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Two-Toned Blackberry-Lemon Mini-Cheesecakes

I wanted to play with my Cheesecake recipe. I wanted to make a miniature one (I'm a big believer in portion control. If you make something into portions and stash a lot of them, it's less likely to be eaten in one sitting. A large Cheesecake calls my name. A small one does, too, but the sounds coming from the rest of them tend to be muffled by the inside of the freezer door).

I decided to also layer the better, and make my own crust. This is an "advancement" or an "evolution" over the previous cheesecake.

In all honesty, it's the same Cheesecake. The batter is split into two halves. In one half, a small amount of blackberry puree is folded in. In the other half, a small amount of blanched lemon zest is added.

The crust is just crushed macadamia nuts, butter and a tbsp of sugar free brown sugar. These are slightly par baked. Then, I put a blackberry on the crusts, filled the cups about half way with the blackberry batter, then topped them off with the lemon batter.

Voila! Little Two-Toned Cheesecakes! They were AWESOME!
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time1 hr
Total Time1 d
Servings: 12 Servings
Calories: 402.07083333333kcal
Author: DJ Foodie

Ingredients

Macadamia Crust

Cheesecake Batter

  • 1 cup 'Swerve' or other sugar replacement
  • 1/4 tsp guar gum
  • 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 lbs full fat cream cheese room temperature
  • 1 each vanilla bean split lengthwise (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
  • 4 large whole eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest (peel)
  • 1 cup fresh blackberries washed and dried

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 325 F.
  • If your macadamia nuts are not crushed, place them in a large plastic (ZipLoc style) bag. With a mallet or the edge of a pot or pan, whack at them until you have a squooshed bag of macadamia explosion.
  • Pour your crushed macadamias into a mixing bowl and add your brown sugar equivalent (if you don't have this, you can omit it, or use a nice molasses. It helps to hold the crust together), and melted butter. Mix the ingredients until the macadamias are well coated with the sugar and butter.
  • Grease 12 muffin cups, within a 12-cup muffin pan, or 2 six-cup muffin pans.
  • Press the nut mixture into the 12 cups. Use the back of a spoon (or a tamper, if you have one) to press the crusts firmly into the base of the cups.
  • Bake the crusts for 12 minutes.
  • Remove and set aside, while you make the batter.
  • With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, until light and airy. Make sure your cream cheese and eggs are all warm (room temperature). It decreases the chances of lumps in the batter.
  • Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean. Add the seeds to the cream cheese.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, while beating. When one is incorporated, add the next.
  • Slowly add the dry ingredients to the cream cheese mixture, while it beats.
  • Add the lemon juice and sour cream. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix for another moment or two. Make sure everything is very well mixed and that there are no lumps. If there are lumps you can strain the mixture through a fine mesh (optional, but it does increase the silky smooth quality).
  • Remove 12 nice plump blackberries from your cup, and set aside. Puree the rest of them in a food processor (or simply squish them with the back of a fork).
  • If your zest has come off a fresh lemon, you will want to boil a small amount of water. Add your lemon zest to the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds. Strain out the zest and set aside. This act kills a lot of the bitterness that can come from fresh lemon zest. It mellows it.
  • At this point, split your batter into two halves.
  • Place one blackberry in the center of each muffin cup.
  • Add your blackberry batter to one half and fold it in.
  • To the other half, add the lemon zest. Fold it in.
  • Let the two batters sit for a few minutes. Pick a bowl up an inch and drop it on the counter. Repeat a few times. This encourages any bubbles within the batter to float to the top.
  • Pour the blackberry batter halfway into each of the 12 muffin cups.
  • Top off the 12 muffin cups with the lemon batter.
  • Place the pan(s) on the center rack in the oven for 15 minutes. Do not open the oven door. Don't do it.
  • After 15 minutes, turn the oven off. Do not open the oven door. Don't do it.
  • After an hour, open the oven door and leave it open a crack.
  • After another hour, run a knife around the edges and place in the fridge to cool.
  • Once chilled, remove from the muffin pans and serve!
  • Serve!

Nutrition

Serving: 12g | Calories: 402.07083333333kcal | Carbohydrates: 24.381666666667g | Protein: 7.325g | Fat: 39.449166666667g | Fiber: 2.1441666666667g