Spring has finally sprung (I think). Not only are the colours getting brighter outside but also in our baking! The pink lemonade glaze on this cake is so pretty … almost too pretty to eat. This recipe was inspired by the Redpath baking video I did with Heather Habgood of Creative Bug . She won a contest and received a fabulous gift basket and a chance to share her recipe via YouTube. We baked her Pink Lemonade Cake.

I thought if you can put pink lemonade in a cake then you can put it in a cheesecake as well. This mini cheesecake has a sour cream layer and a fabulous pink lemonade glaze. Not only is a great recipe for Mother’s Day but why not for prom!? The title of my cheesecake recipe is obviously inspired by one of my fav 80’s movie “Pretty in Pink”. Any chance I can to talk about a John Hughes Movie I will. Molly Ringwald this recipe is for you. Thank you for wearing pink even though you were a ginger. You helped break down barriers and made it acceptable for me to wear one of my favourite colours!



PRETTY IN PINK LEMONADE CHEESECAKES

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cupcake tins. Makes 24 mini cheesecakes.

BASE:
1/3 cup butter
2 tbsp. brown sugar
app. 2 cups graham crumbs

In a microwave safe dish add the butter and brown sugar. Melt in the microwave app. 20 seconds; stir to combine. Gradually add the graham crumbs until the texture is crumble yet sticky enough to pack down. Place 1 heaping tbsp in the bottom of each liner; pack down. Bake for 5 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove and set aside.

CHEESECAKE:

3 packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 sugar
1/3 cup pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 eggs
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

In a mixing bowl cream the cream cheese with the back of a wooden spoon or on the low speed of your mixer. Add the sugar, cornstarch, pink lemonade, salt and vanilla; mix until smooth on low speed (couple of minutes). Add the eggs stir or mix on low speed until combined (fine lumps are ok). DO not over mix.

Spoon overtop of the base. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3’s full. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until just set.



SOUR CREAM LAYER:

1 ½ cups sour cream, full fat
1/8 cup pink lemonade concentrate
1 tbsp. instant dissolving sugar
zest of 1 lemon

In a small bowl combine all the ingredients. When the cheesecakes are set remove from the oven and spoon the sour cream mixture on top. About 1 heaping tbsp. Place back in the oven and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for about an hour. Place in an airtight container in the fridge. Let set in the fridge at least 2 hours before serving.



PINK LEMONADE GLAZE:
In a small saucepan add 4 tsp. of cornstarch the remaining pink lemonade concentrate and the juice of 1 lemon; whisk together until smooth. Bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat let sit for 2 minutes; stir. Let cool cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

I made these cheesecakes for Easter and they got rave reviews most of my fam damily came back for seconds (that’s always a good sign). They keep for 4 days in the fridge.
Happy Spring & Happy Mother’s Day!