Pistachio Strawberry Mini Cheesecakes
These mini cheesecakes are very rich in pistachio flavor. A layer of strawberry mousse adds a light touch of freshness to this decadent dessert. Mini cheesecakes make a perfect sweet treat for a party or a Sunday afternoon tea with family.
Servings: 9 mini-cheesecakes
Cost: $7-12
Ingredients
Toasted Pistachios*
- 80 g Pistachios unshelled
Caramelized Pistachios**
- 20 g Sugar
- 20 g Toasted Pistachios*
- 10 g Butter cold
Crust
- 80 g Tea Biscuits Crumbs or any cookie crumbs
- 20 g Butter melted
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon optional
- 1 portion Caramelized Pistachios** recipe above
- pinch of Salt
Pistachio Cheesecake
- 8 oz Cream Cheese (226 g)
- 1 Egg large
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 100 g Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 40 g Toasted Pistachios*
- pinch of Salt
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest optional
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Strawberry Sauce***
- 100 g Strawberries frozen
- 20 g Sugar
- 1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 5 g Corn Starch
- 35 g Water
Strawberry Mousse
- 1 portion Strawberry Sauce***
- 75 g Cream Cheese
- 60 g Sour Cream full fat
- 70 g Milk of choice
- 5-7 g Gelatin see notes
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract optional
- 20 g Sugar
Instructions
Toasted pistachios
- Start by toasting the pistachios. Spread them evenly on a lined baking sheet. Bake pistachios at 300 F for 5-7 minutes, or toast in a dry non-stick pan.
Caramelized pistachios
- Take 20 g of the toasted pistachios and crush them into smaller pieces.
- In a small saucepan, melt the sugar until golden-brown in color. Add the cold butter and mix quickly. Add pistachios and combine.
- Pour out the caramel mixture onto a piece of parchment paper. Let the caramel cool for a few minutes. It will harden. Break into small crumbs using a blender or food processor.
Strawberry Sauce
- In a small saucepan, combine frozen strawberries with sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until strawberries are very soft. Puree with a blender. Pour back into the saucepan and bring to a light boil.
- In a small cup, mix water with corn starch until no lumps left. Slowly pour the mixture into the saucepan with strawberries. Constantly mixing with a whisk, boil for about a minute.
- Let the sauce cool completely. I like to speed up the process by leaving my strawberry sauce in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
Crust
- In a small mixing bowl, combine cookie crumbs with melted butter, caramelized pistachio crumbs, cinnamon and salt.
- Divide the crust mixture between 9 muffin liners. Push crumbs into the base using a spoon or a small glass.
Pistachio Cheesecake
- Take 40 g toasted pistachios and blend them in a blender or food processor until flour-like consistency. If it comes out a little buttery-looking, it is totally fine.
- With a mixer, beat together the cream cheese, egg and egg yolk on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, until smooth.
- To the cream cheese mixture, add blended pistachios, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, salt, and lemon zest. Mix on low speed just until blended.
Baking Mini Cheesecakes
- Pour the pistachio cheesecake mixture over the prepared crusts.
- Bake at 300 F for about 18 minutes. The mini cheesecakes should be set with a slight jiggle in the middle. If you touch the tops, your finger should stay clean. Every oven is different, so it can take up to 25 minutes. Make sure not to over bake! If you see the tops starting to crack, it's definitely time to take them out of the oven.
- Cool to room temperature.
Strawberry Mousse
- Once the cheesecakes are cooled completely, start on the strawberry mousse.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine cold milk with the gelatin and leave for 5 minutes or so. If you like a softer mousse, use 5 g gelatin; but if you need it to stay at room temperature for long and keep its shape, go with the 7g.
- Beat the cream cheese with sour cream, vanilla and sugar on medium speed for 5 minutes, until smooth consistency. Add the cooled strawberry sauce and mix for another minute.
- Heat up the milk just until gelatin is fully dissolved. Don't overheat!
- Add the gelatin mixture into the cream and mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
Final Steps
- Work quickly, as the strawberry mousse sets within minutes. Pipe or spread the mousse on top of the cooled cheesecakes any way you like.
- Leave mini cheesecakes to set in the fridge for at least two hours.
- Optional: decorate with the leftover toasted pistachios and fresh strawberries.
Notes
See blog post for more tips and tricks, as well as ingredient substitution ideas.
Tools you might need: