Surprise O’Canada Cheesecake Tarts
I do not own much red in my wardrobe. In fact, the only red I DO own, is for one day only. That day, of course, is Canada Day. Us Canadians love to make everything red & white when the “Home & Native Land” has a birthday.
(happy birthday, Canada!)
To celebrate, you’re likely going to be invited to a potluck, barbeque, picnic by the fireworks or a long-weekend cottage getaway. So, we want to help with your menu, just a wee bit!
These baked mini-cheesecakes are the perfect dessert you can whip up ahead of time, and then pack away in your fridge or cooler until the time is right. We added a little surprise element to these cheesecakes, by taking 1/3 of the batter and dying it red. If you aren’t a fan of food coloring, perhaps you can do a jam filling here as well. Top with whipped cream and some patriotic sprinkles, and you are good to go!
- 24 frozen mini tart shells, thawed
- 3 pkgs (blocks) plain cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- Red food dye (we used the gel variety)
- Optional - whipped cream
- Optional - Canada Day sprinkles
- Mixing Bowl
- Mixer (hand or table top)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Separate your mini tarts from each other, and place on a baking sheet. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine your cream cheese, vanilla & sugar.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Remove approximately 1/3 of the cheesecake mixture into a separate bowl, and mix well with red food dye. It will darken upon baking, but be sure to put enough to make it saturated. NOTE: Red food dye can have an off-putting taste. We recommend a no-taste red food dye gel for more saturation and no bitter taste.
- Taking your thawed tart shells, spoon approx a tablespoon of the white batter into the bottoms of each shell. Repeat this, using the RED batter. Then repeat again with the white batter, smoothing out the top with the back of the spoon.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Cheesecakes may rise and crack, but they will fall back down upon cooling.
- Let cool completely, then top with whipped cream and sprinkles right before serving, if you choose!
