What’s better than cheesecake? Mini cheesecake bites, of course! In this post, we’re going to take a look at our favorite mini cheesecake pans with removable bottoms.
Cheesecake bites have gained a lot of momentum over the past several years, and with good reason. These bite-sized treats not only work well as a dessert, but they’re also perfect as an appetizer.
They’re ideal for providing options for your guests by offering multiple flavors of cheesecake in sample-sized bites as well.
Now that your mouth is watering, let’s take a look at our picks!
Be sure to check out our picks for our favorite bakeware sets as well.
USA Pan 6 Well Mini Cheesecake Pan (Top Pick)
Our top pick is this 6 well mini cheesecake pan from USA Pan. Let’s first discuss mini cheesecakes in general, then we’ll dive into the details to see what makes this particular pan so special.
Why mini cheesecake?
As we mentioned earlier, cheesecake bites have gained a lot of steam recently. This is due to the fact that cheesecake bites are better suited for certain situations than regular-sized cheesecake, and there are some things that can only be achieved with a smaller size cake.
Does size really matter?
Before we dive into the advantages of the smaller version of this delicious food, we’ll quickly mention the similarities of mini and large cheesecakes.
While their appearance differs, the ingredients and taste of both sizes are essentially the same. If you give a bite of either size to a blindfolded person, they’re not going to know the difference.
Another similarity is that either can be served for dessert. Cheesecake in any form is a tasty treat that does a great job of satisfying your sweet tooth after a meal. This is pretty much where the similarities end though.
Dessert before dinner?
One of the best uses for miniature cheesecakes is as an appetizer. You usually don’t have sweets until after dinner, but because of their small size, cheesecake bites actually work extremely well before a meal.
Don’t be surprised if your guests dig right back in after they finish their dinner as well!
Just a small taste please!
Another perfect use of mini cheesecake bites is sampling. Do you ever struggle to decide on a flavor when baking a dessert?
With a mini cheesecake pan, you can make several different flavors at once, sample them, then decide on the one that makes the most sense for a given occasion. Let your friends and family get in on the fun as well!
Give me some options
People love having options to choose from. This miniature cheesecake pan makes it easy to give your guests exactly what they want.
Go ahead and make a large batch of cheesecake bites, then top them with various flavors, like strawberries or blueberries.
While this can be done with standard-sized cheesecakes, the effect is not the same. With cheesecake bites, people can take 3 or 4 bites of different flavors, which comes out to about the equivalent of one slice of cake.
It’s finger food!
Regular cheesecake is meant to be eaten with a fork. While there’s nothing wrong with that, we like to live life on the edge. With cheesecake bites, you can simply pop them in your mouth with your hands.
In fact, we think this is the only way you should eat them. This makes them ideal for more casual gatherings, like birthday parties.
What makes this pan special?
Now that we’re in agreement that cheesecake bites are great, let’s talk about this specific pan from USA Pan.
Pros
- Commercial grade aluminized steel
- Fluted surface for extra strength, better air circulation, and even heat distribution
- Patented Americoat Plus non-stick coating
- PTFE, PFOA, and BPA free
- Removable bottoms
Cons
- A bit on the pricy side
- Only 6 wells
Why USA Pan?
USA Pan has been in the bakeware industry for over 50 years, and is owned and operated in the USA. They are well known in baking circles in the United States for their commercial-grade quality, and they produce bakeware that is built to last for years.
They stand behind this cake pan with a limited lifetime warranty.
Unique design with a purpose
The first time you see a pan from USA Pan, you’ll instantly notice the unique look. Their pans have a corrugated surface, which not only looks great, but also enhances the quality of the pan and improves the consistency of your baked goods.
The corrugated surface provides extra strength to the pan to help prevent warping over repeated trips through the oven. It also provides your baked goods with better airflow and enhances the heat distribution, resulting in better consistency in your baked goods.
Lastly, the fluted surface improves the nonstick properties of the pan.
Remove your cheesecake bites with ease
What good would this pan be if you couldn’t get your mini cheesecakes out after baking them in the oven? Fortunately, that is not an issue at all with this pan.
As we just mentioned, this pan has a corrugated surface, which enhances the non stick properties of the pan. The pan is also equipped with a patented, Americoat Plus non stick coating.
This nonstick coating is PTFE, PFOA, and BPA free and provides an excellent release for your baked goods, not to mention making cleaning a breeze!
Let’s not forget that this is a small cheesecake pan with removable bottoms. Between the nonstick coating and the fluted surface of the pan, you’re not going to have any trouble getting your cheesecake bites out after they’re done baking.
With that being said, the removable bottoms do make it even easier to get the bites out without damaging the tops of your mini cheesecakes.
Are there any drawbacks?
With this bakeware from USA Pan, you’re going to get a high quality product. With that being said, there are a couple of things to consider before making a purchase.
It’s a little pricey
With most things, you get what you pay for. This pan is no exception. Although it’s a bit more expensive than some of the other pans on the market, it’s also a commercial-grade, high quality pan with a unique design that’s been perfected over the past 50 years by USA Pan.
Also, all of their pans are made in the USA, so you can expect to pay a little more than you would for an imported product.
Only 6 wells?
While many of their competitors’ pans have 12 cups or wells, USA Pan elected to go with 6 wells in their design. Since you’re typically going to want to bake more than six cheesecake bites at a time, you’ll either have to use multiple pans or make multiple batches with the same pan.
Neither scenario is ideal, but at the same time, it’s mostly just an annoyance.
Final Thoughts
We’ve looked at some of the uses for this pan, the unique benefits that it provides, and a couple of points to consider before making a purchase.
When all is said and done, we highly recommend this pan for anyone looking to add a little variety or looking to create something a little more fun and unique with their cheesecakes.
With this small cheesecake pan with removable bottoms from USA Pan, you’ll get a high quality product that you can rely on for years and years.
With its unique design and durable construction, focus your energy on baking, and stop worrying about whether or not you have the right tools.
Features
- Includes one mini cheesecake pan with 6 wells
- Each cup measures in at 3.1 in x 3.1 in x 2.125 in
- Made of commercial-grade, heavy-gauge, aluminized steel
- Fluted surface for better airflow and better temperature distribution
- Features patented Americoat nonstick coating for easy food release
- Americoat is PTFE, PFOA, and BPA free
- Easy to clean with soap and hot water
- Features removable bottoms
- Made in the USA
- Comes with a limited lifetime warranty
RUNNER-UP – Norpro 12 Cup Mini Cheesecake Pan
Next up, let’s take a look at this small cheesecake pan from Norpro, which offers many of the same benefits as the pan mentioned above.
Unlike the pan mentioned above from USA Pan, this pan from Norpro features 12 individual cups, which are 2 inches in diameter at the top and 1.5 inches in height, allowing you to quickly bake batches of bite sized cheesecakes by the dozen.
Each of these cups also features a removable bottom, which makes it a breeze to get your cakes out after they’ve cooled from being in the oven.
Speaking of pulling the pan out of the oven, this mini cake tray features contoured and riveted handles for a secure and comfortable grip.
If the removable bottoms weren’t already enough, this mini cake pan is coated with a non stick finish to make the release of food even easier. The nonstick coating also makes cleanup easier than ever.
If you’re ready to move on from making full sized cakes, cupcakes, or cheesecakes, or if you just want to add some variety to your baking, give this mini cake tray a try.
Just remember that the cakes are only going to be 2″ x 1.5″, so this tray is best suited for parties, sampling, and taste testing. It’s also a great way to involve your kids and allow them to get a feel for baking.
Overall, this pan is great for making small cheesecakes. However, the look, quality, and feel of the pan just doesn’t quite reach the same high level as the pan from USA Pan mentioned above.
- Cake tray is 14″ x 8″ x 1.75″
- Each cup is 2″ (top diameter) x 1.5″ (height)
- Non stick surface
- Riveted and contoured handles
- Removable bottoms
- Can be used with or without baking cups
2 Inch Round Mini Cake Pans – Set of 5 (Budget Pick)
Lastly, let’s take a look at this set of 5 individual mini cheesecake pans. Unlike the two sets mentioned above, each of the wells, or cups, in this set are not connected to each other.
These small pans are ideal for sampling different flavors or for offering your guests several bite sized options to choose from. This set is also perfect for making cheesecake bites, which are always a crowd pleaser.
This set of five mini cake pans is made of safe, food grade, anodized aluminum alloy, which is resistant to rust and corrosion. These bite-sized pans are also coated with a non stick finish, which provides a quick and easy release of your cake bites, as well as making cleanup a breeze.
Not only do these mini pans come equipped with a nonstick coating, but they also have removable bottoms to make it even easier to get your tiny cheesecakes out of the pans.
The upper diameter of these pans is 2 inches, while the height of each pan is 1.6 inches. Please keep this in mind when deciding whether or not these pans will suit your needs.
Two inch pans are perfect for taste testing, sampling, and serving bite sized cakes or cheesecake bites to guests, but are not always the best option in all situations.
One of the major drawbacks of this set is that the five pans are not connected in any way. Although this does allow you to stack the pans together for storage, it’s simply not as efficient and easy to fill these cups and bake with them as it is with the pans mentioned above.
Also, these pans appear to be made of a thinner, lower quality aluminum, which in our testing has lead to some of the pans getting dents in them. Nonetheless, when cared for properly, they do produce tasty little cheesecakes, just like the other options that we’ve mentioned.
One of the greatest benefits of this set of pans is the cost. If you compare of the cost of this set with other bite-sized cheesecake pans online, you’ll quickly find that this is by far one of the cheapest options.
Although this set does come with some drawbacks, the cost might be enough to tip the needle in its favor, depending on its intended use.
- 2″ (top diameter) x 1.6″ height
- Set of 5 round mini cake pans
- Made of anodized aluminum alloy
- Resistant to rust and corrosion
- Removable bottoms
Wrapping it up
In this post, we’ve highlighted just three of the small cheesecake pans that are available online. All three of these options are suitable for producing delicious cheesecake bites for you and your guests.
Each set mentioned above has at least one benefit over the other two options. Give some thought to how you’ll be using your pan before making a decision.
If you plan on making large batches at a time, the Norpro pan might make the most sense. If you plan on simply making a few samples to test different flavors, the 5 piece set might be the best option for you. If you simply want the highest quality pan available, go for the pan from USA Pan.
We hope we’ve been able to help guide you in the right direction to choose the mini cheesecake pan that best fits your needs. Once you’ve had a chance to test your pan, let us know how it worked out for you in the comments below. We’d love to hear about it!
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.