Look at these.
I mean, just look.
I made these for a baby shower, and frankly I'm a little obsessed with them.
I'll be honest - they were a pain to make. Those crusts? Almost the end of me. And getting them out of the tins? Not particularly easy, either. But if you're looking for presentation, they can't be beat.
The recipe:
Crusts:
16-18 graham crackers, processed into fine crumbs
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted.
1/4 tsp ginger
pinch clove
Filling:
16oz cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 c. sugar
2 1/2 tb lemon zest
1 tb flour
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
1 tb lemon zest
3 tb lemon curd
Fresh blueberries - preferably on the smaller side
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line mini cupcake tins (I used three tins w/ twelve cups each. They also have 24-cup ones, but it's easier to arrange three tins on one oven rack, or one tin in a mini convection oven, than dealing with two large sheets when you're not going to use half of the second one) with paper liners. Press about 1 tbsp of the crumb mixture into each cup, thick enough so that the cheesecake will have a bit of sturdiness to it, thin enough that it won't overwhelm each bit. Mine were probably about 1/6 inch thick. If the mixture has a hard time holding, add more butter. If it's too sticky, add more graham crumbs.
Bake crusts for 5 minutes. Since you're not using pie weights, go ahead and poke the crusts down if they've puffed up much.
Beat cream cheese, egg, flour, lemon zest, and vanilla together on medium speed. Spoon cream cheese mixture into a gallon-sized plastic bag. Press out air, seal the top, and snip off the corner (about 1/2 -3/4 inch cut). Pipe filling into cups, fill to just over tops of crusts. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, then chill for at least an hour.
Before serving, mix lemon curd with lemon zest within a sandwich baggie - squish to mix. Cut a smaller corner off the bag, then pipe the curd over each cheesecake. Top with blueberry.
To remove cheesecakes from tins, use a stiff piece of cardstock to lift the cheesecake. A glossy price tag works really well :-)
Can be made ahead and frozen without toppings.
The crust gives saltiness, the filling gives richness, the lemon curd gives a burst of lemon, and the blueberry? Sublime. Are they a pain? Yes - but worth every minute.
I mean, just look.
I made these for a baby shower, and frankly I'm a little obsessed with them.
I'll be honest - they were a pain to make. Those crusts? Almost the end of me. And getting them out of the tins? Not particularly easy, either. But if you're looking for presentation, they can't be beat.
The recipe:
Crusts:
16-18 graham crackers, processed into fine crumbs
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted.
1/4 tsp ginger
pinch clove
Filling:
16oz cream cheese
1 egg
1/2 c. sugar
2 1/2 tb lemon zest
1 tb flour
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:
1 tb lemon zest
3 tb lemon curd
Fresh blueberries - preferably on the smaller side
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line mini cupcake tins (I used three tins w/ twelve cups each. They also have 24-cup ones, but it's easier to arrange three tins on one oven rack, or one tin in a mini convection oven, than dealing with two large sheets when you're not going to use half of the second one) with paper liners. Press about 1 tbsp of the crumb mixture into each cup, thick enough so that the cheesecake will have a bit of sturdiness to it, thin enough that it won't overwhelm each bit. Mine were probably about 1/6 inch thick. If the mixture has a hard time holding, add more butter. If it's too sticky, add more graham crumbs.
Bake crusts for 5 minutes. Since you're not using pie weights, go ahead and poke the crusts down if they've puffed up much.
Beat cream cheese, egg, flour, lemon zest, and vanilla together on medium speed. Spoon cream cheese mixture into a gallon-sized plastic bag. Press out air, seal the top, and snip off the corner (about 1/2 -3/4 inch cut). Pipe filling into cups, fill to just over tops of crusts. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, then chill for at least an hour.
Before serving, mix lemon curd with lemon zest within a sandwich baggie - squish to mix. Cut a smaller corner off the bag, then pipe the curd over each cheesecake. Top with blueberry.
To remove cheesecakes from tins, use a stiff piece of cardstock to lift the cheesecake. A glossy price tag works really well :-)
Can be made ahead and frozen without toppings.
The crust gives saltiness, the filling gives richness, the lemon curd gives a burst of lemon, and the blueberry? Sublime. Are they a pain? Yes - but worth every minute.
saltiness, richness and a burst of lemon? I'm sold. Those look delish!
ReplyDeleteYummo! I'll be right over.
ReplyDeleteWhy-oh-why did you make me take a second look? My mouth is watering and my Greek yogurt suddenly doesn't look so yummy. :)
ReplyDelete