It's Halloween: Beware of the Candy Corn

 


For this week's special nod to Halloween, Rob chose to make mini candy corn cheesecakes.  The often overlooked and sometimes dreaded candy corn is the star of the bake (next to Rob, of course).  

The accepted narrative of how candy corn came to be is that a Philadelphia candymaker named George Renninger invented it in the 1880s. "Chicken Feed" was the original name of the candy.  The recipe for the confection was bought by the Goelitz Confectionary Company (today the Jelly Belly Candy Company), which has been churning it out since 1898. It became associated with Halloween in the 1950s when people began to hand out individually wrapped candy to trick-or-treaters. The colors of yellow, orange, and white represent the colors of the fall harvest, or of corn on the cob with the wide yellow end resembling a corn kernel.  An original ad for candy corn is below.


Mini Candy Corn Cheesecakes 

from the website: Life Love and Sugar.com 
https://www.lifeloveandsugar.com/mini-candy-corn-cheesecakes/#tasty-recipes-39289
 

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

1 1/2 cups (201g) Oreo crumbs
2 tbsp (41g) butter, melted

FILLING

12 ounces (339g) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (104g) sugar
2 tbsp (16g) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (115g) sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Yellow gel icing color
Orange gel icing color   
 
TOPPING 
 
1/2 cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
5 tbsp (36g) powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Orange gel icing color
Ghost toppers
 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C). Add cupcake liners to a cupcake pan and spray with non stick baking spray.
2. Combine the Oreo crumbs and melted butter. Divide the mixture between the cupcake liners (about 2 tablespoons per cup) and press into the bottoms.
3. Bake the crusts for 5 minutes then remove from oven. Allow to cool while you make the filling.
4. To make the filling, reduce oven to 300°F (148°C). In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and flour until combined (Use low speed to keep less air from getting into the batter, which can cause cracks). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed until well combined.
6. Add the eggs one at a time, beating slowly and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
7. Divide the batter evenly into three bowls. Leave one as is, then color one orange and the other yellow.
8. Layer the colored batter into the crusts, starting with a tablespoon of yellow batter in each cup, then a tablespoon of orange, then a tablespoon of white. The cups should be mostly full.
9. Bake the cheesecakes for about 15 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the door closed for another 10 minutes.
10. Crack the oven door and allow cheesecakes to cool for 15-20 minutes, then put in the fridge to finish cooling.
11. When cheesecakes are cooled, remove them from the pan.
12. To make the whipped cream topping, add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form. Color the whipped cream with a little orange gel icing color.
13. Pipe the whipped cream onto the tops of the cheesecakes and add topper, if using.
14. Refrigerate the cheesecakes in an airtight container until ready to serve. Cheesecakes are best for 2-3 days.

Rob's bake turned out deliciously spooky.  Happy Halloween and treat yourself to some candy corn cheesecake cupcakes!


                                                                                 

                                                                         


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