Mini Margarita Cheesecakes

sinking skip this step if desired Boil a pot of water. You need 1 inch of water in your roasting pan for the water bath so make sure you boil enough. Place a large metal baking or roasting pan I usually use a 913inch baking pando not use glass on the bottom oven rack of the preheated oven. Pour boiling water into pan about 1 inch deep. Immediately place the cheesecakes on the center rack. Close oven to trap the steam inside. This unique water bath adds steam to the oven without having the muffin pan sit inside the water itself which is a traditional water bath method used for fullsize cheesecakes.
Bake until the edges are set and the centers slightly jiggle about 20 minutes.
Set the pan on a wire rack and allow cheesecakes to cool at room temperature for 45 minutes then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. Or place in the freezer for 1 hour to speed things up. If chilling in the refrigerator for longer than 2 hours loosely cover the cheesecakes. Even if you used the water bath method in step 4 the cheesecakes will slightly sink as they cool.
Make the whipped cream Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment whip the cold heavy cream sugar tequila and lime juice on mediumhigh speed until medium peaks form about 34 minutes. Medium peaks are between softloose peaks and stiff peaks and are the perfect consistency for topping and piping on desserts. I used Wilton 1M tip for piping whipped cream on the pictured mini cheesecakes. Garnish with lime slices andor other toppings. Whipped cream can be made and pipedspread on mini cheesecakes up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate decorated cheesecakes until ready to serve.
Cover and store leftover cheesecakes in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.