Mini Mandarin Orange Cheesecakes

These mini mandarin cheesecakes get extra "oomph" from the tangy orange zest and a subtle hint of cinnamon from Cinnamon Toast Crunch™. MORE+ LESS-

By Daring Gourmet

March 9, 2017

Ingredients

cup crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch™ cereal (about 2 cups whole)

tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

oz cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3

cup sugar

large egg + 1 large egg yolk

1/2

teaspoon pure vanilla extract

teaspoons finely grated orange zest (about 1 medium naval orange)

can mandarin oranges in syrup, drained

Whipped cream

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1

Begin by gathering your ingredients, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2

Combine the Cinnamon Toast Crunch™ crumbs in a bowl with the melted butter.
3

Line a regular-sized muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Press a little less than 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Set aside.
4

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth with no lumps remaining. Add the sugar and continue to beat beat until combined and fluffy. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and orange zest and beat on low just until combined - do not over-beat.
5

Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the cheesecake mixture into each cupcake tin. Bake the cupcakes for 12 minutes then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecakes in for another 10 minutes before removing them. Do not open the oven at any point before that.
6

Let the cheesecakes cool completely. Add some whipped cream to the top of each cheesecake and place a mandarin orange on top. Serve immediately.

No nutrition information available for this recipe

Mini Mandarin orange cheesecakes: Small enough to eat one or two... or three, or four... I don't think I've ever met anyone who doesn't like cheesecake. Have you? Cheesecake has been popular for eons. Literally. Cheesecake in one form or the other dates clear back to Ancient Greece. In fact, around 5 BC Greek physician Aeqimus even wrote a cookbook on the art of making cheesecakes. Seriously! You don't believe me, do you? It's true. Here's the name of the book: p?a????t?p?????? s????aµµa Okay, I know most of you don't speak Greek as fluently as I do, so here's the Western phonetic pronunciation: Plakountopoiikon Suggramma. That loosely translates to "A Treatise On The Art of Making Cheesecake." You still don't believe me. *Sigh* Okay, I was just kidding about speaking Greek. But the part about the cookbook is true! Look it up. Okay, back to the recipe at hand. These mini Mandarin cheesecakes get an extra "oomph" of citrus flavor from the tangy orange zest mixed in the batter. The subtle hint of cinnamon from Cinnamon Toast Crunch complements the orange flavor nicely. You'll love 'em! P.S. Remember, it was a physician who wrote the first cookbook on cheesecakes! That's gotta be a good sign.