Don’t let their somewhat underwhelming appearance fool you – these rich, intensely chocolatey, mini cheesecakes really are heavenly!
MAKES 12 LITTLE CAKES
* Gluten free
Serve them at room temperature, when they are beautifully soft, with a spoonful of cream in their sunken little tops, or a smattering of sharp, fresh raspberries (or both!), and thank me later. Creamy and decadent, they are just as a cheesecake ought to be.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 210°C fan-forced and line two 6-hole large muffin tins (with 180 ml capacity holes) with paper muffin wrappers. You need the tulip-shaped wrappers that extend up above the top of the tins (or make your own using squares of baking paper), as the cheesecakes will rise quite a bit while cooking.
- Place the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix until smooth.
- Add the warm melted chocolate and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the sugar, salt, and vanilla, mixing again until smooth.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the side of the bowl after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, mix the sour cream until smooth.
Sift in the cocoa and cornflour and mix again until smooth. Add this to the cream cheese and chocolate mixture and mix on low speed, scraping down the side of the bowl once or twice, until smooth. - Strain the batter through a sieve into a large jug, discarding any lumps, then divide evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Tap the tins gently on the bench a few times to remove any large air bubbles.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10–14 minutes or until the surfaces of the cakes are set and starting to crack, but they are still wobbly in the middle.
They cook further as they cool, and it’s better to err on the side of undercooked rather than overcooked with such small cakes. - Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature in the tins before serving, or place in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight to chill. Dust with extra cocoa just before serving, if you like. Return to room temperature before serving if you like a creamy, soft cheesecake, or serve cold, straight from the fridge, if you prefer something a little more dense.
STORE & SHARE
These rich little cakes can be prepared the day before you want to serve them as they keep very happily in the fridge for a day or two.
This recipe was originally published in the article A Taste of Sunshine in Issue 52 – Between Thought & Feeling.
