Mini Cheesecakes
A video on how to make mini cheesecakes!
Mini Cheesecakes with Strawberry Sauce Topping (Makes 12)
Ingredients
ALMOND BASE
1 1/4 cups almond meal
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
pinch of salt
zest of 2 lemons
3 tbsp. melted butter
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
16oz cream cheese
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 large room-temp. eggs
STRAWBERRY SAUCE TOPPING
225g strawberries washed, hulled
3 tbsp. white granulated sugar
1 tsp. powdered gelatin
1 tbsp. water
Instructions
ALMOND BASE
1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with white paper liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift in almond meal. Add sugar, salt, and lemon zest and whisk until thoroughly incorporated.
3. Add melted butter and stir with a spoon until the mixture resembles wet crumbs.
4. Divide the mixture between the muffin holes. About 3 tsp. for each hole is ideal. Press down firmly with the back of a little spoon.
5. Bake for 10 minutes until golden brown.
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
1. Add cream cheese to a bowl along with sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Switch to a whisk and stir some more.
2. Constantly scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add salt and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
3. Add the eggs one at a time and whisk after each addition until fully incorporated. Finished batter should be silky smooth; do not overmix. Also make sure your oven is on at the moment.
Note: Everything is mixed by hand here because you don't want too much air incorporated into cheesecake batter.
4. Divide the batter between the muffin holes with almond bases. Place about 1 spoonful in each hole. Bake for about 15 minutes until little cracks form on about 3 of the cheesecake surfaces and the centers don't jiggle when shaken.
5. Turn off the oven heat and with the door slightly ajar, cool for about 30 minutes until the cracks close up.
6. Cool cheesecakes at room temperature until they pull away from the sides of the pan holes and they're not warm to touch.
STRAWBERRY SAUCE TOPPING
1. Add strawberries and sugar to a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Transfer mixture to a small saucepan and let it warm on low heat.
3. Meanwhile, add gelatin to water in a little bowl and let the mixture sponge-up.
4. Add the gelatin mixture to the strawberry mixture and heat, stirring, until gelatin has fully melted and the mixture is homogeneous.
5. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
6. With a little spoon, pour small amounts of sauce on top of cheesecakes until the white surfaces of the cheesecakes don't show. Because the cheesecakes are stuck to the muffin liners, the strawberry sauce does not seep down.
7. Refrigerate the cheesecakes still in the whole pan for about 2 hours until the strawberry sauce has firmed up.
8. Wash 6 little strawberries into halves and marinate in a bowl with some sugar.
9. Remove the cheesecakes from the muffin holes and place a strawberry onto each cheesecake. Enjoy!
Note: Keep the cheesecakes refrigerated. Peel of the liners when you eat them; they come off nice and clean.
Cheesecake Recipe adapted from My Baking Addiction: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/gluten-free-mini-cheesecakes/
Strawberry Sauce Recipe adapted from Joy of Baking: http://www.joyofbaking.com/cakes/StrawberryCheesecake.html#ixzz45yqJ03cn