Cheesecake. Decadent, chocolaty with a burst of sweet cherries in every bite.  Even the person who normally would shy away from eating dessert will usually go for a mini cheesecake as they are not much of a diet breaker being so small. They are literally like 4 bites of sweet nirvana. My child-who is not really much of a dessert person, devoured them.  To be precise-imagine him taking one bite and then shoving the rest into his mouth. They are that good. You could dress these up even more by serving them with some roasted cherry sauce or ganache topping, but I kept them simple and topped with whipped cream and a fresh cherry.

Chocolate & Dark Sweet Cherry Cheesecake

yield: 12 mini cheesecakes

Cooked Sweet Cherries

Pitted fresh dark sweet cherries (cut into quarters to equal 1  1/2 Cups)

1 T  water

1 T  sugar

1 tsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. water

In a small saucepan place the cut cherries, sugar, and 1 tablespoon of water. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until become softened. In a small bowl make a slurry by mixing the cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of water. Add to the cherries and continue to cook while constantly stirring for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, place in a small bowl and set aside while  you make the crust and cheesecake batter.

Chocolate Crust

3/4 Cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs

3  T melted butter

In a bowl mix together the crumbs with the melted butter.

Chocolate Cheesecake Batter

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 Cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1  T Kirsch liqueur (optional)

2 eggs

1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey’s)

1/2 Cup semi sweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

1. Prepare a mini cheesecake pan by rubbing the bottom and sides of each well with a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil. Note: I’ve tried both spraying with non stick spray, and this preparation, and this works better. Firmly press a heaping tablespoon of the chocolate crumb mixture (recipe above) into the bottom of each well. If you don’t have a mini cheesecake pan, you can use a muffin pan and line each well with a foil type of cupcake liner.

2. Preheat oven to 325° F.  In the bowl of a stand mixer place the softened cream cheese and sugar and cream on low speed until combined (I mix the entire batter on low speed to ensure no extra bubbles form).  Add the vanilla, optional Kirsch, and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the cocoa powder and mix to combine. Add the melted chocolate and mix to combine. Fold in the cherries- you will see some red marbling at first but it will come together okay.

3. Fill each well to the top with batter-(takes about 1/4 cup) note you might have about 1/4 Cup batter left over depending on the size of your cheesecake wells. Place the cheesecake pan on a sheet pan and bake in preheated 325° oven for about 30 minutes, stopping after 15 minutes to turn the pan from front to back to ensure even heating. Note: the cheesecakes will rise quite a bit and appear to separate into a “cap” like appearance but don’t worry-they will shrink back down level once cooled. Allow cheesecakes to cool over a wire rack, then move to the refrigerator to chill completely. Top with sweetened whipped cream and garnish with a cherry.