Baked Baby Cheesecakes with Nutella Drop

My 2nd lot Baby Cheesecake (baked) in a cup of homemade sweet short pastry (Pâte sucrée), (using patty tins) & Nutella Drop in centre of cake...serving chilled or warm...

The 1st lot was not satisfactorily done as the short pastry came out too browned and overcooked. Why? Because Anne did not put enough love and attentive care for it. She was running around here and there, doing several things at the same time and forgot to return to the kitchen to check on the temperature! :( Yeah...Admittedly, it could happen once in a while...too many clouds in her head! My apologies honey-bunny sweet short pastry! ;)

"It's best if you can do things with a sense of humour and finesse."
-- Eartha Kitt

When in France, I often use a roll of commercial pâte sucrée sheet, pâte brisée sheet and pâte feuilletée sheet, making pies or tarts or curry puff. It's inexpensive and less time-consuming. In Thailand, the price of a roll of commercial sweet short pastry is very high, with the fact that most of commercial pastry cases are with margarine base of which I'm not a big fan! So I have no better choice than making my homely version, adapted from Le Cordon Bleu's. So unbelievable, the pâte sucrée is still firm (not flaky or dry) yet soft, well married and melt in the mouth with baked soft cheesecake filling, even after being refrigerated overnight!

You can substitute Nutella with raspberry or blackcurrant or blackberry or strawberry or blueberry jam or filling of your choice..then dust with icing sugar...Et voilà !

1 quantity sweet short pastry 
(Pâte sucrée)
for 12 patty cups
200 g plain flour
100 g unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 tablespoons caster sugar

2 egg yolks (large)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon of water

• Sift the flour into a bowl. Add butter and rub through with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar. Make a well in the middle. Use a fork to lightly whisk the yolks and vanilla then add them into the well. Sprinkle water over the dry mixture using a small palette knife to mix in the liquid until the pastry begins to form clumps, press it lightly together with a cupped hand to form a smooth ball. Wrap pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 
• Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface. Using a metal ring and stamp out pastry circles. Gently place the pastry circles on patty tins, adjusted to fit each patty cup.Thoroughly grease the patty tins and line with sweet short pastry. Trim the pastry to the tops of the tins, then blind-bake the shells for about 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
(For Filling )

2 eggs, separated

50 g caster sugar

125 g cream cheese

125 g plain yoghurt or quark

30 g plain flour

2 tablespoons whipping cream

*1 teaspoon vanilla essence
(*you can also substitute vanilla essence with grated rind of 1/2 lemon, ideally for jam drop)

• Beat the egg yolks and caster sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in the cream cheese, yoghurt and vanilla essence gradually;
• Sift the flour over the mixture and beat it in until just combined. Fold in the whipping cream;
• Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the mixture;
• Ladle the mixture into the pastry shells (two-third full) . Add a little Nutella drop or jam of your choice and bake at 160 °C for about 25-30 minutes.