Pumpkin Chocolate Swirled Mini Cheesecakes with a Spiced Graham Crust

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirled Mini Cheesecakes with a Spiced Graham Crust

Another belated post...my apologizes we've been rather absent on the blog. The days are flying by faster than I can bake everything on my autumn bake-list. Since squash is the flavour of autumn, I wanted to incorporate pumpkin into the Halloween treats shared with Fat Rats. And everyone likes cheesecake right? I beat The Clumsy One at making these, mwahahaha~

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirled Mini Cheesecakes with a Spiced Graham Crust

-Insert ranting here- 

I actually put that in my draft... but there isn't much on my mind today, so you're in luck! Reduced amount of nonsense in this post.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirled Mini Cheesecakes with a Spiced Graham Crust

The spiced graham crust can be substituted with gingersnap cookies, as that is what I was aiming to copy. The hint of extra spices amps up the volume of the spices already in the cheesecake batter. I admit, the chocolate swirl doesn't do much for the cake, other than make it look prettier. Feel free to leave the extra step out if it is going to be topped with whipped cream (coconut whipped cream, anyone?) or decorated with other methods. Either way, it'll be sure to impress and satisfy~

The gradual cooling of cheesecake is a vital part of the procedure, especially when making larger sizes. I still experienced a little bit of cracking on these mini cheesecakes and felt that they were just a tinge on the over-cooked side. If that is a concern for you, stop the oven about two minutes earlier and begin the process of cooling.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirled Mini Cheesecakes with a Spiced Graham Crust

Yield: 12 muffin-sized cheesecakes

Ingredients

For the crust

• 5 graham crackers (the long rectangular shaped ones)
• A pinch each of ground ginger and nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

For the filling

• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature (low fat is okay) 
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp each of ground ginger and nutmeg
• 1 egg
• ½ vanilla
• 2 tsp coconut milk
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a standard muffin pan with twelve paper liners.
2. Blitz your graham crackers in a food processor to make crumbs. Add the spices and pulse a few times to combine. Add the melted coconut oil to the crumbs and mix until a wet sand texture is achieved. 
3. Press 2 to 3 tsp of the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of each paper liner, I recommend using the back of a small spoon.
4. Bake crust in the preheated oven for 4 minutes.
5. In a mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese and brown sugar together until homogenous and fluffy.
6. Add the pumpkin puree and spices, mix until smooth. 
7. Add egg, vanilla, and coconut milk and mix again until smooth.
8. Reserve about 3 tbsp of the cheesecake batter in a separate bowl. Add cocoa powder to the reserved batter. Set aside.
9. Divide pumpkin cheesecake batter evenly between liners. Place dollops of the chocolate cheesecake batter on top and swirl with a toothpick.
10. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. When done, prop the oven door open slightly and allow cheesecakes to cool in the oven for about 10 minutes. The cool completely on the counter in the pan before chilling in the fridge. Bringing the cheesecakes gradually to room temperature will prevent cracking. 
11. Once completely cooled, store in refrigerator. They last for quite a while, around a week or two?

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Pumpkin Oatmeal: The Ultimate Autumn Breakfast

The yellow, orange, and red foliage that bring the needed pops of colours during a gloomy, rainy day and that shine vibrantly in the shining sun. Ahhhh, autumn.. 'tis the season to incorporate pumpkin into every recipe possible. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bars, pumpkin latte, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin oatmeal. Today I will share with you one of the warmest, coziest, most-autumn-y breakfast one could possibly enjoy on a chilly morning. Not to mention it's extremely healthy, full of wholesome ingredients and no refined sugars of any sort.

The dry ingredients: oats + cinnamon

The trick to sweetening this oatmeal without adding granulated or brown sugar, or even honey, is the 'melted banana trick'. After I discovered this creative natural sweetener from Chocolate Covered Katie (who's recipes I adore), I will refuse to make oatmeal without a spotted banana lying around. I don't use the microwave but instead caramelize it (or cook it, if I'm impatient) in my pot before adding the rest of the wet ingredients. It adds so much sweetness and flavour, totally brings a plain bowl of oatmeal to the next level.

A bowl of oatmeal is the perfect breakfast to kick start the day. Oats provide long-lasting energy and are digested slowly, therefore keeping you fuller for longer. This particular recipe has a whole serving of fruits and vegetables in it! Cellulose (aka fibre) keeps the digestive tract squeaky clean! The warmth also energizes the body on a cold morning, or any morning really. Contrary to what I often read on the Internet, cold food is actually not a good way to start the day. Cold food takes away the body's energy, because the body uses up it's energy to warm the food it is ingesting. That's probably why diet articles always encourage dieters to chug down an ice cold glass of water right after getting up. Being raised in a Chinese family, my mom always frowns at me when I pour a ice cold glass of milk into my cereal. But I really have a thing against warm and soggy cereal, it's gross. So, if I am in need of a hot breakfast (that isn't pancakes or something with eggs), oatmeal satisfies.

This recipe can be customized to your liking; feel free to adjust amounts and add or omit items to suit your taste buds. I'm more of a chunky oatmeal kinda gal, so my liquid to oats ratio is a tad lower. Aaaand I love cinnamon, so a heaping teaspoon of that for good measure.

Hot bowl of Pumpkin Oatmeal

Using quick oats is the way to go, because if an empty stomach screaming for breakfast makes you cranky like me, then waiting more than five minutes for food isn't going to cut it. Measure out dry ingredients in the bowl you plan to eat out of, dunk all wet stuff into a small pot, boil, mix, boil eat. Easy and quick. Okay, enough with my meaningless mumble jumble. Here's the recipeeeee!!

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Recipe by Coconut Crumpet

Serves 1 

Ingredients

• ½ ripe banana (the riper the better!)
• ¼ quick cooking oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ cup pumpkin puree
• ¼ cup milk
• Splash of vanilla

Extras

• 1 tbsp nut butter – add to pot with wet ingredients
• Yogurt – stir in at the end; flavoured yogurts add extra sweetness
• Chopped toasted nuts – for topping
• Honey – extra sweetness

Directions

1. In a small saucepan or pot, mash ripe banana into a puree. Cook over medium heat until sizzling and 'breathing'.
2. In a small bowl, combine oats and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Once banana is caramelized or cooked, add milk, pumpkin, vanilla, and any other wet ingredients you wish you add in. Cover pot with lid and bring to a boil.
4. Once wet ingredients have come to a boil, add dry ingredients and stir. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, or according to package directions. 
5. Serve hot with a splash of milk, top with something crunchy, or drizzle more nut butter or honey on top. Dig in!

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡

Aren't my Piglet and Eeyore purple pajamas the best? :P

Butternut Squash Lasagna Roll-Ups with Corn Puree & Barlett Pears

Autumn brings about squash and gourds season! I began my butternut squash marathon by using a leftover sheet of fresh lasagna pasta and created these beautiful pinwheels. Think of it like a hot and cooked version of a lunch wrap. They are so easy to put together and the possibilities of filling combinations are endless. Plus, these roll-ups look super impressive, even if I must say so myself.

Butternut Squash Lasagna Roll-Ups with Corn Puree & Barlett Pears

Inspiration for this dish came from this month's issue of Fresh Juice magazine, Super-Green Pinwheels with Minted Pea Puree. I really love reading this relatively new-on-the-market magazine by President's Choice. Especially since my mom gets every issue free in the mail because she holds their credit card. Anyways, how did I do with recreating this? Does it look similar? :D

The flavours are simple and speak for themselves. Roasting the squash gives it the warm and cozy feeling, the ricotta provides that creaminess we all know in a lasagna and the basil is there for a pungent yet fresh punch of flavour. All the flavours blend together and melts in your mouth. 

I chose to experiment with slices of squash in the roll-ups. Mainly because it would cook faster in the oven; I can get rather impatient on a hungry stomach. The result was a little drier than a normal lasagna is, missing the sauce and loads of cheese. In Fresh Juice's version, they pair their lasagna rolls with a pea puree. Using that idea, I made a simple 'sauce' of pureed cooked corn kernels (and cheated by using the canned variety) to add some necessary moisture. Very basic but did the job of adding moisture, flavour, and decoration well. Maybe next time I will puree the squash to fill the pasta; this will also help retain some moisture.

This entree (or potential appetizer?) is borderline crossing into the sweet territory. Butternut squash, corn, and barlett pear can all be used in sweet recipes. But being someone with a sweet-tooth, I have no problem with my dinner being a little sweeter than usual ;)

Butternut Squash Lasagna Roll-Ups with Corn Puree & Barlett Pears

The colours on my plate look more summer-y than fall, but that just means this recipe can be altered according to what ingredients are fresh and in season. Switch up the fillings and the herbs, there are bound to be tons of delicious combinations out there!

Butternut Squash Lasagna Roll-Ups with Corn Puree & Barlett Pears

Inspired by Fresh Juice

Serves 1

Ingredients

• 1 sheet of fresh lasagna
• about ⅛ of a small butternut squash
• 1 tsp coconut oil, melted
• Pink Himalayan sea salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• ½ fresh barlett pear
• ½ cup of corn niblets, canned, fresh or frozen
• ¼ cup ricotta cheese (low fat is okay)
• about 6 basil leaves, chiffonaded + mini ones for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Peel butternut squash skin off with a vegetable peeler. De-seed and cut into paper-thin slices.
3. Toss squash slices with melted coconut oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread squash in a single layer (or as best you can) onto prepared baking sheet and roast until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Avoid over-baking and turning them into chips!
4. Meanwhile, in a flat frying pan, bring about 1 inch of water to a boil. Cook lasagna sheet for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and place on an oiled or parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
5. In a small bowl or custard cup, mix together ricotta and chiffonaded basil. Spread onto cooked lasagna sheet, leaving a 3 inch boarder on one of the shorter ends. This will help seal the pasta later. 
6. Arrange roasted squash slices over ricotta cheese and roll lasagna up tightly (unlike me) like a sushi roll. Cut into 6 or 8 equal pieces with a sharp knife.
7. Place lasagna roll-ups cut-side up on the same baking sheet and bake at the same temperature (400°F) for 20 minutes.
8. While roll-ups are baking, slice pear into paper-thin pieces and arrange onto serving plate. The left-over slices of squash can be used to decorate too!
9. In a food chopper or processor, puree cooked corn niblets until mostly smooth. Spoon over pear, or use for desired decoration.
10. Once finished, plate baked lasagna roll-ups and garnish with a few whole corn niblets and some mini basil leaves. 

Love from Coconut Crumpet's Corner ♡