Mini "Piña Colada" Cheesecakes

My husband was craving cheesecake last weekend, so I decided to do something about that. But, this is me. I couldn't make a normal cheesecake. It had to be mini cheesecakes.

I went with a "Piña Colada" flavor scheme because my husband's favorite fruit is pineapple. The cheesecake is flavored with coconut rum, and topped with crushed pineapple. I used the cheesecake recipe from Petite Sweets (which I got as a wedding present) and cut the recipe in half. I also used a graham cracker crust (butter + crushed graham crackers) instead of vanilla wafers for the bottoms, and vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract, which I love doing in white desserts. They were the dessert for our "bento dinner" the other night, which I had a lot of fun with as well.

This was also my first use of the Norpro Mini Cheesecake Pan (also a wedding present), and it worked wonderfully. I was worried that it would stick since I forgot to spray the pan, but they came out perfectly. I will definitely be using the pan a lot, and not just for cheesecake.

Bento! Hard-boiled "chick," steamed broccoli, crackers with
summer sausage and cheddar, onigiri, and carrot flowers.

My husband's response to the cheesecake? "I'm a lot happier knowing that there are ten more of these waiting for me at home."