Mirage Recipe
Prep: 45 mins
Cook: 50 mins (+ 4 hours standing time)
Serves: 12 cheesecakes
These fun and adorable Valentine’s Conversation Hearts Cheesecakes will definitely earn rave reviews from all your sweethearts on Valentine’s Day. Fun enough to send with your child to class, or gift to a partner, these cheesecakes are a Valentine’s Day win for everyone.
For more holiday baking, visit @mirage_margarine on Instagram.
Ingredients
Crust
1 1/2 cups
graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp
granulated sugar
1/4 tsp
ground cinnamon
to taste
salt
1/4 cup
Mirage Margarine, melted
Filling
2 250g packages
brick-style plan cream cheese
3/4 cup
granulated sugar
3
eggs, beaten
1/3 cup
sour cream
2 tsp
vanilla extract
3-4 drops
pink food colouring
3-4 drops
yellow food colouring
3-4 drops
purple food colouring
3-4 drops
green food colouring
3-4 drops
red liquid or gel food colouring
1/4 cup
prepared vanilla icing
Directions
Crust
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and salt until combined; toss with melted margarine until coated.
Press evenly into bottom of two 6-cavity 2 1/2-inch silicone heart mold pans. Place each silicone mold pan on baking sheet; bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden brown and set. Let cool completely.
Filling
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well blended. Beat in sour cream and vanilla.
Divide batter evenly among 4 bowls. Tint one bowl with pink food colouring, the second with yellow food colouring, the third with purple food colouring and the final bowl with green food colouring.
Fill 3 heart molds with each colour of batter to make 12 cheesecakes. Working with one mold pan at a time, transfer to large roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water halfway up side of mold pan (do not allow water to touch the batter).
Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
Place roasting pan in middle rack of oven; bake cheesecakes for 18 to 20 minutes or until just set. Remove silicone cheesecakes from water bath; let cool to room temperature in molds on rack. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
Remove each cheesecake from mold. Place cheesecakes on parchment paper–lined baking sheet.
In small bowl, stir enough red food colour into icing for desired shade. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with 1/16-inch (1.5 mm) open tip; pipe classic Valentine heart candy phrases, such as BE MINE, HUG ME, KISS ME, CRAZY 4 U, SWEETIE, CALL ME, and LOVE U onto each cheesecake.
Chef’s Tip
- Instead of piping conversation phrases onto cheesecakes, you could also use red icing marker, or small tubes of store-bought red icing or red gel icing.
