Teeny Tiny Dark Chocolate Cheesecakes with Cajeta and Raspberries

These are the adorable little cheesecakes that I made to go with my cute baby quiches for my boyfriend's curling team.

I used the exact same Sable & Rosenfeld Party Cups (by the way I bought them from Pasta & Co.) that I used for the quiches (they are quite versatile!). One of their suggestions for what to do with the little cups was mini chocolate cheesecakes. I thought that would be adorable but I wanted them to be a bit more special than that. I brainstormed a few ideas in my head- white chocolate drizzled on top? fruit? caramel? Then I thought, hey, how about cajeta instead of caramel? Cajeta is basically a goat's milk dulce de leche with a unique twang to it. It is ammmmaaazzing! I've made it multiple times since it's great drizzled over tart frozen yogurt, as well as a staple for these pretty Chocolate-Covered Peanut Cajeta Cups and my Chocolate Turtle Cookies.

A raspberry garnish finished off the little cakelettes. They turned out really well! These bite-sized desserts were a great alternative to the traditional rice krispie treats and box-mix brownies that littered the buffet table, and were second to go only to my Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies :)!

Teeny Tiny Dark Chocolate Cheesecakes with Cajeta and Raspberries

filling recipe adapted from here

ingredients:

• as many little cups as your heart desires (I used about 2 dozen and had a ton of extra filling- which isn't a bad thing!)
• 5 ounces dark chocolate
• 2 (4 ounce) packages of cream cheese, at room temperature (I used Neufchatel)
• 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch-processed)
• 2 large eggs
• cajeta, at room temperature (seriously, make the whole batch- you won't be sad about having extra!)
• raspberries, sliced in half

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Set the little cups out on baking sheets and set aside.
2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each to see if the chocolate is melted. Set aside.
3. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Add in the melted chocolate and mix to combine.
4. Spoon about a teaspoon of the cheesecake mixture into each cup. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until set.
5. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 1/2 an hour and then top each with 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of cajeta and 1/2 a raspberry. Pop them back in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

By the way, I have NO idea why my links are a different color than usual. Does anyone else have this problem with Blogger/ do you know how to fix it? Thanks!