Cheesecake Petit Fours With Creamy Strawberry Glaze Recipes

PUMPKIN-CHEESECAKE PETITS FOURS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place butter and softened cream cheese in a small microwave safe bowl. Melt in microwave on medium setting stirring every 15 seconds until melted. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, add cookie mix, melted butter and cream cheese mixture, egg, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and cake flour. Stir until dough forms. Sift together 2 tablespoons each of cocoa powder and cake flour to use for dusting board and rolling pin. Roll out dough 1/8-inch thick. Using cutters slightly bigger than petits fours molds, stamp out cookies. Fit cookies into molds and cut off excess. Bake in batches for 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from molds. Cool completely on wire racks.
• To make the filling, scoop out into separate bowls the pie fillings of the thawed cheesecake and baked pumpkin pie. Be careful not to get any of the crusts. Discard the crusts. Add heavy cream and beat each filling with a wire whisk to smooth out consistency.
• To assemble, using pastry bags or zip-top bag with a star tip, hold the bag on its side and spoon in half of the cheesecake filling. Then spoon half of the pumpkin filling on the other side. Test the frosting by squeezing the bag until both fillings come out. Fill 2 more pastry bags or zip-top bags, 1 with the remaining cheesecake filling and the other with the pumpkin filling. Add fillings to petits fours.
• To make the chocolate icing, remove lid and foil seal from chocolate icing. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Pour into small zip-top bag. Snip off tiny opening in corner of bag. Drizzle over petits fours. Garnish with an espresso bean.

GLAZED STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Wrap foil securely around pan., In a small bowl, mix pecans and wafer crumbs; stir in butter. Press onto bottom and 1/2 in. up sides of prepared pan., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and 1-1/3 cups sugar until smooth. Beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until blended. Pour into crust. Place springform pan in a larger baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan., Bake until center is almost set, 65-75 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes on a wire rack. In a small bowl, mix sour cream and remaining sugar and vanilla; spread over top of cheesecake. Bake 5 minutes longer., Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool cheesecake on a wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen sides from pan with a knife; remove foil. Cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight, covering when completely cooled., In a small saucepan, whisk cornstarch and liqueur until smooth. Stir in spreadable fruit; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally., Remove rim from springform pan. Arrange strawberries over cheesecake; top with some of the glaze, allowing glaze to drip down sides. Refrigerate until glaze is set, about 1 hour. To serve, gently warm remaining glaze; serve with cheesecake.

STRAWBERRY GLAZED CREAM CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• In medium bowl, thoroughly combine crust ingredients. Press firmly on bottom of lightly buttered 10" springform pan.
• In large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining filling ingredients, beat thoroughly. Spoon over crust. Place pan on cookie sheet to catch any butter that might drip out. Bake 40-45 minutes. (Cheesecake may rise slightly and crack in several areas; it will settle again, cracks will minimize and topping will cover it.) Remove from oven and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Keep oven on at 350°F.
• In medium bowl, combine topping ingredients until well blended. Spoon topping over cheesecake, starting at center and extending to within 1/2 inch of edge. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes longer. Cool. Refrigerate cheesecake for at least 24 hours, preferably 2-3 days.
• Several hours before serving, wash, hull and completely dry strawberries on paper towels.
• In small saucepan, combine a little jelly with cornstarch; mix well. Add remaining jelly, liqueur and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and is clear (about 5 minutes). Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
• Using knife, loosen cheesecake from pan; remove springform. Arrange berries, pointed sides up, over top of cake. Spoon glaze over berries, allowing some to drip down sides of cake. Refrigerate until glaze is set.