Individual Cheesecakes in Muffin Cups - Easy and Fun! Perfect for Shavuot!

These individual cheesecakes are just so cute.  My daughter used to make these when she was abut eight years old. They are easy to make and also delicious.  The basic cheesecake recipe is used.  However, instead of a crust, you just pop one Nabisco Nilla Wafer in the bottom of a cupcake liner and bake in a muffin/cupcake pan.  Just before serving top each cheese cake with the fruit of your choice (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwi, or mandarin orange sections), lemon curd, canned pie filling, etc. 


Guaranteed to disappear!

Ingredients:

Cheesecake batter:

1 cup  sugar

3 pkg.  (8 oz. each)  **Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup  good quality Sour Cream or thick Greek Style Yoghurt

2 tsp.  vanilla or 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon Almond extract/essence
Juice of one lemon

3 eggs, beaten

Crust:

1 Nabisco Nilla Wafer per cupcake paper

Topping:

Choose one or a few!
Fresh Fruit - strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peeled and sliced kiwi etc.
Canned pie filling - cherry, blueberry, strawberry, etc
Lemon Curd

Additional supplies:

Cupcake or Muffin tins
Cupcake/Muffin paper liners

Method:

Preheat oven to 350°F/175ºC

Crust:

Place paper cupcake liners into cupcake/muffin tins
Place one Nabisco Nilla Wafer into the bottom of each liner

Filling:

In a mixing bowl or food processor beat SOFTENED cream cheese and remaining sugar until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla or vanilla/almond combination.  Add juice of one lemon. Mix well. Add beaten eggs, and mix until blended.

Using a cup with a spout (for ease) pour filling into each cupcake liner - 2/3 full.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until almost set.  You may want to check them after 15 minutes - if they seem to be done, remove the muffin tin to a cooling rack.  Cool 5 minutes and then carefully removed each individual cheesecake to a rack to continue cooling.  Once completely cool, cover and refrigerate.

Just before serving, top with your choice of fruit or filling. (Leave the cupcake liners on - easier to eat) 

Enjoy!

K (D)
These mini cheesecakes can also be made Kosher for Pesach if you omit the Nilla Wafer crust.

New York Style Cheesecake - Baked

This is an easy and foolproof recipe for New York style cheesecake as long as you follow the directions.


Do you have a dairy springform pan?  If not, you should get one.  They are indispensable - Dairy tortes and dairy desserts (such as Chocolate Mousse Pie) can be made using the same pan.

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups  Graham Cracker Crumbs or other crisp, plain cookie crumbs

1/3 cup  butter, melted

1-1/4 cups  sugar, divided

3 pkg.  (8 oz. each)  **Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup  good quality Sour Cream

2 tsp.  vanilla or 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon Almond extract/essence
Juice of one lemon

3 eggs, beaten

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F/175ºC

Crust:

Mix together graham or cookie crumbs, butter, and 1/4 cup sugar; press onto bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.  Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 minutes and then remove to a rack to cool completely. 

Filling:

In a mixing bowl or food processor beat SOFTENED cream cheese and remaining sugar until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla or vanilla/almond combination.  Add juice of one lemon. Mix well. Add beaten eggs, and mix until blended.

Pour into cooled crust and then bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 min. or until centre is almost set.
Turn off the oven but leave cheesecake inside oven with door held open for one hour (use a tea towel to help keep it ajar if necessary) before removing to cool completely on a rack.  If a crack appears in the centre of the cheese cake when cooling do not worry - this happens more often than not.

Refrigerate cheesecake 4 hours minimum before serving.

Toppings: 

My daughter loves raspberry sauce on her cheesecake.  I often just melt a good quality seedless raspberry jam in a pan, adding a bit of water, until it is the consistency of a sauce.  Drizzle on plate before serving cheese cake and drizzle a bit of the sauce on the top. 

Lemon curd can also be spread on top of the chilled cheesecake before serving.  If you prefer strawberries, sliced fresh strawberries would be nice or a sauce made from strained and thinned strawberry jam would be lovely. Blueberry is good but will turn the top of the cheesecake a blackish colour - best to serve as a drizzle on the plate and on top on individual servings. 

To serve:  When cutting creamy-textured desserts, such as cheesecake, it helps to have a thin sharp knife and to chill it ahead of time.  Carefully wipe off the knife blade between cuts with a clean damp towel. This prevents the creamy filling from building up on the blade, ensuring nice clean cuts.
 
**I use Neufchatel Cheese - it is a lower fat version of cream cheese but the results will be the same.

Recipe makes 16-20 servings - depending on the appetites of your guests
This cheesecake can be make Kosher for Pesach if the crust is omitted.

K (D)

Shredded Zucchini Cutlets with Yoghurt Dill Sauce - Quick and Easy and Great for Passover!

We had an abundance of zucchini this year in the garden.  We made many dishes featuring zucchini and we also froze packages of 2 cups either shredded or sliced and blanched zucchini.  For this recipe, we have used both fresh and frozen shredded zucchini.  When using frozen, you will notice, once thawed, there will appear to be a lot of liquid in the bag.  Do not discard this liquid as it came from the zucchini and contains nutrients.  The Yoghurt Dill sauce really tastes delicious with these cutlets. 

If you use potato starch and check all ingredients carefully this recipe will be perfect for Passover.

I mixed these up last night and my daughter cooked them and made the sauce.  So easy.

Ingredients:

2 cups grated zucchini - fresh or frozen and thawed (If using frozen, squeeze excess liquid once thawed)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup onion, chopped fine
1 Jalapeño, finely chopped  (This is optional but so good - vary amount according to your taste)
A few tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley and green onion - for colour
1/2 cup grated Parmesean cheese
1/2 cup grated cheese - I used a mix of Jack and Cheddar.  Any good cheese you have on hand is fine
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 cup instant mashed potatoes or 1/2 cup potato starch  (1/2 cup flour may be used but they come out so   much lighter with instant mashed potatoes or potato starch)
2 Tbsp olive or other vegetable oil - for frying

Yoghurt Dill Sauce

1/2 cup plain yoghurt - we use homemade or Greek-style yoghurt - whole cream, 2% or non-fat
2 Tbsp dried dill weed or 1/8 cup finely chopped dill fresh dill weed (or chopped mint if you have)
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice (lemon juice can be substituted if you do not have lime)
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper

Mix ingredients for Yoghurt Dill Sauce. Refrigerate for a minimum of 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning

Method:

Add all ingredients to a medium, except for the oil, and mix well with a fork or spoon.
Heat a skillet to medium and add oil.
Use a measuring cup (1/4 cup) or dairy ice cream scoop to obtain evenly sized portions.  Shape into balls and then flatten and firm with hands. 
Add patties to skillet and fry for 5 minutes on each side or until brown and crispy. Only turn once so make sure they are brown before you flip them.

Transfer to a plate and keep warm as you fry the patties.  When ready to serve, top with a decorative sprinkle of extra Parmesean cheese and serve with yoghurt dill sauce.

K (D)
Kosher for Pesach!!!