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Lemony Cheese Tart with Blueberry Toppings

I love cheese cake; I love the creamy filling that goes so perfectly with the crust; I love the taste; I love the smell. It is so good to be true. Yes, one piece probably costs you  300 – 500 calories depending on the size and ingredient. Although I have a sweet tooth, I will still eat it because I love it.  If we buy a cheesecake, I would be the one who is eating up the whole cake. So after a while I am not buying anymore and nor making anymore because no one in the house will eat more than one piece.  It will just sit there. Can’t even remember when the last time was but it was long enough.

I once saw these ready made bottom crust in the grocery store and gosh, they are the mini tarts in a pack of six! I was so excited when I found them. This is great because it is small portion perfect for individual size.  So during one lovely Saturday afternoon about two weeks ago, I made these Mini Cheese Tarts as an after dinner dessert for my dear girlfriends. They loved it.

I made the cheese tarts into two different flavors, 3 of them were Chocolate Swirl with Chocolate Nut Spread Crust for chocolate sweets lover, the other 3 of them were Lemony Cheese Tart with Blueberries Topping for a refreshing summer flavor. I just did it for fun because they looked so cute. Either way you can always double the ingredients to make all 6 cheese tarts in one flavor.

Ingredient:
3/4 of the 8 oz  package cream cheese
2 tbsp sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg

For Lemony cheese tart with blueberries topping
2-3 drips of lemon juice
some blueberries

For Chocolate Swirl cheese tart
2 semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp Walnuts or Pecans (chopped)

Preparation:

1. Beat egg and sugar till pale yellow, add thawed cream cheese and sour cream, combine well till smooth. Do not overbeat.
2. Separate cream cheese mixture into two bowls.
3. For Lemony cheese tart, add in few drips lemon juice into one of the cream cheese mixture and combine. Scoop 1-2 tbsp mixture to fill in 3 mini crusts. Set aside. (Place the blueberries on top only when the cream cheese is set before serving)
4. For chocolate cheese tart, microwave chocolate pieces till half melt then stir till smooth. Spread some chocolate on the bottom of the remaining 3 mini crusts, add some chopped nuts on the chocolate spread. Use the other cream cheese mixture spoon 1-2 tbsp  and fill in the crust (option: you can add some chocolate to this cream cheese mixture for extra taste). To do the chocolate swirl, spoon a small chocolate drop on to the middle of cheese tart, use a tooth pick to swirl the pattern from the chocolate center.
5. Refrigerate about 1 hour till set. If not completely set you can freeze it, then thaw for 5 minutes before serving.

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I must say Crab Rangoon (炸蟹角) is a Chinese fusion appetizer introduced to the American Chinese cuisine. Yes, Americans love Chinese food too, but not all of the traditional Chinese food. Therefore a lot of Chinese food in the States are modified to catered based on the Americans’ taste. Crab Rangoon is one of them. I never had these before in Malaysia until I came to the United States. I was studying in Lincoln, Nebraska and there are two or three traditional Chinese restaurants I can recall, the rest are American Chinese restaurants such as Panda Express, Pick Up Stix, or other local ones like Golden Wok and China Wok. So I was able to try these delicacies in these Americanized restaurants.

Don’t get me wrong, I actually think the Crab Rangoon is a break through from the traditional Chinese cuisine in adapting to the American culture. The Crab Rangoon is filled with cream cheese (I like mostly anything with cheese), imitation crab meats or canned crab meats, scallions, garlic or other seasonings. They are wrapped with wonton egg wrappers or egg roll wrappers and deep fried until golden.  Here in the States, some restaurants serve the Crab Rangoon with sweet and sour plum sauce or mustard for dipping. I just like mine plain and simple.

Ingredients:
1 8 oz package Kraft cream cheese (soften at room temperature)
1 cup (6-8 pcs) of imitation crab meats (chopped)
4 stalks scallions (chopped finely)
1 clove garlic (minced)
Dashes of Salt & Black Pepper
50 pcs wonton wrappers or egg roll wrappers

Cooking Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine soften cream cheese, chopped crab meats, scallions, minced garlic, salt & pepper. Mix thoroughly.
2. Lay a wonton wrapper on a flat surface like a diamond shape. Place a teaspoonful scoop of cream cheese mixture to the center of the wrapper.
3. Use your middle finger and thumb of both hands to slightly lift the opposite sites of the wrapper from bottom to form a “+” shape. Then press towards the middle to hold the shape. Press on the other two sides to hold and form like a flower shape. Try not to overfill wrapper.
4. Sprinkle some flour on baking sheet or plates. Place the completed Crab Rangoon on them.
5. Heat oil in a deep pot, or deep fryer to 375 degrees.  Add Crab Rangoon in three batches and deep fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels.

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One of the appetizers that I like to order when dining at “Olive Garden” (the Italian restaurant) is the “Stuffed Mushroom”. They have really good stuffed mushroom. I never thought that these ordinary and plain-looking white mushrooms can be tasted so good when they are cooked.

It is not difficult to prepare this savory dish once you have tried it for the first time.  Since the mushrooms are stuffed with cheese and bread crumbs filling , it is recommended to serve them hot.  You can prepare the stuffed mushrooms ahead of time and only start baking them 30 minutes before the party. I bet everyone will love it (except for those who don’t love cheese :P).

Ingredients:
1 package of white mushroom (stemmed)
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 medium onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2/3 of 8 oz package cream cheese
2 tbsp Italian parsley leaves (chopped)
1/2 cup Italian-style dried bread crumbs
3 tbsp of Parmesan cheese or grated Pecorino Romano
Salt and pepper to tast
2 tbsp olive oil

Cooking Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Remove stems from mushrooms and chop the stems.
3. Slightly wet the paper towel and clean the mushrooms.
4. Heat butter over medium, stir fry the garlic, onion and chopped mushroom stems until tender. Remove from heat.
5. Combine cream cheese with parsley, dried bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Stir in the cooked ingredients, add salt and pepper, mix well.
6. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the baking pan.
7. Spoon 1 tablespoon of cheese stuffing into each mushroom cap. Place them on the baking pan.  Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto the the mushrooms.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden on top.