Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes

By carol gorman

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 18 Nabisco Famous chocolate wafers, finely crushed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Cheesecakes
• 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 large egg separated
• 1 large egg white
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Topping
• 1 cup strawberries, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar 4 ounces semi sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 heavy cream

Preparation

Step 1

Crust
Combine crushes wafers and butter in a bowl. Set aside

Cheesecakes

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 6 indents of a jumbo muffin tin with jumbo muffin liners.

Microwave chocolate 1 minute. Stir until smooth, microwaving more if there are lumps. Set aside to cool slightly. Beat egg whites with 2 tsp sugar until stiff peaks form Set aside

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, the sour cream and cornstarch; Beat until sugar is almost dissolved, 2 minutes. Beat in melted chocolate, egg yolk and vanilla until smooth and no white streaks remain, scraping sides of bowl. Fold in beaten egg whites. Divide evenly among indents in prepared muffin tin, 1/3 to 1/2 cup natter in each.

Top each cheesecake with tbsp. of the crumb mixture, patting slightly to adhere. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, until puffed and set in the center. Remove from oven and cool 30 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Once cheesecakes are cool, remove from pan, invert them and remove liners (some crumbs will fall off). Place on a wire rack set over wax paper.

Topping:

Stir strawberries and sugar. Let stand to blend flavors. Microwave heavy cream 30 seconds. Pour over chopped chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and shiny. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Spoon over cheesecakes and spread with mall spatula. Top each cake with 1 heaping tbsp. of the strawberry mixture and serve.