Terry,
Considering that you dont use paper for regular cheescake I would say that using a cupcake pan without paper would work assuming of course that you will be lining each cupcake depression with a full graham cracker crust. I'd also think that after baking and the crust hardining that becuase of the tapered form of the cupcakes that the would easally pop out of the pan once cooled. The only for-seeable issue would be the time change for cooking as you will be doing a bunch of small cheesecakes versus 1 larger one. You might also want to consider smaller ramican type bowls/dishes (thrift shops and discount stores may have theese cheep). Let us know how it go's. Hope this helps.

At a friend's summer wedding cheesecake was served in lieu of the traditional wedding cake. I belief the cook used the loose-bottom mini-pans.

Those had a graham crust on the bottom and then a cheesecake layer (no crust up the sides). If you have a small thin-bladed knife you can loosen the cheesecakes after they come out of the oven. As they cool they'll shrink further. There shouldn't be any issues getting them out intact. At that point they can be placed in small paper cups or dressy foil cups for service.

Consider doing a small test batch to work out issues of time.

Carol

Another thought, we attended a graduation party (catered) last month where petit fours and cheesecake were both displayed in the single decorative paper cups - the cheesecake was baked as normal size and sliced before being presented. With alternating the heights of serving plates holding the individual cupped portions, it made for a pretty dessert table.

There also are square and rectangular no-leak springform pans (Kaiser) if you wanted to do full-size then cut. Square pieces might be easier to manage than wedges.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Kaiser Square Springform

I don't know if the paper liners would hold up (even my cupcakes tend to leak oil through), but I suggest trying your recipe in the foil cups. You might have to grease just the bottoms of the cups (depending on how much fat your crust recipe has in it), and I would only put the crust on the bottom, not the sides, as Carol suggested. Use the bottom of a glass to squish the crust down.

You'll also have to experiment with baking time, these should cook *much* more quickly than a full-sized cheesecake so watch them carefully.

I've done mini cheesecakes and mini quiches in muffin tins before -- as someone said above, don't try to run the crust up the sides, or you won't have much filling, just a lot of crust. Just put a crust layer on the bottom.

And, do a couple of test runs first, to perfect the recipe and process.

A lot of people around here serve cheesecake cupcakes. I found a recipe for them (cooks.com) and thought you might be interested in the technique. It uses foil cupcake liners and suggests putting them in a bain-marie.

VANILLA WAFER CUPCAKE CHEESECAKE

1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
8 oz. softened cream cheese
Vanilla wafers
Foil cupcake liners

Beat all ingredients except wafers until smooth. Place one wafer inside each foil cup and fill half full with batter. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool in refrigerator, top with fruit pie filling, most anything!