Sweet Yet Sour

Orange Ginger Cheesecakes

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 | Cooking | 5 Comments

I’m always on the hunt for desserts that I can serve to my sister who has a wheat allergy.  I found this recipe in my new favorite book, “Short and Sweet”, by Melanie Barnard.  I made these for the first time for Anna’s birthday and then again on Sunday when my bookclub came over.

It was easy enough to make these wheat free for my sister by using gluten free ginger snaps.  I doubled them both times I made them to make 12 little cheesecakes.  I’ve modified the instructions for the recipe to my own specifications, but not much.  The best part is, these are “no bake” – two of the most beautiful words in cooking!

Orange Ginger Cheesecakes

3 oz ginger snaps

1 tablespoon butter – room temperature

1 large orange

1 8 oz package cream cheese – cut into eight pieces

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

Place 6 cupcake liners in a muffin pan.  Put the ginger snaps in a food processor with the metal blade and crumble.  Add the butter and mix again briefly until well blended.  Place about one tablespoon of the crumbs into each muffin tin and press into a crust. Put the muffin tin into the freezer for at least 5 minutes.

Meanwhile grate about 2 tablespoons of orange peel into the food processor and then juice the orange, which should result into about 1/2 cup of juice into the processor.  Then add the cream cheese, sugar, and cream into the processor.  Mix until well blended, stopping a few times to scrape down the sides with a spatula.

Divide the cheesecake even between the cupcake liners – the mixture will be thick and will probably require you to use a spatula.  Sprinkle a few crumbs of the leftover gingersnap mixture on top.  These can be refrigerated if you’ve made them a day ahead or can be placed in the freezer if you will be serving them that day.  They should be in the freezer for at least 30 minutes before you serve them, but allowed to thaw for a few minutes so that they are edible.