"All My Loving"

I'm well and truly intrigued by the butterfly effect: If the financial recession means less customers in the shops, thus less money for businesses to pay their employess with, and therefore less hours for me to work in the week - then so be it that I otherwise fill my time with baking and drawing! I'm not complaining.

The other day was my second attempt at making cheesecake cupcakes which, in my humble opinion, combines two of the greatest concepts in the world of baking. In both endevours I took my recipes from the amazing book '500 Cupcakes'. My first ever batch, all that time ago, worked out quite well. They were made in the Texas muffin tins (which make 6 large muffins) and simply had blueberries arranged on top. I thought I would be a little more adventurous with my second batch the other day, and go for a low-fat variety that had blueberries throughout the filling, as well as trying to make some sort of crumble to sprinkle over the top.

And yet I still don't feel like I've perfected the art of little cheesecakes! I'm thinking that it's not really worth the money spent on large amounts of ricotta to make the low fat variety - as they are a little plain, and the margarine used in the base makes them slightly too moist. While both versions are definitely decadent, they seem to lack a little something. A little something I must find.

It's possible that I've found the answer.



How sweet are these little raspberry cheesecakes? These come from the amazing book 'Little Cakes from the Whimsical Bakehouse' by Kaye Hansen & Liv Hansen, which is packed full of the most adventurous cupcake creations I have ever seen! Not to mention some fantastic tips. At first glance, you could be sure that you heard that little cupcake whisper "I love you"...
All too perfect for Valentines Day!

Aside from some rather pleasing aesthetics, the recipe - though in American conversions - looks promising. Unlike previous occassions, there is no ricotta (only cream-cheesey goodness/evilness), no icing sugar (just your average castor sugar), the use of flour (which I found unusual), as well and using the zest and juice of lemons. Lemon cheesecake is truly awesome, and this addition to the recipe would save me from listening to my mother's complaints that my cheesecakes need a flavour through them; "something like lemon".

And doesn't that raspberry sauce look divine? How to make that sauce:

In a food processor, combine and mix until pureed:

• 1 six-ounce container fresh raspberries, gentle washed and picked over
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or Framboise liqueur

Strain into a bowl to remove the seeds. Set aside.

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Meanwhile, I've seen heart shaped pans in Kmart for just over $8.00 for a pack of 4, or individual pans that have more shape (and possibly a longer lifespan) for $12.00 each at a specialty homewares store.

No matter what, such a sweet idea is bound to impress! So if you're a firm believer in reaching a person's heart through food, you can't go wrong with appropriately-shaped cheesecake.