Be an Individualist: Personal Desserts

The next time you are having a dinner party or getting friends and/or family together why not make personalized desserts? Everyone loves having their own dessert, you control the portion size (and the amount of leftovers) and there is less cooking time involved because smaller items cook faster. All you need is a small cake pan (can be purchased from Sur La Table for less than $5/cake pan) or bake a cake in a normal 9x13 and using a 3-4 inch ring mold - cut out circle pieces for serving.

(Click Here for Mini-Mango Cheesecake with Gingered Syrup Recipe)

Mango Cheesecake (Makes about 7-8 individual cakes):

• 1 ½ c. graham crumbs
• 1 c. flaked coconut
• 1/3 c. melted butter
• 3 Mangos, Pureed
• 3 – 8 oz. Crème Cheese (Room Temp)
• 1 ¼ c. sugar
• 1-3 T. (you choice) Vanilla
• 4 eggs

1. Line cake pans with partchment paper.
2. Melt butter and combine with graham crumbs and coconut to create crust.
3. Push crust into bottom of cake pans and refrigerate.
4. Chop and puree mangos, set aside.
5. Mix together (electric mixer) creme cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
6. Add 1 egg at a time, mixing quickly and fully combining each egg before adding another.
7. Add mango puree until combined.
8. Ladel cheesecake filling into each coconut crust lined cake pan and bake for 30-45 minutes at 325 degrees until tops have risen, cakes have set with golden brown edges and cakes only ripple slightly in the very center of the cake.

*You can serve these cakes warm, cold or room temp. I prefer slightly below room temp as it is more refreshing in the summer time.

*You may want to cover cheesecake with foil if tops become too dark for you while baking.

I love serving these individual cheesecakes with chopped mango that has been tossed in ginger syrup.

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Ginger Syrup-Mango Garnish:

• 1 large, 3-4 inch of ginger
• 3:1 Simple Syrup
• 1/2 mango, chopped (per cake)

1. Combine sugar and water in a pot (3 sugar to 1 water ratio), bring to boil and then simmer while sugar dissolves completely.
2. Peel and chop ginger into little chunks (the more cuts the more flavor!) and add to simmering simple syrup.
3. Let syrup simmer for 15-20 minutes until it starts to be thick, like you would expect a 'syrup' to be.
4. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. Right before you plan to serve the cakes, take out the ginger pieces from the syrup.
6. Place chopped mango in bowl and drizzle ginger syrup over mango pieces.
7. Toss with spatula and then using a slotted spoon, place fruit compote over tops and around the mango cheesecake.
8. Use any excess ginger syrup to drizzle around the edges of the plate.