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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Minis

These adorable “portion perfect” Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Minis will be just the ticket to end your meal on a sweet note without blowing your entire diet!  Fresh raspberry sauce is marbled through the decadent and creamy cheesecake, which tops off a crunchy, chocolate cookie crust.  How sweet it is! 

Click for Printable Recipe

Ingredients: (for 1 dozen)

Crust - 
  • 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs 
    • about 13 chocolate sandwich cookies
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 5 Tbsp melted butter
Raspberry Sauce - 
  • 6 oz (a slightly rounded cup) fresh raspberries
  • 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp corn starch
Filling -
  • 2 (8oz) blocks of full fat cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/8 tsp table salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla 
    • I like the clear, Mexican vanilla the best 
  • 1/2 tsp lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup full fat sour cream, room temperature

Step-by-Step:
Begin by taking out all of your cold filling ingredients so they can come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 300 F.  Prepare your pan(s).

I have read that using the metallic cupcake liners can make your food take "metallic," but you may want to add them on the outside of the paper ones as sort of a double layer.  I used paper liners.  The butter in the crust, once cooled, can make the papers stick to the pan a bit.  If this happens, you can set the bottom of the pan in some warm water for a couple of minutes.  But the foil (outer wrapper) should prevent the butter from seeping through.  So this is my recommendation.  Just a thought.

Crust -
In a food processor, mix all ingredients until they resemble wet sand... umm.. dirt.  Haha! 
13 chocolate sandwich cookies
 These are the crumbs that we want.

1 Tbsp granulated sugar
5 Tbsp melted butter
 Looks like a mud pie, huh?  LOL
Press 1 Tbsp of the cookie crust into each cupcake liner that you have set into standard muffin pan.  Press the crust down with your fingers. 
1 Tbsp wet cookie crust
 
Cover the entire pan and place in the refrigerator to harden. 
Raspberry sauce - 
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan, and heat until bubbling. 
1 cup fresh raspberries
3 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp corn starch
 
Break down the raspberries by mashing them.  I used my potato masher for this.  
Remove from heat when thicken.  Transfer to a glass container and cool in the refrigerator until needed. 
Filling - Mix all room temperature ingredients in a stand mixer, on low.  You don't want to mix on high because it will put too much air into the batter. 
2 (8oz) blocks full fat cream cheese - room temperature.
You want to break down the cream cheese before adding anything else.

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla.  I am using clear Mexican vanilla.
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup full fat sour cream, room temperature
Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cupcake papers.  I found the cupcake scoop to be the perfect amount of batter. 
Next, add three "drops" of the cooled raspberry sauce on top of the filled cheesecake batter.  I used a baby spoon for this. 
Use a chopstick or knife to swirl the raspberry sauce into the cheesecake batter.
Bake on 300 F for 18-22 minutes.  The center should still be a little bit "jiggly" and still slightly moist looking.  Remove and allow them to cool.  Tip - if you used a larger muffin tin and more batter, your minis may require a longer cooking time.
Cover and refrigerate overnight or for several hours.
Tip - to release the papers from the pan after chilling overnight, you may find that they stick down.  The paper liner allow the melted butter to bleed a little, and with chilling, the butter can tend to stick to the pan.  If this happens, set the whole pan in a larger pan (or sink) of warm water for a few minutes to warm that butter up again.  Another alternative would be to use an outer, foil liner.  I didn't want to bake the cheesecake in foil liners, as I have heard they impart a metallic taste (yuck).  But if you use an inner paper liner and an outer foil liner, this may help.
 
Garnish with fresh raspberries to serve. 


Enjoy this recipe?  
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Here's just one delicious example -  Mahogany Glazed Chicken!  Yum!!

Here are a few "bonus" recipes for you:
Chili Roasted Edamame
Rosemary Black Pepper No-Knead Artisan Bread
Alice Springs Chicken

Roasted Green Beans

Carrot Souffle - Just Like a Piccadilly!

Apple Praline Bundt Cake

Written Method:
Begin by taking out all of your cold filling ingredients so they can come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 300 F.

Crust - In a food processor, mix all ingredients until they resemble wet sand... umm.. dirt.  Haha!  Press I Tbsp of the cookie crust into each cupcake liner that you have set into standard muffin pan.  Press the crust down with your fingers.  Cover the entire pan and place in the refrigerator to harden.

Raspberry sauce - Mix all ingredients in a cold saucepan, and heat until bubbling.  Break down the raspberries by mashing them.  I used my potato masher for this.  Remove from heat when thicken.  Transfer to a glass container and cool in the refrigerator until needed.

Filling - Mix all room temperature ingredients in a stand mixer, on low.  You don't want to mix on high because it will put too much air into the batter.  Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cupcake papers.  I found the cupcake scoop to be the perfect amount of batter.

Next, add three "drops" of the cooled raspberry sauce on top of the filled cheesecake batter.  I used a baby spoon for this.  Use a chopstick or knife to swirl the raspberry sauce into the cheesecake batter.

Bake - Bake on 300 F for 18-22 minutes.  The center should still be a little bit "jiggly" and still slightly moist looking.  Remove and allow them to cool.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or for several hours.

21 comments:

  1. This cheesecake looks delicious!
    and thanks for the bonus recipes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi-
    Just wanted to let you know that there appears to be an error under Raspberry Sauce in the ingredient list. I imagine it should read 1 cup of fresh raspberries. Can't wait to try this. Thank you for posting. Looks delicious! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good grief! How could I have left off the raspberries?! LOL Thanks, I'll go add them. :)

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    2. Hi-
      Me again. Made these tonight and had way too much left over for 1 dozen Two trays (2 dozen) are shown at the end. Is this recipe for 1 or 2 dozen?

      Delete
    3. Hey there, again.
      Well, to be honest, I had left-over filling as well. I just didn't feel comfortable subdividing the recipe further. I just refrigerated the rest of my filling for more goodies later. :) To make 2 dozen, you would need more filling.

      Delete
  3. I made these yesterday and they are wonderful! I had a problem with the crust being stuck to the wrapper though. Has anyone else had this problem? I am wondering if I it was too moist. Maybe I should have added more cookies? I am going to try again later this week because I am planning on making them for a baby shower in a couple of weeks. If anyone has suggestions, please comment. Thanks!

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  4. OMG!These Minis look incredible.I have to bake some immediately. I've featured this recipe on my blog, hoping that you don't mind, but if you do, please contact me and I'll remove it. All the best.

    ReplyDelete
  5. hi, are those oreao cookies that you are using?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sort of. They were the store brand "knock off" cheaper version of Oreos. I saw no reason for the extra expense when they weren't going to be eaten alone.

      Delete
  6. Can't wait to try these for work.
    Thanks for the recipe

    ReplyDelete
  7. hi, I made these the other day, and the cheesecake bit came out really soft and mushy, any idea what i did wrong. followed receipe exactly, but after 24 hrs in the fridge (i had to soak pan in warm water to get the cheesecake out), but the cheesecake part got squashed as soon as i tried to lift it out. was 300F enough for it to cook?... I left it in the oven for over 25 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there.

      I'm sorry you cheesecake minis didn't come out. I spoke to a couple other people who I personally know made that recipe, and theirs came out nicely. I did some snooping around to see what other cooks used as far as time and temp, and we all seem to be doing the same thing. I wonder if the type of pan makes a difference. You've probably read on the packages of some cakes/muffins to use different temps for different sorts of pans (shiny vs. nonstick).

      I would hesitate to increase the baking temp too much, because cheesecake needs to be cooked low and slow to avoid cracking. But I wonder if you added more filling to your cups than I did. This would give you a deeper cheesecake, and thus require a longer baking time. I did have leftover "batter," so this may have been the culprit.

      Let's address the soaking - I also soaked mine, as the melted butter seems to seep through the paper cupcake liners and then sticks to the pan when you cool them. This can be addressed by using a second, foil liner outside the paper liner. I didn't want to bake directly in a foil liner because some people have reported that it gives the baked product a metallic taste. Yuck.

      I squished a couple of mine as well when I first tried to get them out... but then I used a fork to gently get underneath them and that worked like a charm. After I got them out, I did refrigerate them again. Everyone who tried them raved about them, so I'm super sorry that yours didn't work out for you. :(

      Let me know if I can clarify anything further. I'm so disappointed when my recipes aren't successful for people.

      Sincerely, Julie

      Delete
  8. Thank you so much for replying. Yes i actually did try to use up as much of the batter as i could and I topped them up quite a bit, so I think they did need a little more time to bake.
    I dont mind the soaking at all, its an easy enough step and a quick solution to a sticking problem ;-)
    I have made quite a few of your recipes, all with great success, my husband and i look through your recipes and always try something new on our weekends. I i will try this again and let you know.

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  9. Do you use the entire cookie with the filling? Or take the center out? It doesn't look like there is any in the picture after they went thru the processor. I'm making these today :) thank you!

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  10. I'm making these for a party next week. Have you tried making them and then freezing them until needed? If so, how did they come out and did it affect the taste of the cheesecake?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Whitney -

    I've not tried freezing them.. But my husband buys frozen cheesecake all the time :( so I know it can be done without affecting the taste. (I'm not a huge fan of sweets.)
    Good luck, I hope they come out great!

    Julie

    ReplyDelete
  12. Okay I know these may be obvious questions but I'm new to this. For the filling is it two blocks of 8oz cream cheese? Or is it 8oz total?
    And for the cold saucepan, how cold? Chilled in the fridge for a few minutes or longer? Or maybe the freezer?
    I'm so excited to make these! Just want to make sure I'm doing it right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarah -
      No worries! Let's take this one thing at a time. :)

      1) 2 packages of 8 oz cream cheese. 16 oz total.
      2) by a cold saucepan, I just meant that you can add all the ingredients to your pot/saucepan while it's right out of the cabinet. It does not need to be chilled, per se. I just should not be "heated" first. Just dump it all in first. :)

      Good luck! Hope they turn out great!
      Julie

      Delete
  13. I bet its delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

    ReplyDelete