We posted Bob Albers’s recipe for limoncello last month (click here), and it was outrageously! delicious. I was looking for a way to use it in a dessert for the holidays and I wanted at least one of my desserts to be gluten-free. So, I ended up combining several different recipes into this one. It’s still over a month until I plan to serve it but, thankfully, like most cheesecakes, it freezes beautifully.
Lemon Cups (Optional)
These little lemon cups are totally optional. In fact, the hard truth is that they are somewhat time consuming and even a little bit expensive (lemons are $.79/each here). But, when I saw them online, I thought they were totally adorable and I just had to make them. Needless to say, you can use a mini-cheesecake pan or a muffin pan with cupcake liners instead.
To make the lemon cups:
Buy the prettiest ones you can find. I used 12 lemons.
Cut them in half.
Remove the fruit, including as much of the pith as you can.
I used a spoon to squeeze out the juice, or you can use a hand juicer.
You can dig into the side of the cup with your thumb and then peel out the pith.
Cut off the ends, so they can sit up straight. (Don’t worry if you end up making a little hole in the bottom. The crust will hold together fine.)
Even a hole this big is not a problem. The graham cracker crust holds together inside the cup.
Freeze on a cookie sheet if you are making them in advance.
The Crust
If you have access to gluten-free graham crackers, there is usually a recipe on the box. “Pamela’s Grahams” which I used calls for:
1 box or 1 3/4 cups gluten free grahams
6 tbsp melted butter
4 tbsp sugar
Directions:
Use a food processor to convert the graham crackers into crumbs.
Stir together the crumbs and the sugar.
Melt butter and add to the crumb mixture.
If you don’t have access to gluten free graham crackers, here’s a recipe from Epicurious – (click here)
Ingredients:
1½ cups fresh ground almond meal
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted
Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together the almond meal, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Add melted butter and mix well.
Press into the bottom of 12-16 lemon cups or a mini-cheesecake pan or mini-muffin tin with liners.
Chill until firm.
Filling
Note: I packed a lot of the the crust into the lemons, which didn’t leave much room for the filling. If you leave more room, you might want to increase the amount of filling you make by half.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup limoncello
1 package unflavored powdered gelatin
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature (light-style cream cheese works fine, too)
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
finely grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)
Directions:
In a small, heat-safe bowl, place the limoncello and sprinkle the gelatin on top in an even layer. Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes until the gelatin swells.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, place the cream cheese, sour cream, and beat until light and fluffy. Toss the lemon zest in 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar, breaking up any lumps in the zest, and then add the sugar to the cream cheese mixture. Beat until well-combined. Taste the mixture, and add more confectioners’ sugar to taste. Then, while continuing to beat slowly, add the dissolved gelatin mixture in a slow drizzle and continue to beat until the mixture begins to thicken (about 5 minutes).
Pour the filling on top of the crust. Place in the freezer for about 2 hours or until very firm. If you used a muffin tin or a mini-cheesecake pan, remove the mini cheesecakes and store in a freezer-safe zip-top bag. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving, chilled.
Drizzled Limoncello Frosting
You can add this either before freezing the mini-cheesecakes or before serving. If you are freezing them with the drizzle, put in the freezer for a few hours before wrapping them. I wrapped each one separately in a sandwich bag.
Ingredients:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
several tablespoons limoncello (enough to make it the thickness you want)
a few drops of yellow food color
Directions:
Sift the sugar.
Stir in limoncello.
Stir in a few drops of food color.
Beat until smooth.
Use piping bag to drizzle on the frosting.
