These mini tempura deep fried cheesecakes are easy to make and delicious! This recipe has a light tempura crust with a delicious cheesecake recipe.
Besides sushi, I love getting tempura cheesecake from Japanese restaurants.
A couple of months ago we went on a little get away as a family right before school started. I had been pretty sick at the beginning of summer and really wanted to end summer right.
Well, for some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to eat all of our meals at our hotel suite so we bought food and stored it in our kitchen. The first night I was excited to eat some of the food we had and piled a huge load of food onto my plate – all sushi ingredients including salmon, mango, cream cheese, rice, and cucumber. It was delicious!
Five hours later, I woke up at midnight super sick and spent the next five hours in the bathroom with food poisoning. It was cold on the tile floor and I really needed a blanket and pillow but each time I took more than five steps, I would throw up. Ha ha. Oh boy. It was crazy.
The next day, I was still sick. I had nothing left to throw up but definitely could not handle staying awake or sitting up. We went to the grocery store for something for the family and it was more than I could handle.
So in case you’re wondering, I ruined the last days of summer for my kids, too. Ha!
Unfortunately, I cannot handle sushi right now but I can handle deep fried cheesecake, a favorite that always goes well with sushi.
This deep fried tempura cheesecake recipe is super simple and super quick … once the cheesecake is made. You can either buy cheesecake (makes it super quick) or make your own (it’s super simple). Either way, it’s delicious!
- 3/4 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
- 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup flour, sifted
- 1 egg
- 1 cup ice cold water
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Line a muffin tin with liners. For tall cheesecakes, you will need 12 muffin cups. Otherwise, line 18 muffin cups. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
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Combine graham cracker crumbs, 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press into the bottom of each muffin liner.
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Mix cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. You may use an electric mixer for this step.
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Mix by hand: add in milk, then eggs one at a time with cream cheese and sugar. Stir just until incorporated. Mix in sour cream, vanilla, and flour. Stir until smooth. Do not over stir/mix!
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Pour cream cheese mixture into muffin liners filling about 3/4 full. (You can make each cake taller by filling 12 cups all the way full.)
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Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecakes in the oven. Do not open the oven door at all. Let the cakes cool for 2 or 3 hours. Then chill in refrigerator if needed.
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Sift flour. Add in egg. Stirring with a chopstick helps not add in too much air.
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Mix in cold water. Ice cold water will create a crunchier tempura crust.
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Heat oil in a pot to 375°F.
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Dip mini cheesecakes into tempura batter. Let excess run off.
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Place into hot oil for about 30 seconds. Do not deep fry too long. Ideal tempura deep frying allows the outside to be crispy and fried but not the inside.
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Let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before serving to allow the oil to drip off.
