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Cherry Almond Mini Cheesecakes

I wanted to share with you my testing experience with these mini cheesecakes. I tried two ways to form these, as well as, two different chocolate drizzles. Read through to the end and see which style and flavor you might prefer.

Picture #1 A dark chocolate drizzle.

These were made using parchment strips in the muffin tins.

Recipe: Yields 24 mini cheesecakes

Crust:

1 cup organic almond meal or ground almonds

1/2 cup organic coconut sugar

1 cup organic whole wheat flour - chemical free

1/2 cup organic butter - melted

Filling:

3 packages (8oz. each) organic cream cheese

1 cup organic coconut sugar

3 pastured or organic eggs

4 tsp. organic almond extract

1 tbsp. organic allspice

2 tsp. organic vanilla extract

1 tbsp. organic cornstarch - Rapunzel or Let's Do Organic

16 oz. organic frozen dark sweet cherries

Note: I let them thaw in a bowl for several hours at room temperature

The parchment sheets I use are 12 1/2 inches long. So, I cut

them into 2 1/2 inch widths and then cut the lengths in half.

Place a strip over each muffin cup.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, add the crust ingredients and mix well

with a fork, until incorporated into a crumb mixture.

Divide between the 24 muffin cups and press onto the parchment

bottoms. Try to mold uniformly.

Bake for 5 minutes. Let cool as you make the filling.

Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees.

In a food processor, add the cream cheese and blend for about 2 minutes to smooth out some. Add the eggs, one at a time as you blend. Then add in the allspice, extracts, coconut sugar, and vanilla.

Using a rubber spatula, wipe sides and blend again, then add in the cornstarch and blend well.

Pour into the muffin cups, on top of the crust - about 3/4 full.

Bake for about 20 minutes. Remove and let cool for several hours.

Note: As these cool, they will indent in the centers, which works well

for adding the cherries and drizzle.

Chocolate drizzle:

1/4 cup organic butter 3/4 cup organic coconut sugar

2 tbsp. organic cacao powder 1 1/2 tbsp. organic extra virgin coconut oil dash organic vanilla

dollop or rounded tbsp. organic heavy cream 1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

In a small pan, add the butter and coconut oil to melt on low heat.

Then add coconut sugar and cacao, whisking well. In a couple of

minutes, when you can see the mixture is heated well enough, then add

in the heavy cream and keep whisking. Add in the cornstarch.

Cook for about a minute and then turn off heat. Add in the vanilla.

Let sit for about 5 - 10 minutes. Then whisk really well. This will

pull together and become like hot fudge and shiny.

The flavor is great!

Remove the cheesecakes carefully, by lifting the parchment strips.

Plate and place several cherries on top of each cheesecake.

Drizzle chocolate sauce over top and serve. Enjoy!

Picture #2 A cherry almond chocolate drizzle

These were made using muffin papers.

Recipe: Yields 24 mini cheesecakes

The crust, filling,cherries, and instructions for both are the same as the first recipe, except you will use muffin papers in the cups.

Drizzle:

juice from cherries - approx. 3/4 cup (this is from 32oz of cherries thawed)

2 tbsp. organic cacao powder

4 - 5 tbsp. organic coconut sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)

2 tsp. organic cornstarch + water for slurry

Place juice, cacao, and coconut sugar in a small sauce pot and heat over medium heat, whisking often. When hot, then add the cornstarch slurry,

whisking quickly. This will thicken some (not too thick).

Let cool some and then drizzle on the cheesecakes and serve. Enjoy!

Conclusion:

In the first recipe, the parchment paper makes an uneven appearance in the cheesecakes.

The drizzle is a deep chocolate flavor and to me, it overwhelmed the cherry and almond flavors.

Note: Some in my family like these better, as they enjoyed that dark chocolate flavor.

The second recipe produced a much more uniformed appearance with the muffin papers.

The cherry juice with the almond extract really added a wonderful flavor with a light touch of cacao in the drizzle.

I really liked the second recipe, as I reach for a medley of flavors that compliment one another, rather than having just one flavor ruling.

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