Last week, I promised that on my next post I’d make a “hybrid dairy dessert that will knock the socks off your Shavuot crowd.”
Yeah, that was stupid.
Every time I’ve ever bragged about my domestic skills, I have failed. I don’t mean I did badly on something, I literally have altered things beyond repair.
I’ve ruined clothes in the wash. I’ve had to evacuate the apartment due to cleaning fumes. I even turned a banana bread into Pompeii.
So laying down the gauntlet for my blog this week was definitely a poor life decision.
Lucky for me, I stumbled upon this recipe. (And had a half empty jar of Nutella in my cupboard that was haunting me.)
Every excuse you ever needed not to share cheesecake.
No. This recipe is not pareve. I know that.
Pareve for dummies: No meat or dairy in any form; “neutral”; can be eaten with either.
I used real dairy, so that means the main course should not contain meat if someone is trying to keep kosher.
Now, if you weren’t paying attention earlier, you might be wondering why I made mini cheesecakes. Let me remind you- I promised I’d make an awesome recipe.
Promised = Bragging = Disaster.
I had everything mixed up and was about to throw the cheesecake in the oven when I realized we didn’t have a single pie pan in our entire apartment.
… HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!!
So, continuing to problem solve- like a boss, I grabbed my cupcake tin to turn the cheesecake into personal sized ones.
Your waistline can thank me later.
Directions:
Nutella Sauce
- 1/2 cup Half & Half
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1/4 cup Water
- 3/4 cup Nutella
- 1 Tbs. Corn Syrup
- 1/8 tsp. Vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Warm half & half in microwaveable dish until steaming (about 45 seconds).
Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat and bring it to a boil without stirring, until amber brown. (Keep an eye on this, it can burn very quickly!)
Carefully whisk in warm cream until smooth and let cook for 1 minute. (Sauce will bubble and rise, so use a saucepan to accommodate the sudden attack.) ** THE SAUCE IS NOT BLUFFING, IT WILL OVERFLOW.
Remove from heat and whisk in the Nutella, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla until smooth. Transfer to a heat safe bowl. Allow to cool until thickened, then transfer to a jar or container in which to store the sauce.
Refrigerate.
*** You will have sauce leftover. I’d suggest buying a bag of pretzels to dip in it.
Cover the edges of the cupcake tins with crust dough
Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine sugar and flour. Using a pastry blender, a fork by hand, incorporate butter until mixture is crumbly. (Will hold its shape when a clump is pinched.)
Press mixture into cupcake cups.
Bake for 7 minutes, or until the crust is slightly golden. Set aside.
I used a toothpick to swirl my Nutella sauce
Cheesecake
- 1 – 8oz. block of cream cheese
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
In medium bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar until fluffy and incorporated. Add egg and beat until combined. Add vanilla and greek yogurt. Mix until smooth.
Spoon into mini-crusts.
Drop globs of Nutella sauce onto cheesecake batter. With a skewer, knife, or toothpick, carefully swirl caramel throughout the cheesecakes to create a marbleized effect.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Filling should be set. (Not super jiggly.)
***This made about a pan and a half of mini-cheesecakes for me.
If you happen to have a real pie pan/bar pan, you can check out the original recipe at The Kitchen Prep blog. This recipe was an original by Dianna over there, so big thanks to her for this delicious dessert!
Happy Shavuot to everyone celebrating it!
Tune in next week to see if I survive a bagel taste test against a couple guys who really know their bagels.
(And as for whoever has my pie pan, if you ever want baked goods from me again, you’ll return it. )
