform pans on a cookie sheet to bake.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cheesecakes are set but still slightly wobbly in the center.
- Turn off the oven and crack the door open. Let the cheesecakes sit in there for 20-25 minutes, then allow to cool completely on the counter.
- Once completely cooled, put them in the fridge to chill.
- When ready to serve, top with extra dalgona coffee and enjoy.
Notes
- You can use a cupcake pan to bake these if you don’t have mini springform pans. Just line with cupcake liners and fill using a standard ice cream scoop. Reduce baking time to 18 minutes. Makes 24 cupcake sized cheesecakes.
Keywords: dalgona recipes, coffee cheesecake, dalgona desserts
If you’re a huge cheesecake fan like me, be sure to check out this Roasted Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream, or these Mini Lemon Cheesecakes.
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