Day 10 of 12: Pomegranate Mini Cheesecakes

A few days ago our fellow soup swapper and blogger friend Knox Gardner shared with us his idea to top cheesecake with pomegranate seeds! We thought this was a great idea... why not stop there? A drizzle of pomegranate sauce instead of the traditional cherry topping would be deliciously decorative too. Thanks for the inspiration, Knox!

Anyone who knows me well can tell you that the mere utterance of a new food idea will send me bolting to the kitchen almost immediately to start tinkering around. The way I see it, my impulsive culinary adventures produce so much more than a sinkful of dirty dishes and a decent night's dinner on the table--they feed my soul and nourish my creative spirit. There's no place that makes me happier than my kitchen.

OK, so there has been one tiny problem we've had to deal with during the 12 Days of Pomegranate: our year-old oven was suddenly out of commission somewhere around Day 5 or 6. This means that many of the pomegranate ideas we've had have gone untested up until now!

I refuse to deal with appliance service clowns...uh, I mean "technicians"... if I can help it, so I decided to do a little research and order the part myself. Happily, this morning a shiny new oven sensor was delivered to my door. So I took out the faulty one, proceeded to give it a few choice words before I popped in the new one. It was surprisingly easy and after all was said in done I was baking again in about an hour! Hallelujah! All is well with the world again.

But we were talking cheesecake, right? Keep in mind that this recipe is for mini cheesecakes made in muffin tins, so if you want to make one big cheesecake, you'll need to adjust both the cooking temperature and the time quite a bit. See the bottom of the recipe for suggested cooking instructions.

Individual Cheesecakes with Pomegranate Sauce
Makes 24 mini cheesecakes

Crust:
18 graham crackers, 1 1/2 pkgs (I used chocolate grahams)
10 Tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

Filling:
2 lbs (4-8 oz pkgs) cream cheese
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 12-muffin tins with silver liners.

2. Puree graham crackers in food processor until crumbs are fine.  Add melted butter and pulse to combine fully with the cracker crumbs. 

3. Press 1 heaping tablespoon graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each lined muffin tin, then use a small juice glass to press the crust firmly to the bottom.



4. Bake the crusts at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes, until slightly crisp to touch.  Let cool while making the filling. Reduce oven to 300 degrees and put a small sheet pan of water at bottom of oven to create moisture while baking the cheesecakes. *If making one large cheesecake, see time and temperature notes at the end of the recipe.

5. Using paddle attachment,  add cream cheese to mixer and let mix until smooth and no lumps remain.  Add sugar and let the mixture blend on high speed until sugar has dissolved into the cream cheese.<

6. With mixer on low speed, add vanilla then the eggs one at a time, making sure to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl very thoroughly. Fold in the sour cream, then the mixture is ready to go into the tins.

7. Using a quick-release scooper, add enough filling to reach the top of the liner. Bake at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes, just until middle is set. A good indicator of doneness is when they don't jiggle in the center when the pan is lightly shaken.



8. Remove tins from oven and let the cheesecakes cool completely on a cooling rack, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

9. The sauce is best when it is a bit warm. Top the cheesecakes with the pomegranate sauce (see recipe below), sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top and either put in fridge to set sauce or serve immediately.

Pomegranate Sauce:
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp corn starch slurry (corn starch dissolved in 4 Tbsp water)
1/2 cup pomegranate arils, optional (add after sauce has cooled or sprinkle on top after spooning sauce on cheesecakes)

1. Heat in a small saucepan the pom juice, sugar and lemon juice. 

2. Bring to a boil, then add the corn starch slurry and return to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon until thickened enough to coat the back of the spoon.

3. Let sauce cool and add pomegranate arils if you wish.

*To make one 9" cheesecake:
Press crust into 9" springform pan and bake for 8 minutes. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 225 degrees and bake an additional 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool inside with the door oven for about an hour (which will keep the cake from cracking.)  Then let the cake cool on the counter for another few hours and refrigerate overnight.

Chocolate Rose-Petal Soup

I know some of you are probably still figuring out an original way to mix together those two sweetheart staples for Valentine's: chocolate and roses. Normally, I'd say you've got the wrong site; quick make a mad dash to Kingsbury Chocolates or Artfully Chocolate.

But not this time. You could also be a daredevil and try our Chocolate Rose-Petal Soup!

I know chocolate and soup are two words you just don't see mingling well together. You must keep in mind that this is more of a "soup" in quotes, followed by a really big wink. It falls somewhere between rich hot cocoa and romanticized chocolate sauce.

After doing a little research, the recipe I decided to test was James Peterson's version of chocolate broth which I'd found leafing through his extensive book Splendid Soups.Unfortunately, it was just too rich for me. He uses heavy cream and a full 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. Even a small, watered down dose of the broth was overkill. If your special someone enjoys super-ultra-uber rich chocolate, then by all means go for it.

Personally, I wanted to rework this one to suit my own palate. So I went with a combination of "milder" chocolates. I used two varieties from the El Rey brand found at Whole Foods. You'll notice these have unusual percentages of cacao. Don't worry, we're not getting all Martha Stewart on you. If you're a strict recipe follower, just find chocolate that has the closest percentages. Otherwise, please use whatever chocolate or combinations you like. You know how people always tell you to cook with the wine you normally drink, well that's the same principle here. Basically, you want to use that really good chocolate you normally hide from the kids in your desk drawer.

Peterson topped his broth with poundcake croutons which, in my opinion, was the best part of his recipe. You basically cube a few slices of all-butter poundcake and saute the squares in 3 Tbsp of melted butter, tossing them until they're toasted and crispy. They're a fun and buttery indulgence on their own. I ate a small plate of these after I'd tossed out the uber-chocolate broth. Then I started over and began making chocolate soup again, only this time I went for something a little lighter and a little more romantic.

Did you know basically all roses are edible? Yep! Just be sure to follow a few guidelines when selecting your flora. You don't want your honey chewing on flowers treated with pesticides or chemicals. And, hey, roses aren't the requirement. If you just met your "gentleman-caller" last week and red rose petals are just too suggestive at this point, use white instead (like I did) or go with another edible flower all together. Whatever you choose, take this opportunity to experiment with flowers you can eat! Just like your sweetie, they're beautiful, fun, and unique.

So, if you still haven't figured out what's for dessert tonight or tomorrow, why not give this a swirl.

Chocolate Rose-Petal Soup
Makes 2 servings

4 oz "dark" milk chocolate (41% cocoa)
4 oz dark chocolate (58.5% cocoa)
--or whatever combination you see fit
1 cup light cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 organic, pesticide-free, edible roses or the equivalent amount in rose-petals
1/2 cup fresh strawberries
4-6 fresh mint leaves

1. Chop up chocolate into small slivers, set aside.

2. In a pan, stirring occasionally, bring light cream to a simmer. Remove pan from burner and add chocolate. Let the chocolate sit about 5 minutes while the hot cream dissolves it. After 5 minutes, stir in what hasn't dissolved.

3. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Stir. Taste. Remember it should be smooth and a little on the thicker side. If the chocolate soup is too rich or too thick for your taste, feel free to add a little more cream or water until it reaches the taste/consistency you prefer.

4. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the soup preferably into small, flat bowls.

5. Remove rose petals from stems. Arrange the individual petals into the shape of a flower on top of the chocolate soup. Do 1-2 overlapping layers to give dimension.

6. Slice strawberries into small wedges. Top the center of the rose petals with a cluster of strawberries. Garnish with a sprinkling of mint leaves. Feel free accent with hazelnuts or pound cake croutons if you have them. Serve!

Happy Valentine's Day!