strawberry liqueur mini cheesecakes with fresh macerated strawberries

The wonderful thing about living in this part of the world is that despite being winter, the strawberry season has just started and will continue until November. Even the early strawberries are tasting great, the ones pictured came farm fresh from a local grower not far up the road.

This recipe was one bought to my attention by a friend and the original can be found at the Taste.com website. As their recipe suggested, I substituted lemon juice with liqueur (I don’t need much prompting to use a bit of grog in my cooking) and I also changed the granita biscuits for choc ripple. I made the cheesecakes the day before and the biscuits went a little soggy, but in a good way, the choc flavour mellowed and went really well with the strawberry filling. I also use raw sugar (I think it tastes way better than white sugar). To make it ‘castor’ give it a quick wizz in a coffee grinder or blender.

The recipe is for six, but I found I could get eight out of this recipe, nine if I hadn’t licked the spoon, although I think I used regular sized muffin tins. I don’t have electric mixers, I found this recipe only takes five minutes even beating with a wooden spoon.

Method

• Mix the strawberries, liqueur and sugar well, dissolving the sugar. Set aside in the fridge to macerate.
• Preheat oven to 180°C. Line 6 large muffin holes with a paper patty case each.
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and liqueur until light and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time.
• Place a biscuit at the base of each muffin hole, pressing down firmly. Top with cream cheese mixture.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until slightly risen and just beginning to crack on the surface. The cheesecakes will sink a little on cooling.
• Set aside to cool completely. Refrigerate for one hour or until chilled. Top with strawberries, a drizzle of the marinade liquid and serve with a dollop of cream and a dusting of icing sugar.

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