Thursday, February 7, 2013

Baked Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes

Anyone who has known me for more than a year knows that St.Valentine's Day and I have a love hate relationship. I'm a hopeless romantic. Yet The Man Up Stairs has a great sense of humor and has sent me disappointments on that day just about every year since I have been in love. Yes, I'm talking about you, ex-boyfriends. Just kidding. They never lasted till St.Valentine's Day.
I've only ever been wined and dined by my darling husband for St.Valentine's Day, seeing as we both met at 19. He's the sweetest man and always spoils me, and St.Valentine's Day is no exception. But what do you do when fate wants to put a damper on your romantic evening? Every year?
Like what if the waterfront restaurant you booked happens to float away down the river?
Or the dozens of Chinese lanterns you decked the veranda out with decide to only light up for half an hour?
The bouquet of chocolates you sent to his work didn't arrive at his work before he left?
These are just a few of the things that could go wrong on St.Valentine's Day, and for me they did. Yes, that restaurant literally drifted away down the river a few days before our booking. Ironically, the restaurant was called "Drift".
Anyway, from past experience I now know that I can't rely on anyone else to make St.Valentine's Day special--with the exception of my husband, he has planned the dinner and is cooking it himself, and I can't wait to see what he serves. As you might have guessed, I'm to create the dessert. So I've been trialing a few different recipes that would make lovely romantic St. Valentine's Day desserts. Here's one of them--baked mini red velvet cheesecakes with a chocolate crust bottom, topped with a swirl of whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa. Needless to say, I'm in love with these deliciously creamy morsels.




BAKED MINI RED VELVET CHEESECAKES

Base:
10 chocolate chip biscuits
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp butter, melted

Filling:
250g cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp red food colouring
1 egg
1/2 cup whipped cream to decorate
chocolate shavings to decorate if desired

 Preheat the oven to 180C.
Lightly great 20 mini muffin holes (I used a silicone mini muffin tray.)
In a food blender, place the broken biscuits and chop until they resemble fine bread crumbs. Transfer to a small bowl and add the cocoa powder and melted butter. Combine thoroughly, then divide the mixture between the 20 mini muffin holes. Press the mixture firmly into each hole using your fingers or the back of a spoon. Place in the refrigerator while preparing the cheesecake filling.
To make the filling, beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the sugar and cocoa and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla and red food colouring and beat until well combined. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Divide the cheesecake mixture evenly among the muffin holes  so that the cups are almost full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until centres are firm, and leave for 15 minutes to cool in the tray. The cheesecakes may sink a little.
Cover and refrigerate for an hour at least, before garnishing with whipped cream and chocolate, if desired.

Makes 20 mini cheesecakes



8 comments:

  1. Oh, they look beautiful Louise. Sorry I had to laugh at your 'Drift' experience (or lack thereof). Poor buggers, both you and the restauranteurs. I felt really sorry for them watching that go down the river. I really hope for a lovely Valentine's day for you and hubby. Would love to hear what he cooked.

    Anne xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, how does this recipe compare to your earlier one? I notice the recipe is a bit different.. which one would you recommend?

    Thanks! Anna

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi there anna, thanks for popping by! the initial recipe is the same, however I have changed the base, and this base is nicer than the previous recipe. enjoy!

      Delete
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