I can't say no to cheesecake. It's not possible.
This summer I've finally had time to really look through my cookbooks and relax a little, and I found this fantastic recipe for little mocha cheesecakes that you make in a muffin tin. They give you a perfect amount of luscious cake without having to commit to a whole cake, they are easily shared with friends, or perfect to take to a family barbeque.
On the other hand, you can hoard them all to yourself and sneak one or two late at night when nobody is looking. (Did I just say that?)
Adapted from Whitewater Cooks with Friends
Ingredients:
1/2 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp cinnamon
One 250 g package brick cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp sour cream
1 egg, room temperature
2 oz good quality dark chocolate, melted
1 tsp dark coffee, very finely ground. I used some Ethical Bean coffee
1 Tbsp vanilla (or try 2 Tbsp of Baileys or Kaluah)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup whipped cream mixed with 1 Tbsp unsweetened, sifted cocoa powder and a bit of sugar
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 325 F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs, almonds, sugar, and cinnamon. Drizzle the butter over top and stir together well. Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin cups, and press the mixture firmly into the bottom. Set aside.
Using your electric mixer, beat the sugar and cream cheese together until smooth. Add in the egg, sour cream, melted chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and salt. Mix it all together well until it's smooth. You'll have to stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl once or twice to make sure all the bits are incorporated.
Spoon the filling into the pan, smoothing it with the back of a spoon. Bake for 15 minutes. You'll notice the cheesecakes will puff a teeny bit and fall, but don't worry. They also won't look completely baked but they are. Just remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for about 30 minutes.
Peel off the liners and set the teeny cakes in a sealed container in your fridge to chill. You could eat them at room temperature, and many people do, but I love them cold. They taste better, and when allowed to sit for a day, these cakes go from good to amazing. I think it's because the bits of ground coffee become soft and supple, whereas when you eat them right away they still taste a little gritty. Either way, I recommend making these the day before you're going to eat them.
Just before you serve these babies, whip up the whipping cream with a bit of sugar (depending on how sweet you like it), and the cocoa. Dollop some on top of each cake, and to make them look pretty you can sift a little more cocoa right over top. A chocolate covered coffee bean on top of each would be a fantastic touch as well.
Try not to eat them all at once. This may take fantastic will power.
Makes 12 teeny cakes!
Want more teeny cheesecakes? Try these chocolate cherry ones I wrote up for Work It, Mom! Need a whole cheesecake? This recipe is my go to and is amazing.
