Rosewater and White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes

Rosewater and White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes

I love small portions of things. Particularly when they’re desserts. Jake and I don’t eat a ton of sweet stuff, so it’s nice to be able to pack it up and give it to friends easily. That’s why this recipe for Rosewater and White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes from the April 2011 issue of “bon appetit” sounded so attractive. The original recipe also included strawberries, but I don’t really like strawberry cheesecake a lot (now cherry cheesecake is another story altogether!) so I decided to really own the rosewater flavor in this recipe and play it up as much as possible. Luckily Jake’s dad, brother, brother’s lady, and Jake’s niece were here to help us eat these up. I really loved the rosewater flavor in cheesecake. I can’t believe I’ve never tried it before! You may note a bit of difference from my recipe below and the one on Bon Appetit’s website. I did NOT use sugar in my recipe. White chocolate is already very sweet and I didn’t find the sugar necessary to the success of the recipe. Subtracting the sugar from this recipe means fewer calories and less fat and I think that’s something we can all get on board with.

Rosewater and White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes
3 1/2 oz. gingersnap cookies (about 13)
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 1/2 oz. white chocolate, chopped
1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 8-oz. package cream cheese
1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon rose water

1. Brush 8 standard muffin cups lightly with vegetable oil.
2. Carefully line each cup with plastic wrap, smoothing it as much as possible.
3. Grind cookies using a large mortar and pestle.
4. Add the melted butter and crush in well till cookie crumbs are coated.
5. Press crust mixture firmly onto bottom of prepared muffin cups, dividing equally amongst cups.
6. Set the white chocolate in a medium metal bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir slowly till the chocolate is thoroughly melted.
7. Set the melted chocolate to the side. Drain the water from the saucepan till the water level reaches a depth of 1 inch and set that aside as well.
8. Place 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it sit until it has softened. That should take 3-5 minutes.
9. Bring the water in the saucepan up to a simmer and place the small bowl of gelatin inside. Stir the gelatin until it has dissolved.
10. Carefully remove the small bowl of melted gelatin from the water.
11. Puree the cream cheese, yogurt, and rose water in a blender.
10. Add melted white chocolate and gelatin and blend until smooth.
11. Divide the cream cheese mixture among prepared muffin cups by pouring it over the cookie crusts.
12. Cover the muffin pan with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

The next day:
1. Using the plastic wrap to help you, lift the cheesecakes from the muffin cups.
2. Remove plastic wrap and place cheesecakes on small plates crust side down.
3. Garnish with crystallized rose petals, pink sugar crystal sprinkles, a swipe or two of melted white chocolate, or even a swipe of strawberry syrup.