25 Mar Mini Easter Chocolate Cheesecakes

Do you like chocolate? Do you like cheesecake? How about speckled eggs? I thought so! Then these adorable mini Easter chocolate cheesecakes are just for you. Made up of an Oreo base, a creamy chocolate cheesecake layer and a chocolate curl “birds nest” filled with mini speckled eggs. I used the new choc-mint flavoured speckled eggs which I absolutely love (they add a fresh minty burst which cuts through the richness), but any mini easter eggs will work perfectly. You may have noticed there is chocolate in every layer of these little babies so definitely invite your chocoholic friend around when you make them!
To achieve the chocolate nest effect, all you need is a slab of room temperature milk chocolate and a sharp knife. You could of course make these any time of year and decorate them with strawberries, white chocolate curls, or a rosette of whipped cream.

Ingredients:

(Makes 12)

For the base:
152g Oreo’s, preferably the chocolate creme Oreo’s
60g salted butter, melted (¼ cup)

For the cheesecake:
140g dark chocolate
250g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
65g icing sugar (½ cup), sifted
5ml vanilla extract/essence (1 tsp)
125ml cream (½ cup)

For the nests:
150g slab milk chocolate, at room temperature
125g mini green speckled eggs (I used the Cool Crisp speckled eggs)

Directions:

• Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Place the Oreo’s in a food processor and blitz until you have fine crumbs (or place them in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin). Add the melted butter and mix well.
• Divide the mixture between the 12 muffin cups (about 2tbsp per muffin cup). Press down firmly. Pop in the freezer while you make the cheesecake layer.
• Roughly chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Place over a pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until completed melted and smooth (or microwave at 20 second intervals). Set aside to cool slightly.
• Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy. Add the melted chocolate and whisk until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the cream and beat until thick and creamy.
• Drop heaped tablespoons of the mixture onto the chilled cookie bases. Give the muffin tin a shake to even out the cheesecake layer. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until set.
• To make the chocolate nests, lay the slab of chocolate onto a board, flat side facing up. The short side of the slab must be closest to you. Hold a large chefs knife or palette knife 90°C to the chocolate and scrape from top to bottom. After a few scrapes you should start to form tight curls. (If the chocolate is just crumbling, it is too cold and needs to warm up a little. Microwave it for 2-3 seconds and try again.) Set the curls aside and refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Lay the curls around the edge of the cheesecakes in a sort of triangle. You’ll need to work fast as the curls are very delicate and melt quickly. Fill each nest with 3 speckled eggs and serve immediately. (It’s best to place the speckled eggs right before serving, as they lose their colour when refrigerated).