Cooks Joy

Valentines Day is around the corner and hope all of you have sweet plans. Cheesecake had been on my list for a long time since the family loves cream cheese. So, these mini cheesecakes caught my attention immediately. It hardly took time to put together and was so tasty.

It was soft and melted in the mouth and reminded me of the Indian dessert Basundi. The strands of carrot added more texture and overall I was blown away with my first cheesecake experience. I was worried if the crust would hold up, but I had no issues with it. The only part that required patience was the removal of the cheesecake from the pan. Even with greasing, I had to slowly loosen the edges and lift it out carefully. It was well worth the effort. Recipe from Costco cooking book. Off to the recipe.

Just another view.

Mini Carrot Cheesecakes

By Vardhini, February 13, 2013

Tasty bite size carrot cheesecakes.

Total Time: 01h 02min
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook time: 22 minutes
Yield: 24 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients:

For Crust
graham cracker crumbs - 1/2 cup - I crushed about 4 full size crackers)
butter - 3 tbsp - melted
sugar - 1.5 tbsp
carrots - 2 tbsp - finely grated
For Filling
sugar - 1/2 cup
eggs - 1
ginger - 1/4 tsp - ground
vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
cream cheese - 8 oz package - softened
carrots - 1/2 cup - grated

Instructions:

Crush graham crackers with a rolling pin to make crumbs. Mix the ingredients for crust in a bowl. Grease a mini muffin pan and drop a tsp of the crust into each cup. Press with fingers to form the crust.

Next, beat sugar, egg, ginger, vanilla extract and cream cheese until combined and creamy. Fold in carrots. Pour evenly (about 2 tsp per cup) over the crust and bake in a preheated 350F oven for 18 - 22 minutes until a tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool slightly and cover loosely with wax paper. Refrigerate in the pan for around 2 - 8 hours and then remove gently. Top with frosting if needed.

My Notes
1. The recipe called for baking for 15 min, but I had to bake for 22 min to pass the tooth pick test.
2. Cooling allows the cake to set nicely.

1 year ago: Healthy Masala Vadai

Pictorial
1. Take the graham crackers in a ziploc bag and close the bag.

2. Crush using a rolling pin.

3. Graham cracker crumbs ready.

4. For the crust, take crumbs, butter, sugar and carrots.

5. Mix and keep aside.

6. Grease a mini muffin pan.

7. Drop a tsp of the crust into each cup.

8. Press with fingers to flatten the crust.

9. For filling, take sugar, egg, ginger and vanilla extract.

10. Add cream cheese.

11. Start mixing.

12. Beat until the mixture is creamy and combined.

13. Add carrots.

14. Fold it in using the spatula.

15. Pour the batter evenly over the crust. It took about 2 tsp of batter per cup. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 18 - 22 minutes until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.