Blueberry Lavender Mini Cheesecakes #SundayFunday

Welcome to #SundayFunday! Wendy from A Day In The Life on The Farm invited fellow bloggers to kick back, relax, and share something tasty and fun each weekend. "Sunday should be a Family Funday. Please join us in sharing recipes that will help you to enjoy your Sunday." If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join - we'd love to have you!

This month Sue from Palatable Pastime said "It's Midsummer and the Faerie mischief is afoot. Let's make a tribute to the fae ones with a recipe that will delight them. 

Looking for: Love potions, faerie cakes, recipes using flowers or herbs, small bites, delicate desserts, or recipes that remind of fairy tales."

So these are beautiful and delicious BUT please use liners for your beautiful mini cheesecakes so you too do not end up with a scraped deconstructed tasty mess at the end of your bake. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything... sigh.

This was a fun theme that inspired me to put the culinary lavender I had in my pantry to work! You don't taste much of the lavender in the syrup but I think it does add a very subtle note. The blueberry swirl is really pretty and gives these individual sized treats a little something "extra".

See all of our magical recipes for today!

Magical Cookie Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Butterfly Cupcakes by Amy's Cooking Adventures

Chocolate Pixies by Food Lust People Love

Magical Meringue Mushrooms: Queen Mab's Dining Table by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Pixie Stix Candy Straws by Palatable Pastime

Blueberry Lavender Mini Cheesecakes by Making Miracles

Beetroot & Chocolate Mini Muffins by Mayuri's Jikoni

Fruity Birthday Cake by Sneha's Recipe

Blueberry Lavender Mini Cheesecakes 

Ingredients

FOR THE SYRUP:

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1 TBS granulated sugar

1 TBS culinary dried lavender

1/4 - 1/3 cup water

FOR THE CRUST:

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (or gingersnap crumbs)

2 TBS butter, melted

2 TBS granulated sugar

pinch of salt

FOR THE FILLING:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1 egg, white and yolk separated at room temperature

1/3 cup + 1 TBS granulated sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

dash of granulated sugar

Directions

1. Prepare your syrup first by combining all syrup ingredients into a small saucepan and bringing to a low simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Use the back of a spatula to press down on the blueberries to help break them down. Syrup should be fairly dense and sticky. Remove from heat and set aside. 
2. While sauce is simmering,  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place 7 cupcake liners into a cupcake tin and spray with nonstick cooking spray. 
3. Prepare the crust by combining melted butter, sugar, crumbs,  and a pinch of salt in a bowl and stir until evenly combined (mixture should resemble wet sand). Divide mixture between cupcake liners and use the bottom of a glass or measuring cup to press down on the crumbs to pack them tightly. 
4. Bake in the preheated oven 8 minutes then set aside while you prepare the filling. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. 
5. Prepare the filling by whipping the egg white until it gets very foamy and fluffy. Add a pinch of granulated sugar and continue whipping until soft peaks form then set aside. 
6. Combine the softened cream cheese and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and blend on high speed until well combined and creamy, scraping down the sides and bottom as needed. Blend in the egg yolk, salt, and vanilla until well combined.
7. Gently fold in the whipped egg white by hand with a spatula.
8. Scrape out half of the filling into a separate bowl.
9. Lay a fine mesh sieve over one bowl and pour the cooled syrup in, pressing with a spatula to get as much of the liquid out as possible into the batter,  discarding the solids. Gently stir the syrup into the batter.
10. Reserve about 2-3 TBS of the blueberry batter for topping and divide the rest over the baked crusts. Next divide the plain batter carefully over the blueberry batter. Divide the reserved blueberry batter over the white batter by adding a few dollops across the tops and swirling the batter gently with a toothpick. 
11. Bake in the preheated oven 20 minutes or until almost fully set. A slight wiggle in the middle is OK. Set aside on a cooling rack to cool, then remove from the baking pan and refrigerate 2 hours (or more) before serving. 

Recipe adapted form Away From The Box