Cheesecake Petit Fours With Creamy Strawberry Glaze Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Wrap foil securely around pan., In a small bowl, mix pecans and wafer crumbs; stir in butter. Press onto bottom and 1/2 in. up sides of prepared pan., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and 1-1/3 cups sugar until smooth. Beat in 2 teaspoons vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until blended. Pour into crust. Place springform pan in a larger baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan., Bake until center is almost set, 65-75 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes on a wire rack. In a small bowl, mix sour cream and remaining sugar and vanilla; spread over top of cheesecake. Bake 5 minutes longer., Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool cheesecake on a wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen sides from pan with a knife; remove foil. Cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight, covering when completely cooled., In a small saucepan, whisk cornstarch and liqueur until smooth. Stir in spreadable fruit; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally., Remove rim from springform pan. Arrange strawberries over cheesecake; top with some of the glaze, allowing glaze to drip down sides. Refrigerate until glaze is set, about 1 hour. To serve, gently warm remaining glaze; serve with cheesecake.

Steps:

• Slice cake into 1/4-inch thick slices. Spread jam on the cake slices and then top with sliced strawberries. Cut cake slices into 1-inch circles and stars and set aside.
• Separate the frosting into 3 bowls and add food coloring to reach desired colors (1 to 2 drops of red to make pink, 1 to 2 drops of green to make seafoam and 1 to 2 drops of brown to make cream). Make a glaze by combining the sugar and milk in a medium bowl. Separate the glaze into 3 bowls and tint each to match the frosting colors.
• Place cake cut-outs on a wire rack. Fill 3 resealable plastic bags fitted with a star tip with each color of frosting and then pipe desired frosting over. Using a melon baler, add a scoop of ice cream and then sandwich the cut-outs. Drizzle glaze over cut-outs. Let glaze set. Pipe a star on the top of each petit four with the corresponding color of icing. Garnish with a small strawberry slice.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• In medium bowl, thoroughly combine crust ingredients. Press firmly on bottom of lightly buttered 10" springform pan.
• In large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining filling ingredients, beat thoroughly. Spoon over crust. Place pan on cookie sheet to catch any butter that might drip out. Bake 40-45 minutes. (Cheesecake may rise slightly and crack in several areas; it will settle again, cracks will minimize and topping will cover it.) Remove from oven and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Keep oven on at 350°F.
• In medium bowl, combine topping ingredients until well blended. Spoon topping over cheesecake, starting at center and extending to within 1/2 inch of edge. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes longer. Cool. Refrigerate cheesecake for at least 24 hours, preferably 2-3 days.
• Several hours before serving, wash, hull and completely dry strawberries on paper towels.
• In small saucepan, combine a little jelly with cornstarch; mix well. Add remaining jelly, liqueur and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture thickens and is clear (about 5 minutes). Cool to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.
• Using knife, loosen cheesecake from pan; remove springform. Arrange berries, pointed sides up, over top of cake. Spoon glaze over berries, allowing some to drip down sides of cake. Refrigerate until glaze is set.