Red, White & Blue Cheesecake Cupcakes

Although we haven’t quite hammered out our 4^th of July plans, I certainly know what we’ll be having for dessert! I figure we will rally up friends and family for a feast and then head over to Howelsen Hill for the free concert, Beatles tribute band!

Unfortunately there will be no fireworks this year due to insane Colorado fires, drought, fire hazard, etc. That’s okay with me, as long as nobody tries to independently celebrate their freedom with a dangerous display of rebellion. It’s safe we just skip it all together, and I’m happy to advocate firework abstinence!

In other news, this recipe came out of the USA Weekend insert in our local free paper. Of course, I used the batter to create about 4 dozen mini cupcakes, instead of the 2 inch cheesecake suggested in the recipe.

They were quite easy to make and I suppose you could even convince yourself these small bites are low fat and even healthy with a fresh fruit topping. 

Creamy Ricotta Cheesecake with Fresh Berries

1 15 oz. part-skim ricotta cheese

½ cup reduced-fat sour cream

4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

3 large eggs

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. finely grated orange zest

¼ tsp. salt

¼ cup seedless raspberry fruit jam

1 tbsp. water

1 6 oz. container fresh raspberries

1 6 oz. container fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line mini muffin pans with cupcake liners. Place the ricotta in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

2. Add the sour cream, cream cheese, eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, orange zest and salt and continue to mix until well blended.  Pour about ¾ full in cupcake liners and bake until center is just set, about 50–55 minutes.

3. Transfer to wire rack to cool then cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. In a small saucepan, bring the jam and water to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. With a small spoon, ladle about 1 tsp. of the jam mixture on top on cupcakes. Arrange fresh raspberries and blueberries and let set into jam mixture.

Refrigerate until served, cupcakes can be stored up to 2-3 days.