I love chocolate and orange together, so when I discovered this recipe for orange and chocolate cheesecakes, I knew I had to try it. And I haven’t been disappointed.
What’s really nice is you make individual size cheesecakes in a mini muffin pan. They’re easier to serve, especially if you’re taking them somewhere. I used to take these to work on our holiday food days.
I’ve had this recipe since 2009 based on the print date of my copy, so you can see it’s stood the test of time. I learned about it from watching Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network (see my post about that). It’s one of her recipes I really like.
They’re pretty easy to make and the orange definitely makes them good, especially the sugar/orange zest combination you add to the top. Whoa!!
I eat one in two bites, but you could probably pop a whole one in your mouth just as easily.
If you remember from my baking challenges post, I mentioned I had a hard time finding an ingredient. That ingredient is key in these little cheesecakes – Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers. I’m so glad I finally found some this year. (They had a few more a couple of days ago so there’s still time to try this recipe.) I’m not sure you can use anything else and get the same result.
I also have a mini cheesecakes pan, which operates much like a springform pan except, like a muffin tin, it has twelve mini cups. I haven’t used it yet, but I’m sure it would make removal much easier.
Let me know if you make them. Hope you find them as yummy as I do.
Individual Orange and Chocolate Cheesecakes
If you love the combination of orange and chocolate, you’ll love these. The individual servings make it easy to include in a buffet or as a snack.
Ingredients
- 1/3 c. finely crushed chocolate wafers
- 2 T. butter (melted)
- 1/4 c. ricotta cheese
- 2 oz. cream cheese
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1 orange (zested)
- 1 large egg
- 2 T. sugar (to mix with half of the orange zest)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350.
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Combine the crushed chocolate wafers and the melted butter.
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Butter the bottoms and sides of a mini muffin pan. (Or you can use a pan specifically made for mini cheesecakes.)
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Place a tightly packed teaspoon of the wafer mixture into each cup and press down firmly.
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In a food processor, combine the ricotta cheese, the cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, half of the orange zest and the egg.
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Blend until smooth.
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Fill the muffin cups with about 1 1/2 T. of the cheesecake mixture.
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Bake for 25 minutes.
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Transfer the mini muffin pan to a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate for 15 minutes.
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Use a small knife to gently pop the cheesecakes out of the cups.
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Just before serving, combine the remaining orange zest with the 2 T. of sugar. Top each individual cheesecake with about 1/4 t. of the mixture and serve.
Recipe Notes
Original recipe from Giada De Laurentiis and picture from Food Network
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