Sometimes I think I'm the best mom ever, and sometimes I'm embarrassed that my 3 year old outsmarts me. I gave up coffee at the beginning of this pregnancy, but over the past few months I've become quite addicted to decaf iced lattes. Luckily I can make them at home, but when I go to Target I'll sometimes treat myself to one from Starbucks. One such time I was wandering around Target, enjoying my drink, when Caroline asked for a sip. I told her it was mommy's drink, and that she wouldn't like it. But she just kept asking. Since it was decaf, I figured I'd let her have a sip and she'd learn her lesson. Well, she took a sip, her face lit up, she proclaimed it "yummy," and asked for more. Yeah, that one backfired. Mom of the Year.
So apparently she seems to have inherited my love for coffee over Joey's dislike for it. I love love love coffee and anything that is coffee flavored. So when Sarah of 20 Something Cupcakes chose Cappuccino Cheesecakes for Project Pastry Queen, I was stoked. I am always drawn to coffee flavored desserts, I love cheesecake, and it's a cute, individualized dessert. Win win win.
These cheesecakes start with an oreo crust, are filled with a coffee flavored cheesecake, and then topped with chocolate ganache. The instructions call for the cheesecakes to be baked in mini tartlette pans, but I have cute mini cheesecake pans that rarely get used, so I went with those instead. I halved the recipe and ended up with 2 full pans and one that was half-filled. However, these are actually big enough to share with a date or a friend.
I also added a big splash of Kahlua to the batter to amp up the coffee flavor, and used mocha flavored chocolate for the ganache. I received a bar from Scharffen Berger in my BlogHer Food swag bag, and thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try it. The resulting cheesecake was rich, chocolatey, and pretty much perfect. They come together quite easily and quickly, and are made several hours ahead of time, so they would be ideal for entertaining. So many people like to drink coffee at the end of the meal, so why not combine that with dessert?
Sarah has the full recipe posted on her blog. And next week we're making a big over-the-top cake again! With lots of chocolate!
