Muntrie Cheesecake

A couple weeks ago we went picking muntries at Canunda. They are really good eating just as they are, on a platter with cheese or cooked in muffins, or sauces for meats.

Crabapples are ready now on the trees, and I was reminded of a cheesecake a friend of Mums made this time last year with them. I wanted to make the same cheesecake with muntries.

Muntrie Berry Cheesecake

Base

2 cups crushed marie biscuits

2 tablespoons sugar or sugar substitute(I used Stevia powder)

100 grams melted butter or margarine

Mix all together and press into the bottom of a springform tin. Place in the fridge while you make the filling.

Filling

900 grams cream cheese, softened

400 grams sweetened condensed milk (I used Nestles 99% fat free)

4 eggs

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 and a half cups chopped muntrie berries

1 teaspoon lemon rind (if I could've found it locally, I would have used a teaspoon of lemon myrtle)

Preheat oven to 150C.

Beat cream cheese in a large bowl, until fluffy. Gradually add the condensed milk and beat until smooth.

Add eggs and lemon juice. Mix well.

Stir in muntries and lemon rind.

Pour over the crumb base and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until middle is set. Cool and place in the fridge to chill.

I candied some muntrie berries for the top. It's the first time I have tried to candy anything, it could have been a bit darker. Usually you'll see nuts done this way for cake and dessert toppings. 

Mine look a bit dodgy(practice makes perfect), but they were delicious little morsels that tasted just like mini toffee apples!

An InLinkz Link-up

Mini grapefruit cheesecakes

My dear old Dad is retired now. He likes to go on short walks a couple of times a day. While on one of his walks he noticed a tree laden with fruit, asking the lady who owned the tree if he could pick some, he hurried home to get his wheelbarrow.

He was proud of punch when Mum came home, "Look at all these big lemons I got". Mum had a look, only to shake her head and wonder what she was going to do with all those grapefruit.

Mum googled and started the grapefruit diet, I took one home out of curiosity, I always like to try new things. It sat on my kitchen bench, and probably would have perished. 

Good thing I came across a cute little cheesecake recipe in an old magazine, and I didn't mind eating the rest here and there. It's actually not too bad in small doses. 

The original recipe used lemon rind and juice, and you could substitute that instead of the grapefruit I used.
I used a 6 large muffin tin and about 8 spaces of a smaller 12 muffin tin, with large muffin cases. 

A packet of gingernut biscuits
85 gram pkt lemon jelly crystals
1 teaspoon grapefruit rind and 2 tablespoons juice
250 grams cream cheese
2 tablespoons caster sugar

Place a biscuit in the bottom of the muffin cases.
Combine 2 tablespoons of the jelly crystals with a quarter cup of boiling water, mix in rind and juice and sit in the fridge to cool.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Gradually add the lemon jelly, rind and juice mix, beating well between each addition until smooth and thick. 

Spoon over biscuit bases and smooth tops. Refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. 

Hot tip: Be careful not to separate the cream cheese mix from the muffin cases around the edges as the jelly will not set on the top, it will seep through to the bottom of case.

Mix remaining jelly crystals with 2/3 cup of boiling water, and place in fridge. When cool, pour over cheesecakes and let set for at least 30 minutes.

There may be not enough jelly to do them all, I decorated some with grated chocolate or strawberries.