Friday, November 14, 2014

Mini Cheese Cakes served at Membership Open House

Betsy Davis serving Cheese Cake Bites
Outstanding dessert and beautiful presentation, these are a special treat for company and family. If doubling the recipe, make it one batch at a time.
A recipe for cheesecake can be found on page 170 in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Lemon-Blueberry Cheesecake Bites
T= Tablespoon
t= teaspoon

Ingredients:
Crust:  
2 T sugar
½ stick butter, soft
¼ t ground cinnamon
9 graham crackers

Filling:
16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 lemons, the zest and juice (not Meyer lemons)
½ cup sugar
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream, to dollop on top

Directions Crust:
Preheat oven to 325 F.  Line two 24 count mini cupcake pans with foil cupcake liners and spray the inside with non-stick cooking spray. 
In the bowl of a food processor place the graham crackers, (broken up a bit) sugar, butter and cinnamon.  Pulse until combined and the mixture is the texture of sand.  Transfer the first recipe to a bowl and make the next batch of crust.  Then proceed below. 
Use a Tablespoon to measure and fill the prepared crust into each mini liner, pressing the mixture down with a small bottle; a Tabasco bottle is the perfect size, or you can use your fingers, too. 
Bake for about 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove crust from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool.  Make the second batch.

Directions Cheesecake Filling:
Place cream cheese, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar in the same food processor.
Process about 30 seconds to combine. Scrape down the inside of the bowl once with a small spatula and then pulse the ingredients again until smooth.  Scrape down the inside of the food processor again.
Use a small ice cream scoop to measure the batter into the cooled crust.  Fill each cupcake liner almost full, about ¼- inch from the top.  Smooth the top with a small offset spatula, spoon or butter knife. 
Bake for 15 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles; do not over bake!
Remove from oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 
Fill the second batch of prepared cheesecake crusts when they are in the cupcake tins; baking just like the first batch, for about 15 minutes.  Allow them to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack; allow to cool completely.
Transfer the cheesecakes to a container; cover; chill for at least 6 hours; even better if they can set up overnight. 
Just before serving, remove the paper from the cheesecake and top with a dollop of fresh sweetened whipped cream and place 1-3 blueberries on top. 

Makes about 48
Thanks to Chef Leslie Christiansen for recipe and detailed helpful hints.

Note: One small 6 oz container of blueberries has about 120 plus berries in it.