Mini Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

It's been sometime since my last post...well, looking after a little one is not a piece of cake and though the laptop is set up in the next room from where she sleeps (with the idea of updating my blog during her sleeping hours), the temptation to grab some sleep myself always seems to be winning...

Hmm...now for this particular recipe...I came up with the idea of baking a mini cheesecake..Firstly, coz there's only the 2 of us and importantly, it's a way of avoiding myself from over indulgence (guilty feelings aside).

So here goes....a perfectly baked, creamy cheesecake which is just the right size as a dessert and has a crust made with Oreo cookies, giving it a kinda balance I love....Made this for our 3rd Wedding Anniversary which was last week (12.12.13) ;)...As usual, earned me some awesome remarks from the husband and also some lucky friends who got to taste it for breakfast the next day...

The recipe makes about 6 medium cupcake liner sized cheesecakes

I used :

1 block Philadelphia cream cheese (250 gm)
1/3 cup fine sugar
1 egg
juice of 1/2 orange and rind of 1 orange
5 tbsp. whipping cream

For the crust :

1/2 packet of Oreo cookies (cream removed)
3-4 tbsp. butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 180C...Line a muffin pan with 6-8 cupcake liners (depending on size).
Crush the Oreo cookies and add in the butter and mix..(oreo crumbs should be sticking together).
Take a tbsp. of mixture and press down onto the cupcake liners and press with the back of a teaspoon until smooth. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat cream cheese, fine sugar till well mixed, smooth and creamy. Add in the egg and beat till well combiner. Add in orange juice, orange rind and cream. Mix well. Divide micture evenly into the cupcake liners with Oreo base.

Bake cheesecakes for 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool before refrigerating and serving. Serve cold.