Thursday, February 9, 2012

Love

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Valentine's day is coming up and some women absolutely love this holiday and look forward to it.  Me on the other hand not so much.  This may come out cynical but I'm just being honest - it's rather a little over-rated.  What do you think? I personally don't think a day should be designated for the sole purpose of love.  I believe it should be everyday - whether you tell your parents, your friends, your children, your mentors, and of course your spouses.  Life is short as I have learned over the years and ones life can be taken away in a millisecond.  Therefore, telling someone who is important, someone very dear to your heart, that you love them whenever possible (even everyday) is truly paramount. 

With that said, I absolutely LOVE baking it has become my new passion in life. So I decided to create something that included my love for cheesecake.  Who doesn't love cheesecake?
I came up with creating bite size pieces to make it easier to eat and to give away and of course its prettier! 

The cheesecake I decide to create is a strawberry swirl cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. (Note: the strawberry swirl won't give the entire cake a powerful strawberry taste so if you're looking for a cake that has a predominant strawberry flavor this recipe is not it. Sorry!)  I decide to coat them with semi sweet chocolate so they look like truffles.  I topped them with mini hearts and put them in adorable pink & black mini liners.  I had some trouble with the chocolate and couldn't cover all of the bites, so I made some adjustments and left some of them as is. The cheesecake had the perfect tang and cheesiness to it with the right amount of strawberry. In the end, they all came out very pretty and I was happy with my results. I have to admit, this project was the most difficult.  It's very time consuming and very messy. (I had to make two batches) Chocolate can be difficult to work with, especially when it comes to dipping.  But if you have the tenacity and the patience I say go for it!

Celebrate this Valentine's day with this perfect bite size creation and I'm sure you'll receive lots of LOVE! xoxo




Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
(8 x 8 x 1 square pan - yields about 24 mini squares)

3 packages of 8oz cream cheese, softened
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups of sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups of finely ground graham crackers
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
2 cups of strawberry puree (recipe below)


1 box of Bakers semi sweet chocolate bar
2-3 tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil

Strawberry Puree
1 lb of fresh strawberries (you may use frozen ones if you want)
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of water
Put all of the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until smooth.  Using a fine strainer, strain the puree into a bowl so the seeds don't come through.  You should be able to get at least 2 cups of the puree and if you want you can still use some of the chunks.  The strainer is to just help take some of the seeds out. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 
Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl.  Once the butter is incorporated with the crumbs, pour it into a greased square pan.  Using a rubber spatula, press down the crumbs until its flat and even across the pan, making sure some of the crumbs go up the sides.  Place pan in the oven for 10 minutes or until the crust has turned light brown.  Set aside. 
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue to beat until no lumps are seen.  Add sour cream and mix until all combined.  Add egg one at a time and scrape down sides of bowl after each addition.  Beat until all ingredients are incorporated.  Add vanilla and mix until all combined. 
Pour a little of the batter into the pan until it covers the crust.  Spoon a little of the strawberry puree onto the batter and using a paring knife cut through the batter to give it a swirl effect.  Continue this process until the pan is filled to the top.  Place the pan on a cookie sheet and place it in the oven for an 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the edges are set.  It's okay if the center is still liquidy - it will set as it cools and after you refrigerate the cake.  Once done, place pan on a cooling rack, for at least a couple of hours.  Place in refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight if you can wait. 
Once cooled, take the cake out of the pan and cut the edges off.  Cut the cake evenly into 1" squares.

In a glass bowl, melt chocolate (8 oz squares) 3 at a time for about 30 seconds in the microwave.  Stir.  If the chocolate doesn't melt as you stir, put in microwave for 10 seconds. Add another square and repeat process until all of the squares are used.  Stir and add the oil and continue to stir.  Using a fork dip each square into chocolate, you may need another spoon to help coat the bites.  Once coated put them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper to set. Put them in freezer for a few minutes so they harden. 

Voila!

1 comment:

  1. YUM! Looks delish--and like a lot of work! Kudos! Can't wait til you come (or I come) to visit so I can partake in sugary delights ;)
    Xx

    ReplyDelete