Caramel mini-cheesecakes

With Christmas and New Year coming soon I have already started thinking about my menu for the holidays. My favourites for holiday season are buffet-style dishes. The guests can help themselves, and this takes pressure off me as a host so I can enjoy the party with everybody else. And these cheesecake cupcakes are perfect for a buffet dinner!

If you are a caramel lover (as I am)  these lovely treats will not leave you indifferent. They are full of flavour, and whipped cream topping balances the caramel taste wonderfully. I hope you and your guests will love them!

Caramel mini-cheesecakes

Recipe

1 cup of biscuit (or cracker) crumbs
60g of butter
300g of cream cheese
1/2 cup (125ml) of sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup of caramel sauce (I used store bought)
1 Tbsp of AP flour
1/2 Tbsp of corn starch
200ml double cream
1-2 Tbsp of icing sugar (or to taste)

Pre-heat the over to 180C.

Melt butter in the microwave. Combine with biscuit crumbs. (I was running out of butter, so I used less than 60g, and you can see on the picture that the bottoms of the cheesecakes are a little crumbly).

Line the muffin tin with paper cases. Divided the biscuit mixture evenly between 12 holes. Press the crumbs firmly to the bottom with a spoon.

Mix cream cheese, sour cream, eggs and caramel sauce till smooth. Try the mixture at this stage: if it's not sweet enough to your taste add a little sugar. I personally do not like overly sweet desserts, so for me the taste was just right. I also did not add any salt to the mixture, because there was some salt in my cream cheese.

Finally add flour and corn starch. Pour the mixture on top of the crumbs and bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 25 minutes (or till the edges of the cheesecakes become firm and the centre is still a little wobbly). The cakes should not crack or become brown on top - these are the signs that you have overcooked your cheesecakes.

Cool your cakes in the tin and put them in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Whip cream with icing sugar to soft peaks, transfer to a pastry bag and decorate the cheesecakes. You can serve them right away - or you can actually freeze them until you need them for your party. They can be kept in the freezer for up to 1 month. To defrost, simply transfer them from the freezer compartment to the fridge section and leave overnight.

Enjoy!