Mini Cheesecakes with Fruit Topping

A few weeks ago my Saturday morning was spent picking blueberries. It was lovely. Then came several lovely batches of blueberry ice cream. Part of the process includes steeping the blueberries in sugar and water, and then straining out the chunks of berries. I kept the leftover chunks just in case.

I'm always in a constant state of trying to clean out the freezer. I found a bag of leftover graham cracker crust, thought of my blueberries, and voila! Mini cheesecakes were born!

Using my standard cheesecake recipe (but only made one-third) but with a graham cracker crust, I baked the cakes in cupcake tins. I topped them with my leftover ice-cream blueberry mush and fresh strawberries.

Mini Cheesecakes with Fruit Topping

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/3 cup sugar
3 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 slightly beaten egg yolk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 c. milk

Line two standard-size muffin tins with paper liners. Set aside.

For crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 1/3 c. sugar. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of crust into each muffin cup. Pat and pack down the crust to evenly cover the bottom of the cup. Set aside.

For filling, in a large mixer bowl beat together softened cream cheese, lemon peel, and remaining vanilla until fluffy. Stir together 1 c. sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour, salt; gradually stir in cream cheese mixture. Add 2 eggs and 1 egg yolk all at once, beating at low speed until just combined. Stir in milk.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups just under full. Bake at 325˚ for 25-30 minutes more or till center appears set and knife comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Remove cheesecakes from pan and cool on a wire rack. Chill thoroughly. When ready to serve, remove paper liners and top with fruit topping of your choice.