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Cheesecakes: Preheat oven
to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line 12
-
2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups with
one - 2 inch (5 cm) wide x 6 inch (15 cm) long strip of parchment paper. (The
ends will hang over the sides of the cups to be used as handles to lift out the
baked cheesecakes.)
For Crust: In a small bowl
combine the chocolate crumbs with the melted butter.
Press a heaping tablespoon of crumbs on the bottoms of the 12 muffin cups lined
with parchment paper.
Refrigerate while you make the filling.
For Filling: In the bowl of your electric
mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese on low speed until smooth.
Add the sugar and beat until combined.
Scrape down
the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each
addition. Add the vanilla extract
and sour cream and beat just until incorporated. Remove the crusts from the
refrigerator and evenly divide the filling among the 12 muffin cups.
Bake for about 18 - 20 minutes or until firm
but the
centers of the cheesecakes still wobble a little. Remove from oven and place on a
wire rack. Let cool and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate
(a few hours or overnight).
Remove cheesecakes by first
running a sharp knife around the inside edge of the muffin cups to loosen the
cheesecakes. Then, taking hold of the two strips of parchment paper, carefully
lift each cheesecake from the muffin cups. Gently peel off the parchment paper
and then pipe a cobweb design on each cheesecake.
Chocolate Cobwebs: Melt the
chocolate and place in a parchment pastry cone or a small piping bag fitted with
a small plain tip (can also use a small plastic bag with a small hole cut from
one end). Taking one cheesecake at a time, pipe a cobweb
design by piping four straight lines to make an "asterisk" and then connecting
the lines by piping two circles, one circle around the outer edge of each
cheesecake and another circle halfway to the center of each cheesecake. Let the
chocolate harden and then cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Can serve with
strawberry or
raspberry sauce and/or fresh berries.
Makes 12 individual
cheesecakes.
References:
Mead, Matthew. Matthew Mead's Monster Book of Halloween.
Time Inc. New York: 2009.
Hoffman, Phyllis. Celebrate Halloween Magazine. Hoffman Media LLC.
Birmingham AL: 2009.
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