Mango Cheesecakes with Mango Glee

Well Valentine's day is around the corner and you will be having that uncanny feeling to do something nice and romantic to conquer your man. And what better way than food or to be more precise desserts. I have been getting a few requests to share dessert ideas that have no chocolate in them. Well not my kind but I liked the idea. Valentine's day is all about chocolates but this year I thought of taking the road less traveled and in comes mango. These mango mini cheesecakes are the perfect end to your valentines day dinner and what is great about them is that these are make ahead desserts. Grab one and share it between your love and all is well in the world.

This recipe doesn't make too much of cheesecake which is fine for us but if you are feeding a large crowd then triple the recipe and bake in a 8 inch or 9 inch springform pan. Also if are a fan of portion control then make them into cupcakes. All you need to do is reduce the baking time to 18-22 mins.

Prep time: 15 mins; Cook time: 25 mins; Makes: 3 mini cheesecakes ~*What U Need*~ Graham cracker crumbs - 3/4 cups Unsalted butter - 3 tbsp, melted For the filling: Mango puree - 1 1/4 cup Cream cheese - 8 oz, room temperature Sugar - 1/4 cup Sour cream - 1/4 cup Lemon juice - 1 tsp Egg - 1 All purpose flour - 2 tbsp For the Mango glee Mango puree - 1/2 cup Lemon juice - 1 tsp Water - 3 tbsp Gelatin powder - 1 tsp How I Made it: Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl add melted butter and crumbs and stir until evenly moistened. Press the crumb mixture firmly onto the cheesecake pans. Bake for 6-8 mins or until golden brown. Cool completely. For filling: Lower the oven temperature to 300F. Beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar , salt, and lime juice in large bowl until smooth. Add egg and beat well. Add flour and combine. Add the mango puree and beat until well blended. Pour evenly into the springform pans. Bake for 30-35 mins. The edges will be set but the center might have a slight jiggle. Cool completely. Sprinkle gelatin over the water and allow to bloom for 5 mins. Add mango puree, lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to boil. Once it starts boiling add gelatin and combine very well. Set aside for cooling for about 15 minutes. Then gradually add glee over the cooled mango cheese cake. Refrigerate uncovered overnight.

Serve chilled!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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New York Style Cheesecake

Baking a perfect New york style cheesecake has always been in my to do list. I love cheesecakes and the pumpkin pie cheesecake from Starbucks is a must have whenever I visit the place. There is something about cheesecakes that makes me crave for another bite. New york style cheesecakes are known for it denseness and richness. It is not difficult to make a cheesecake but it is difficult to make one without a cracked surface. Temperature plays a major role in getting that perfect cheesecake. You will be baking at a very low temperature till the batter sets with a slight jiggle. Perfect on its own, cheesecake can also be served with a sour cream topping or berries of choice. Most of the recipes that I came across uses 4 cream cheese packages which sounded too much for us and so I scaled down the recipe to suit our needs.

~*What U Need*~ Graham cracker crumbs - 3/4 cup Melted butter - 3 tbsp Sugar - 1 tbsp For the filling: All purpose flour - 2 tbsp Sour cream - 1/2 cup Vanilla extract - 1/2 tbsp Cream cheese - 2(8 ounce) packages White sugar - 1/2 - 3/4 cup Whole milk - 1/3 cup Eggs - 2 Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp Lemon zest - 1/2 tsp Orange zest - 1/2 tsp How I Made it: Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 8-inch springform pan. Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture into the bottom and about 1/2-inch up the sides of the springform pan. Beat cream cheese till smooth. Add the sugar and whisk well. Add eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Beat in the flour, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Stir in the milk. Stir in lemon zest, and orange zest and whisk until just incorporated. Pour mixture into prepared springform pan. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges have nicely puffed and the surface of the cheesecake is firm except for a small spot in the center that will jiggle when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour. When the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. This prevents any cracks from forming on the top of the cheesecake. Cool completely and refrigerate overnight.

Slice and serve.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Peanut Butter Cup Pretzel Base Mini Cheesecakes

22nd is way past and I still haven't put up this month's monthly birthday bake. It has been pretty hectic ever since we have been back from the SFO vacation and I have been running around like a headless chicken with shopping, cooking and more cooking over the weekend. Moreover, we came back from the trip on the 22nd and so I postponed baking and we kept it simple by buying a cake.

Since it was pappus 18th month birthday, I had bigger plans this time like making a layered mini-cake or doing something different. But then we booked tickets for the vacation and every single thought went straight into the drain. Finally after all the hoopla had settled, I started giving it a second thought. When I was breaking my head on what to bake, the cream cheese package that I had bought long back just because it was on a sale struck a bulb and I started searching for cheesecake recipes. Also I had an entire package of salty low calorie pretzel sticks which I had again bought on a 1$ sale that needed to be used up ASAP.

Peanut butter is my huss's favorite and so I knew that a peanut butter cup cheesecake would be a winner with him. Thus born the idea of a salty pretzel base cheesecake filled with peanut butter and chopped peanut butter cups. I sat down to google for measurements and came across this recipe from Sally's baking addiction which had everything that was in my mind. I had used up 1 oz of the cream cheese for sandwich spread and so I compensated that by using a full egg. But if you are using a full 8 oz then use one egg yolk.

Adapted from SallyBakingAddiction Prep time: 15 mins; Baking time: 30 mins; Makes - 6-7 medium sized ~*What U Need*~ For the pretzel crust Pretzel crumbs - 3/4 cup Sugar - 1 tbsp Butter - 3 tbsp, melted For the filling Cream cheese - 7or8 oz pkg Egg - 1 small Granulated sugar - 2 tbsp Peanut butter - 1/4 cup(I used creamy) Vanilla extract - 1 tsp Reese's Peanut butter cups - 5, regular, chopped For the chocolate drizzle Chocolate chips - a handful Peanut butter - 1 tbsp How I Made it: Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin pan with butter or line with paper liners. In a food processor, pulse 1 1/2 cups of salty pretzels into a fine crumb. Melt the butter. Combine pretzel crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together in a medium sized bowl. Press evenly into the muffin pan. Bake for 10-12 mins or till lightly golden brown. Allow to cool. Meanwhile make the filling. Whisk together cream cheese, egg, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. Chop the peanut butter cups. Fold in the chopped peanut butter cups and drop equal amounts into the muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 mins or until not wobbly and the edges are slightly browned. Place in refrigerator and allow to completely cool overnight. Melt the peanut butter and chocolate chips together in a double boiler and drizzle over the cups.

Serve cool with peanut butter chocolate drizzle!!!

** My Notes:
** Do not overbeat the filling cos this will result in the filling rising when baking which will lead to cracks.
** Overbeating will also result in sunken centers.
** I used an electric mixer and beat the hell out of it and it is evident in the result. And then I sat to browse for the reason and it was mainly because of overbeating.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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