Krazy Coupon Club: Chocolate-Strawbery-Mini-Cheesecakes

Monday, January 28, 2013

Chocolate-Strawbery-Mini-Cheesecakes

Okay Valentines Day is quickly approaching and with that day we think LOVE... so lets take a look at this recipe becase cheesecakes says love to me no matter what time of year it is ;)

Here is the recipe:

Crust:

25 (about 1 1/2 cups) Chocolate Cookies
1 tablespoon organic sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Cheesecake:

12 ounces organic neufchatel cheese (or reduce fat cream cheese), at room temperature
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Filling:

1 cup strawberry conserve

Instructions for baking:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 2 mini cheesecake pans with non-stick spray. Wrap the bottom of cheesecake pan in foil. Make sure to seal tightly. I suggest wrapping it several times so the water does not reach the cheesecake. Set aside.

In a food processor, process chocolate cookies until they are to a crumbly consistency. In a small bowl, mix chocolate cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Take 1/2 tablespoon of chocolate cookie mix and press into bottom of one cup of a mini cheesecake pan to make the crust. Repeat with remaining cups.

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy and smooth. Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time. Add cream and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
In a sauce pan, heat strawberry conserve just until warm, about 1 to 2 minutes.

On top of the prepared cookie crust, spoon some cheesecake batter over the crumb crust, add some strawberry conserve and seal with more batter. Repeat with remaining cups until all cups are filled. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface

Place prepared mini cheesecake pans in a large roasting pan and pour boiling water into the pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done – this can be hard to judge, but you’re looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for 40 to 45 minutes. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top. Remove cheesecakes from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

For topping: Use whip cream and heart shaped chocolates to top my cheesecakes due to Valentine’s Day being right around the corner. To make the heart shape chocolates I used a Wilton’s heart candy tray (Can be found at Micheal’s Craft Store).

ENJOY!!!