small piece of heaven...

I came across a recipe for Mini Mocha Rocha Cheesecake by Alpineberry. I thought I'd try it on my family while I'm home. I made a few modifications based on the ingredients I had on hand and they turned out very tasty. My mom has been complaining that no one's eating our large container of Brown & Haley's Almond Roca, so I grounded up a few for the filling of the cheesecake. I also substituted the cashew in the crust for toasted walnuts, which lend a wonderful fragrance and texture to the crust, complementing well with creamy cheesecake and melty filling.

My cheesecake cracked on the top and some of the almond roca filling oozed out. I don't think I used enough cream cheese batter on the top. However, since the cheesecakes sink in the middle after they come out of the oven, I topped them with more ground almond roca and they looked fine.

Mini Almond Roca Cheesecake (adapted from Alpineberry)
make 9 mini cheesecakes

Crust:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup walnuts, toasted
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 tbsp butter, softened
Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 medium egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup almond roca, grounded (enough for filling and topping after baking)

For crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9 wells of a standard cupcake pan with liner. Process toasted walnuts, flour, powdered sugar, baking soda, and salt in food processor until walnut is finely ground. Add in butter and pulse until mixture resemble crumbles. Divide crust mixture evenly between the 9 wells and press down. Bake for 8 minutes until slightly brown.

For filling: Beat soften cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in beaten egg and vanilla. Add in butter and mix until smooth.

To assemble: Add about 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture to cooled crust, spread so that the crust is covered. Add in about 1 1/2 teaspoon ground almond roca. Top with another tablespoon or so of cream cheese mixture, making sure that the almond roca is completely covered. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown. They will sink a bit as they cool.

To serve: Peel off the liner; there will be slight sticking along the edges. You can top the cheesecakes with more ground almond roca for additional crunch and decoration. Or add a dollop of whipped cream.