Cheesecake – Brownie Mischief

Triple Berry Crumble Cheesecake Bars

A creamy cheesecake filling on a graham cracker base, topped with berries and a generous crumb topping. Served with raspberry sauce.

Course Dessert

Servings 9 servings

Ingredients

Berries

2 cups (284-312g) assorted berries I used 1 cup (142g) blackberries, 1/2 cup (78g) blueberries and 1/2 cup (71g) raspberries
1 tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Crumb Topping

1 cup (128g) all purpose flour
⅓ cup (66g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (38g) packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons (85g) cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Graham Cracker Crust

1 ½ cups (170g) graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons (85g) melted butter

Filling

16 ounces (454g) cream cheese, softened
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 pinch fine sea salt
¼ cup (59ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature

Raspberry Sauce

1 ¼ cups (142g) raspberries
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup (118ml) plus 1 tablespoon (15ml) water, divided
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Instructions

Berries

Combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, then drain the juices.

Crumb Topping

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt.
Work the butter in with your fingertips until it looks like wet sand and no large pieces of butter remain. Press the mixture together to form chunks. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Graham Cracker Crust

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Spray an 8-inch (20.3cm) square baking dish with nonstick spray. (I used a ceramic baking dish.*)
In a medium bowl, mix the crumbs, sugar and cinnamon together until well combined. Stir in the melted butter until evenly distributed. Press this mixture into the baking pan. Bake until set, about 5 minutes.

Filling and Assembly

Turn the oven temperature down to 325ºF (165ºC).
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sugar and salt until well combined. Gradually beat in the heavy cream, then the vanilla extract. Beat in the eggs one at a time, just until smooth and combined. Don't over beat.
Pour the batter into the baking dish over the crust. Spoon the drained berries over the batter. Sprinkle on the crumb topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown and the cheesecake center is wobbly but not runny, about 45-50 minutes. The internal temperature should be 145º-150ºF (63º-66ºC).
Run a small offset spatula or a knife along the perimeter edges of the cheesecake to separate it from the pan. Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature, about 1 1/2 hours. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Cut into squares and serve with raspberry sauce.

Raspberry Sauce

Purée the raspberries n a blender or small food processor. Pass the purée through a mesh sieve.
Place the raspberries, sugar and 1/2 cup (118ml) of water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon (15ml) of water. Add this mixture to the saucepan and whisk until smooth. Continue cooking until thickened, about 2-3 more minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer the raspberry sauce to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. The sauce will thicken a bit as it cools.

Notes

*To find an 8-inch ceramic baking dish, click here.

Keyword bars, cheesecake, triple berry

These Mini Baklava Cheesecakes are so cute and incredibly delicious that they actually made me mad! I’d been thinking about making them for awhile, so I was mad at myself for not making them sooner. They’re much quicker and easier to make than a full size cheesecake. I par-baked the buttered phyllo dough, then topped it with a nut mixture. I used a combination of pistachios and almonds, but you can use any combination of pistachios, almonds or walnuts of your choice. After I baked the cheesecakes, I soaked the phyllo shells with honey syrup.Yum!

I topped them with little nests made of kataifi, which are so cute and perfect for Easter. Kataifi is thinly shredded phyllo pastry. You can find it in the freezer section of supermarkets and international markets. Toasted coconut makes a good substitute if you can’t find kataifi. These cute cheesecakes are also pretty topped with edible flowers or rose petals, which would be perfect for Mother’s Day or any springtime celebration.

Mini Baklava Cheesecakes

Mini cheesecakes with a baklava base, topped with kataifi nests

Print Recipe

Course Dessert

Servings 12 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients

Honey Syrup

¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (177ml) water
3 tablespoons (63g) honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mini Cheesecakes

1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, melted and divided
10 9 x 14-inch phyllo dough sheets, thawed
½ cup (57g) finely chopped toasted pistachios, almonds or walnuts or a combination of nuts of your choice (I used pistachios and almonds.)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 ounces (227g) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, room temperature
2 tablespoons (30ml) heavy whipping cream, room temperature

Kataifi Nests

1 16 ounce (454g) package kataifi phyllo pastry, thawed You'll need about 1/4 of the package.
¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, melted
18-24 candy eggs I used Cadbury Mini Eggs.

Instructions

Honey Syrup

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, water, honey and lemon juice, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Mini Cheesecakes

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Brush the insides of a 12-serving muffin pan with melted butter.
Place a sheet of phyllo dough on your work surface. Brush it lightly with melted butter. Place another sheet of phyllo dough on top of the first one and brush it lightly with melted butter. Repeat this process until you have 5 sheets. Using a pastry wheel or a sharp knife, cut the phyllo into 6 squares, measuring about 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches each. Repeat this process with the five remaining phyllo sheets. Make sure to keep your unused phyllo sheets covered while you work to prevent them from drying out.
Place the phyllo squares into the cups of the muffin pan. Press them in with a pastry tamper or with the flat bottom of a small shot glass. Prick the bottoms of the phyllo with a fork. Bake until light golden brown, about 14-17 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the nuts, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of melted butter and the cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix until well combined.
Turn the oven heat down to 325ºF (165ºF). Place about a tablespoon of the nut mixture into the baked pyllo shells and press lightly with the back of a spoon.
To make the cheesecake filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on low speed, until smooth. Add the remaining 6 tablespoons of sugar, the egg, heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and well combined, but do not over beat.
Ladle the cheesecake mixture into the phyllo shells over the nuts. Fill them almost to the top. Bake until the cheesecakes are set, but still slightly jiggly in the centers, about 13-15 minutes.
Using a small offset spatula, gently loosen the cheesecakes from the muffin pan. Drizzle honey syrup generously along the perimeter of the outside of the cheesecakes, letting the syrup drip down the sides of the phyllo pastry. Let the cheesecakes cool in the pan. When the cheesecakes have cooled and the syrup has absorbed, transfer the cheesecakes to the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour.

Kataifi Nests

Turn the oven temperature up to 350ºF (180ºC). Brush an 8 x 8-inch or a 9 x 7-inch baking dish with melted butter. Roll clusters of kataifi stands into twelve 2-inch wide spiral shapes to form the nests. Place them in the baking dish. Drizzle the nests with melted butter. Gently brush more melted butter over the surface of the nests. Bake until golden brown, about 25-35 minutes. Immediately drizzle with honey syrup. Let the nests cool in the baking pan.
Place the nests onto the cheesecakes. Fill the nests with candy eggs.

Notes

To find the muffin pan I used, click here.

Keyword baklava, cheesecake