White Chocolate Mini Cheesecake with a bubble wrap garnish 

METHOD:

For the Cheesecake Filling:

1. Melt the white chocolate in a small metal bowl set over a 1 or 2-quart saucepan of barely simmering water (bain-marie). Keep warm.
2. In a mixer bowl with a paddle, cream the sugar and the softened cream cheese thoroughly, scraping often.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla bean paste.
4. While mixing on low speed, add the melted chocolate, making sure to incorporate thoroughly. Scrape the bowl, as necessary. Strain the custard through a fine mesh strainer to achieve a smooth, silky filling.   Set this aside.

White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes with White Chocolate Fence Garnish 

For the Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C (For a convection oven, use 325°F/165°C)
2. Prepare the mini cheesecake pans by lightly spraying with pan spray and sprinkling in rice flour. Tap out the excess and set aside.
3. Using a food processor with a blade, place the rice flour, icing sugar, salt and baking powder.
4. With the food processor running, add the cold chunks of butter piece by piece and pulse on and off until coarse crumbs form.
5. Add the vanilla extract and the 3 tablespoons of whipping cream. Process until the mixture starts to come together into a ball. Press a small amount of dough into each of the wells of the mini cheesecake pan (alternatively, you can roll out the dough and cut out small disks of dough to fit the bottom of the mini cheesecake tins).
6. Chill the crust for 15 minutes. Prick (dock) the bottom of the crust with a fork. Pre-bake at 350°F for 8 – 10 minutes. The crust will be very light in colour, and will be set (not wet). Let the crusts cool slightly before adding the cheesecake custard.
7. Pour the prepared cheesecake filling into the mini cheesecake tins, filling them 3/4 of the way to the top.
8. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F (300°F for convection oven setting). Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of your mini cheesecake tins (Signs of doneness:  the mini cheesecakes will be slightly raised and set – if they are still wobbly, add a few minutes).
9. Cool the cheesecakes on the counter slightly and then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
10. Once the cheesecakes are thoroughly chilled, push the bottom of the removable upwards to lift the cheesecakes out of the well.  Remove the metal bottom disc and plate the cheesecake onto a decorative platter.  Garnish simply with a quartered strawberry or perfect blueberry.  Refrigerate any leftover cheesecakes.

TO STORE:

• Store the cheesecakes in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 3 days.  Garnish with fresh berries.
• The rice flour crust dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.
• For longer storage of the rice flour crust dough, wrap well, label and freeze for up to three months.  CHEF TIP:  I make quite a few of these mini cheesecakes so another make prepare ahead option is to roll out the dough and cut disks of dough the size of the cheesecake base.  I stack the disks together, wrap in plastic wrap, label, date and freeze the disks until I need them.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO WITH THIS RECIPE?

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE GARNISHES

I like to incorporate bonus tips and techniques or variations of my recipes in this section called “What Else Can I Do With This Recipe”. Let’s try making our own white chocolate garnishes.  They are super easy to do.  This technique was frequently used in the large hotel I worked at when we had 1500 desserts to garnish with very little time to fuss with them.  They are pretty little garnishes.

Bonus Technique # 1:  White Chocolate Fences or Spirals:  Melt 3 oz. of white chocolate over a bain-marie.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Dip a fork or spoon into the melted chocolate and make a zig-zag pattern in one direction and then repeat in the opposite direction to create a Fence garnish.  You can also try making Spirals instead of fences – drizzle a spiral of chocolate in a small circle and then drizzle across the spiral to achieve a sturdier garnish.  Refrigerate the garnishes to allow them to set and firm up. Remove the garnish carefully from the Silpat and place on the mini cheesecake.

Bonus Technique # 2:  White Chocolate Bubble Wrap Garnish:  Melt 3 oz. of white chocolate over a bain-marie.  Take a clean piece of bubble wrap.  Using an offset spatula, spread the melted white chocolate across the surface of the bubble wrap.  Refrigerate the garnishes to allow them to set and firm up.  Remove the garnish by pushing the garnish carefully from the bubble wrap.  Break apart in pieces and place a dainty bit of garnish on the mini cheesecake.  Garnish with a fresh berry.

Have fun trying these White Chocolate Dessert Garnishes!

LEARNING TIPS:  

Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

• Bain Marie
• Oven Temperature Accuracy
• Straining
• Preparing the Pans
• Vanilla Extract
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Other Urb’n’Spice Recipes that you might enjoy:

Lavender Rose Mini Cheesecakes

Milk Chocolate Torte with Almond Praline Crust

Gluten-Free Tips and Techniques

UrbnSpice Books

Chocolate Cookbook Series by Urbnspice

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