mini white chocolate cheesecakes

i can't tell how sorry i am for leaving this blog (again). to be honest, i fell into a baking blue recently. i really miss my foodie-blogger friends especially these blogs: Bonita's Cooking and Bento Wonderland, Mlebu Pawon, Tengo Un Horno y Se Como Usarlo (i love her new blog design by the way!), Kitchen Notes, etc. so sorry i can't visit all of you lately.. and when i opened my dashboard today, i missed lots of their wonderful craft! too bad, i started to think that maybe my unfrequent visits and updates will be quite permanent as my college is really getting its serious business now. perhaps i could only post 3 items per month now.. huhu.

anyhow, today i got my mood back. i tried a new cheesecake recipe, this time with white chocolate. i've always been curious with baked cheesecake, i haven't found a perfect recipe to match the one i'm looking for but this one is almost perfect. people around me said 'this is marvelous!' 'this is uber delicious!' and i think this is delicious with a little hint of unique. this is so far the best cheesecake recipe i've found.

if i refer to the original recipe, this mini cheesecake should be just plain without any topping or garnishes. but i did a little beautiful touch to compensate the wonderful taste of it by adding piped whipped cream with a blueberry and cranberry, so everybody could be more tempted to give it a bite. i got this recipe from 'The Big Book of Chocolate' by Jennifer Donovan. personally, i don't really like the ratio of sugar in most of their recipes, i always find it too sweet for my liking or anyone around me. however, feel free to adjust it by yourself..

Mini White Chocolate Cheesecakes
modified from 'The Big Book of Chocolates'
serves 6 - 7 mini cheesecakes

for the crumb crust:
125 gr digestive biscuits
1 tbsp cocoa powder
35 gr butter, melted

direction:

• break up the biscuits roughly with your hands and then pulse them in a food processor until they are fine crumbs. add the cocoa and melted butter, and pulse until the mixture is well combined.

for the cheesecake:
butter, for greasing
200 gr cream cheese, softened
5 tbsp caster sugar (reduced to 3 tbsp by me)
1 egg, lightly beaten
125 gr white chocolate, melted and left to cool
100 ml double cream

direction:

1. preheat the oven to 180 degree C/ 350 degree F. grease 6 holes of a large muffin tin with butter and line each with a strip of baking paper, extending it up the sides. divide the crumb crust mixture evenly between the holes and press down firmly to form the cheesecake bases.
2. in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy, using an electric hand mixer, then beat in the egg. stir in the melted chocolate and cream, using a wooden spoon, then divide the mixture between the holes.
3. bake in the hot oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheesecakes are just set and beginning to brown. remove from the oven and leave in the tin to cool for 15 minutes.
4. remove the cheesecakes from the tin, using the strips of baking paper to help you, transfer to individual plates and leave to cool completely. chill for 1 hour before serving.

enough for this post.. i'll come back with other stories and recipes hopefully sooner than i think it would be.

have a nice day people, thanks for reading! :)