Cinnamon Mini Cheesecake with Roasted Strawberry Coulis

I am not a fan for cheesecakes. It is just too cheesy (wouldn't expect more, would you?). Nevertheless, I had to try my hands at Cheesecake; simply because my husband and kids love it.

This recipe is adapted from The Cookbook - My Kitchen Rules, made by Kelly and Ash, who were my favourites and hopefuls on My Kitchen Rules show (Aus 2011). A husband and wife, who simply made food that they loved to prepare and serve. Unfortunately, they had to leave half way through the show since Ash's eyesight suddenly started to deteriorate. I wonder where and how she is now. Hope that she is back in the kitchen with her eyesight fully restored, cooking and serving her lovely food to her family and friends.



Now back to the recipe; the roasted strawberry coulis is a gamble. It gave a different flavour to the cheesecake which I liked, my little one loved, my husband had mixed comments about and my elder one refused to taste. The cheesecakes, without the strawberry, can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving with freshly prepared roasted strawberry coulis.

The recipe makes 12 mini cheesecakes.

Serves: 12

Prep Time + Cooking Time : 1 hr and 15 minutes + cooling time

Ingredients

Gingernut Base

• 125g Gingernut Cookies
• 65g butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling

• 50g butter, softened
• 110g caster sugar
• 250g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 50 ml thickened cream
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 eggwhite

Roasted Strawberry Coulis

• 35g butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250g punnet strawberries, hulled, quartered
• 50g brown sugar

Method
1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 1/2 cup 12 hole muffin pan. Line each hole with 2 muffin paper cups.
2. Using a food processor, process biscuits until fine. Add butter and process until just combined. Evenly divide mixture among pan holes and press firmly over base. Cover and refrigerate until required.
3. To make the Cheesecake filling, process butter and sugar until light and creamy using an electric mixer. Add cream cheese, cream, egg yolks, honey and cinnamon and process until smooth. Add vanilla extract and flour and process until combined. Whisk eggwhite until small peaks form and then fold into the cheesecake filling mixture. Evenly spoon among pan holes prepared in Step 2. Bake for 30 minutes or until pale golden. Turn off oven and, with door ajar, allow cheesecakes to cool in oven for 15 minutes. Now take it out and allow to cool in pan. Remove muffin paper cups.
4. Preheat oven to 180°C. To prepare roasted strawberries, combine butter and vanilla extract. Toss with strawberries and brown sugar in a small baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until strawberries are softened. Set aside to cool. Now process until fine.
5. Arrange cheesecakes on serving plates. Spoon over roasted strawberry coulis. Decorate with toffee drops and serve.