Mini White Chocolate-Raspberry Cheesecakes

My brother is getting married to a fabulous girl, Cami, next month. My sisters, my mom and I threw a bridal shower for her last weekend. Cami isn't much of a dessert fan, but she does love cheesecake. I knew I needed to make some kind of cheesecake for the shower. I wanted it to be cute and bite-sized, and I wanted to incorporate raspberries (my favorite). I adapted my favorite cheesecake recipe from Kraft Foods and came up with this delicious and beautiful dessert. It was the hit of the party, and everyone loved it. I hope you will too.

Mini White Chocolate-Raspberry Cheesecakes
Makes 24 mini cheesecakes

3/4 cup vanilla wafers, finely crushed
2 Tb. butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream
1 large egg
2 Tb. white chocolate, melted and cooled
1/4 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen and thawed
1 Tb. sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners. Mix vanilla wafers and melted butter, and divide evenly between liners (about 1/2 Tb. or 1-1/2 tsp. each). Press crust down lightly with fingertips.
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar in medium bowl with electric mixer until well blended. Add vanilla and sour cream and beat until blended. Add egg and mix on low speed until just blended, scraping sides of bowl to mix completely. Divide cream cheese filling evenly between muffin cups (about 1 - 1 1/2 Tb. per cup).
3. Blend raspberries with mini chopper or immersion blender until completely blended. Press through fine mesh strainer to remove seeds, and mix with sugar. Dot each cheesecake with a couple of drops of the raspberry puree, then swirl carefully with a toothpick.
4. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until just barely set. Let stand at room temperature until completely cool, about 30 minutes, then move to refrigerator and chill for at least 6 hours. Serve with fresh raspberries.

Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake

Last year at work we had a dessert contest, and this was the winning recipe. Corey's favorite flavors of dessert are lemon and raspberry, so I thought I would make this for him for Valentine's Day. He absolutely loved it, and I think you will too. I preferred mine topped with fresh raspberries or strawberries instead of the sauce (I thought it was a bit too lemony with the sauce and the lemon in the cheesecake) but Corey loved it with the sauce. Enjoy!


Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake

Crust

1 cup vanilla wafer cookie crumbs

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Filling

3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese softened

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 - 3 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 large eggs

1 large egg white

Topping

3/4 cup super

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 egg yolk, beaten

fresh raspberries

Crust: Mix crumbs, sugar and butter: press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan (sprayed lightly with baking spray). Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling: Mix cream cheese, sugar, flour, juice, zest and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add 3 eggs and egg white, mixing on low speed just until blended. Pour over crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until center is almost set (but still a little jiggly). Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Topping: Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan; gradually stir in water and juice. Bring mixture to a low boil on medium heat, stirring constantly until clear and thickened. Stir 2 tablespoons of the hot mixture into egg yolks; then slowly mix the egg mixture into the sauce. Cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring constantly. Cool slightly. Stir in raspberries Spoon topping over cheesecake just before serving. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Creamy Nutella Frosting

I love Nutella. On crepes. In pie. On sandwiches. In brownies. And now, in this frosting. It is completely amazing. I frosted some devil's food cupcakes with this frosting and topped it with fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings, and oh man, it was completely amazing. Trust me, if you like Nutella, try this. It is amazing.

Creamy Nutella Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Nutella
5 Tb. butter, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

1. Beat Nutella, butter, vanilla, salt, and sugar in electric mixer on medium-low speedy until creamy and well combined.
2. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth. Use to frost a 9 x 13 cake or 18 - 24 cupcakes.

Fresh Fruit Tart

Can you believe I've been holding out on you like this? I made these tarts two weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to sharing the recipe with you! I'm so sorry and hope that someday you'll forgive me. These turned out gorgeous and delicious, a perfect way to use up the fresh fruit that has been on sale here lately.



Fresh Berry Tart

Tart crust, enough for one 10" tart pan (I used this recipe, see notes below)
1 pkg. (4 serving size) instant sugar-free vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla
3 Tb. granulated sugar
2 - 3 cups fresh fruit, washed and sliced (such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries)
1 pkg. raspberry flavored Danish Dessert mix
1 1/2 cups cold water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Cook tart crust in 10" fluted tart pan with removable bottom according to recipe directions. Cool completely.
2. Prepare Danish Dessert according to package directions, substituting 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups cold water in place of the water. Cool completely and set aside.
3. In bowl of stand mixer, whip cream, vanilla, and sugar until stiff peaks form.
4. In medium bowl, mix pudding mix and milk. Fold in half of the whipped cream. Spread pudding/cream mixture into bottom of tart shell. Spread a very thin layer of Danish Dessert over the top of the pudding mixture. Arrange berries on top of Danish Dessert, and top with another thin layer of Danish Dessert.
5. Melt chocolate chips in small bowl in microwave for 30 seconds, stir until completely melted, returning to microwave for 30 more seconds if needed. Put in a small ziploc bag, cut off a very small piece on the corner. Drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the tart. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 24 hours. Garnish with remaining whipped cream.

Note: I used Dorie Greenspan's "Great Unshrinkable Sweet Tart Shell" recipe...but I did it the lazy man's way, meaning I didn't freeze it in between steps. It shrunk a little, but still turned out delicious in less than half the time.


I also made some mini tarts with the same method, minus the Danish Dessert, and they were delicious as well.

Raspberry Chocolate Souffles

Tonight I decided I wanted to make something special for Valentine's Day, so I thought I would whipped this up. It is adapted from the cover picture on the book The Art & Soul of Baking. I've been eying the recipe since Christmas and I was glad to finally have an excuse to make it. I was certainly not disappointed; it was great, and a fun, festive dessert and I'd definitely recommend it. Did I mention it was super easy?

Raspberry Chocolate Souffles
Makes 2 souffles

2 dark chocolate dove promises, finely chopped
2 tsp. heavy whipping cream
3 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed
1/2 tsp. plus 1 1/2 Tb. sugar divided
1/8 tsp. pure almond extract
1 large egg white
fresh whipping cream, for garnish
fresh raspberries, for garnish
butter and sugar, for greasing ramekins.

1. Melt chopped chocolate and whipping cream in microwave on high for 25 seconds. Stir well until completely melted. Move to freezer for 15 - 30 minutes or until firm. Form into 2 small balls
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter and sugar 2 small ramekins.
3. Puree raspberries (including juices) in mini chopper for 30 seconds, until pureed. Push puree through small strainer over small bowl. Press well against strainer with spoon to ensure that all juice makes it through the strainer. Discard seeds. Stir 1/2 tsp. sugar and almond extract into berry puree.
4. Whip egg white in small bowl with hand mixer until peaks begin to form. Slowly add remaining sugar and beat until very stiff peaks form.
5. Fold a small amount (about 1/4 cup) of egg mixture into raspberry puree until completely mixed. Add raspberry mixture to remaining egg whites and fold until no more white streaks are visible.
6. Place a quarter of the souffle mixture in each ramekin. Top with one truffle each. Divide remaining souffle mixture between the two ramekins. Level with a flat spatula.
7. Bake for 13 - 16 minutes, until souffle rises above rim, top is browned, and center is firm to the touch. Serve immediately with fresh whipped cream and fresh raspberries.

Fresh Peach Cobbler

I remember making this with my mom when I was younger. The smell is AMAZING and it tastes even better. It's perfect for breakfast (warmed up in the microwave) on a chilly fall or winter day, and makes a great dessert when you add vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. This is a classic Betty Crocker recipe, and I've never tasted another cobbler that I like quite as much. This time I made peach-raspberry cobbler with fresh peaches from my dad's orchard (aka his backyard full of fruit trees) and fresh raspberries from my in-law's garden. I also used Splenda instead of sugar and it turned out fabulous! Enjoy!

Peach Cobbler a la Betty Crocker

1/2 cup sugar or Splenda
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 cups sliced fresh peaches (6 medium) or 1 large can peaches (with juice)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons shortening
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar or Splenda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup fresh raspberries (optional)

1. Heat oven to 400º.
2. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch and cinnamon in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in peaches (and raspberries if desired) and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole; keep peach mixture hot in oven.
3. Cut shortening into flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, the baking powder and salt in medium bowl, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture look like fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto hot peach mixture.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream if desired (and it's totally recommended, even for breakfast. Cobbler is just never as good without a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream).

Raspberry Spinach Salad

This was an experimental salad that turned out fantastic. It's one of those meals where you can mix and match ingredients depending on what you have. Here is the basic recipe:

4 cups fresh spinach, washed and dried

1 can mandarin oranges, drained

3 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

1 cup fresh raspberries, sliced

1/2 cup sugar snap peas, sliced in half diagonally

1-2 cups grilled chicken breast, sliced or cubed (optional)

dressing of your choice to taste (raspberry vinagerette, poppy seed, or citrus vinagerettes are good)

Toss all ingredients together and serve. You can also substitute fresh oranges for the mandarin oranges, thinly sliced red onions (soaked in cold water to lessen the strong taste) for the scallions, add a handful of toasted nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds are good), or omit the peas if desired. It makes a great main dish or omit the chicken for a side dish. Enjoy!

Berry Berry Cobbler

This is a great and easy recipe. It's usually made in a dutch oven, but it can also be made in the oven and turns out great!

1 pkg. (12-16 oz.) frozen blackberries
1 pkg. (12-16 oz.) frozen raspberries
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 can (12 oz.) sprite

Preheat oven t 375 degrees. Mix berries and pour in bottom of 9 x 13 pan. Mix dry cake mix and sprite and spread evenly over berries. Cover with tin foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 - 15 more minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.