A mama with ideas...

As mentioned in my post about prepare-ahead roast potatoes... I was determined not to spend the lead up to Christmas slaving away in the kitchen!  So when I stumbled across this special mini-cheesecake pan I was intrigued!  I knew it was possible to freeze cheesecake as you can buy ready made ones in the freezer section, so I was hopeful that this could provide me with the perfect solution:  a tasty, classy dessert with a bit of Christmas 'wow factor', that could be prepared weeks in advance and simply defrosted in the refrigerator overnight, placed on a serving plate (no need to even cut into portions) et voilà!




PART 1:  Review of Norpro Mini Cheesecake Pan

The Norpro 3919 Mini Cheesecake Pan has 12 individual cups with removable bases to enable easy release and while it is described as a cheesecake pan I see no reason why you could not use it for a variety of bitesize appetisers or desserts, for example muffins or quiches.  Each cup measures 2 inches diameter and is 1-3/4 inches deep, and holds approximately 3 fl oz (90ml).  The pan itself has non-stick coating, plus riveted stainless steel handles.  It is dishwasher safe.


As with all new gadgets and gizmos I wanted to do a trial run, and so made some vegan cheesecakes for a Thanksgiving pot luck dessert!  They turned out better than I'd hoped and the tin was very easy to use.

Advantages

• The individual cups enable you to create professional looking individual desserts perfect for entertaining. 
• You can use it for more than just cheesecake!  Be creative!
• The non-stick works very well and the desserts I made slid out of the pan with ease.
• The pan feels well constructed and high quality.
• It washes well in the dishwasher.
• The standard recipe supplied with the pan works well and is reliable.
• You can freeze the pan (see the Christmas recipe below to find out more!)
• One of the best things about this pan in my opinion is that you can create a variety of different flavors in the same pan at the same time.  I used a basic vegan cheesecake recipe and created 3 additional variations by adding chocolate, lemon juice/zest and coffee to 4 different batches.  The results were delicious...

Disadvantages

• The pan is quite expensive when you consider the size of it!  However, it is solidly made and should last to make the investment worthwhile.  The RRP is $30, however, they are available online for much less.
• You can only make 12 at a time and it takes a long time to create a batch of cheesecakes, so if you are catering for a larger number of people, you may need more than one pan.
• If you are making cakes (with thin batter) rather than cheesecakes I can see that the batter may leak out of the cups as the loose bottoms are not secured.  This could be remedied by placing a baking sheet under the pan to catch any small leakages.

Verdict
I love this pan... it was very easy to use and gave very professional looking results.  However, one of my very favorite things about this pan is the ability to pop it in the freezer as I did a few weeks before Christmas.

• 2 Cups Graham cracker crumbs
• Half a bar of chocolate (I used some almond dark chocolate) - optional
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 5 Tablespoons butter (melted)

• 8oz cream cheese (softened)
• 1 egg
• 12 oz can evaporated milk
• 14 oz La Lechera condensed milk (sweetened condensed milk)
• 1 /2 tsp Mexican vanilla or pure vanilla extract
• 14 oz can Nestle La Lechera dulce de leche

To make the filling, simply blend the cream cheese, egg, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla with a hand mixer or blender until creamy and very well mixed.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of the dulce de leche and blend again.  Spoon the mixture into each cup to almost the top (leaving a small gap at the top for the topping).






Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.  It may look jiggly still but will carry on cooking in the next step.  Turn the oven off, and open the door an inch or two and leave the cheesecakes in there for an hour.  At the end of the hour, take the pan out of the oven.  Insert a skewer in the cheesecake to ensure it is done... it should come out clean.
Once completely cold, I spooned a dollop of the remaining dulce de Leche on each cheesecake and spread with a knife.  I placed a sheet of non-stick baking parchment over the pan and then double wrapped in foil to prevent freezer burn.  Then the whole thing went in the freezer.




Click here to get your own mini pan!
 

I've been stuck indoors for the last few days with one poorly twin and another who's been bouncing off the walls and in need of something to do!  So I decided to brave an activity with him that I had been planning to do solo, and was delighted to find that it was suprisingly child-friendly and a fun way to spend some time with my little one while his brother had a much needed nap on the sofa!

The project I had been planning was to make a orange & clove pomander.  I have always thought that these look lovely and Christmassy... plus, I'm all into heavenly scented interiors and think the combination of citrus, clove, and other spices is perfect for the winter!  These classic 'air fresheners' have been popular since medieval times and form the basis of many family holiday traditions.  When properly cured (dried out) they can last indefinitely, requiring just an occasional refresh in boiling water for a minute before re-drying!  The only issue is that they require patience and can take weeks if not months to cure properly.

However, I am not your patient sort (ahem...) and like instant results!!!  So, I cheated slightly and jump-started the drying process in the oven!  I also don't necessarily expect them to last a lifetime... if they don't cure properly and need discarding after Christmas, I'm not going to lose any sleep.  Afterall, the Shouty One and I spent an enjoyable hour together making them and we benefitted from the gorgeous scent for a few weeks... that makes it worth it in my book!




You will need...

• A firm, blemish-free orange (choose one that smells divine even through the skin!!)
• Whole cloves - you can buy these in the spice aisle in the supermarket, but they can be expensive, so look out for them in the bulk food aisle or in health/whole food stores.
• Approximately a yard of ribbon (1/2" or 1cm wide is perfect).
• A tablespoon each of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and/or ground allspice (optional)
• A skewer or toothpick
• Sticky tape or masking tape

First of all, you should use the tape to mark out where your ribbon will go so that you can pierce the cloves around it.  You will probably want to tie the ribbon in a cross with two lengths circling the ball perpendicular to each other (like a gift wrapped present).




Then, you will find it easier if you use a skewer or toothpick to pierce the orange skin prior to inserting the cloves.  You should pierce all the way through the skin to the flesh underneath.  If you try to insert the cloves without doing this you often end up crushing them!  You can pre-design where you plan to insert your cloves by marking the skin with a pencil... intricate designs are fun, but so too is the random mass covering favored by the Shouty One!  My 3 year old managed to wield the skewer carefully (under strict supervision obviously) and he really enjoyed this bit!  Once you have created your holes, insert the cloves into the skin pointy end first, until securely embedded.







The Shouty One (with Monkey looking on) proved suprisingly adept at this and it was good practise of his fine motor skills!







Different designs work equally well.  Remove your tape when finished.








At this point, if you were being traditional, you would prepare the pomander for curing.  This involves tossing the orange in a pungent mix of spices, plus some Orris Root powder (apparently, this ingredient is made from the ground root of a type of Iris and is a natural preservative).  You could use a few drops of Sandalwood oil instead of the Orris Root.  Then you would put the orange pomander, plus the spices/preservative agent in a paper bag, and store in a cool, dry place for an extended period (between 3 weeks and up to 6 months) until completely dried out.  You can tell when a pomander is completely cured as it will have shrunk in size and will feel light and hollow.

As mentioned above, I'm not that patient!  I tossed my orange pomanders in a mix of ground spices and then placed them into a cooling oven (after cooking the boys tea) for a few hours with the convection fan on.  The smell that wafted around my house was simply heavenly!







After that, tie the ribbon around the pomander creating a hanging loop and a bow at the top.  You can then hang your pomander somewhere warm and dry so that it can continue to dry out while you enjoy the fragrance.  Keep an eye on your pomander and if it looks like it's not drying, but going bad, you will have to discard it!




So pretty and festive!  And they smell gorgeous too!

One of my guilty pleasures is grabbing a drive-thru coffee to enjoy while sitting in the mind-numbingly dull car pool lane, so I had begun to accumulate an embarrassing number of empty coffee cups in my car, much to the disgust of Him Indoors! Consequently, I decided to create a recycled door wreath and use up these cups plus the leftover paint I had from the Lego head storage containers I made earlier in the week! Door wreaths are very popular here in America and not just at Christmas... and many people have Autumnal themed garlands and wreaths adorning their front doors in anticipation of Thanksgiving next week.  I don't like to waste resources and try to adhere to the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle!) wherever possible, and this was a good opportunity to put this into practice!  Back in October, I had also made some spooky giant spiders to climb over my roof for Halloween and had some leftover pipe insulation and duct tape which I could upcycle too!




You will need...

• A selection of paper coffee cups, washed and dried.
• Scissors.
• Yellow spray paint.
• Glue.
• Dried black beans.
• Brown and black acrylic paint, plus a paintbrush.
• A styrofoam wreath (or a length of pipe insulation, or even a kids swimming noodle!).
• Duct tape.
• Bronze, brown, orange or gold colored wide ribbon. 
• Dressmaking pins.
• Optional: bronze or gold glitter.

To create a wreath to celebrate the golden warmth of Autumn harvest, I could think of nothing better than beautiful sunflowers!  They are a native species here in America, and produce flowers well into Fall, especially here in the South.  The image of sunflowers hanging up to dry so their seeds can be harvested is a potent symbol of harvest time and Thanksgiving!  So the first task in making this wreath is to create some sunflowers!  For this you will need a variety of paper coffee cups and some scissors.  Cut the cups down in height so that they are only about 2-3 inches tall.  Then create vertical cuts in the sides of the cup all the way down to the base.  The cuts should be spaced about 1/4-1/2 an inch apart.  Then fan out the sides of the cup to create a flower shape.










The easiest way to paint the flowers is to use a spray paint.  Prepare your working area carefully with sheets of newspaper or cardboard and ensure you are in a well-ventilated space, preferrably outdoors.  Follow the instructions on your paint can, and spray the paper cup flowers a bright yellow color.  You will need to paint both sides and will probably need a few coats (leave 5-10 minutes in between coats) to cover up the designs on the cups!  After the final coat, you will need to leave them for about an hour until they are fully dry.







While waiting for the flowers to dry you can create the wreath ring.  You can buy ready made wreath rings in most craft shops... they are available in styrofoam, raffia and wire.  However, they can be quite pricey depending on the size (they were $10 in my local store!).  A much thriftier idea is to create one from either a length of pipe insulation (which you can get for about $1 at a DIY store) or grab one of those swimming noodles for kids that you get in the Dollar Store!  Cut it to the desired length and bring the ends together to make a ring (opposing angled cuts make this much easier).  Tape the ends together with duct tape and you're set to go! Once you have created your wreath ring it is a good idea to wrap it in some seasonal colored wide ribbon... that way the gaps between your flowers look good too!  Make sure you have enough ribbon remaining to create a bow and loop to hang your wreath!  I had a roll with 25 feet of 2" wide ribbon and this was the perfect amount!













Once the yellow paint is dry, you can then start work on making the cups look more like sunflowers.  In the center of each flower (the inside base of the cup) spread a large blob of glue (PVA or craft glue is fine).  While the glue is still wet sprinkle over it a small handful of dried beans.  Leave to dry.







Then you will need to mix up some brown and black acrylic paint.  Don't fully mix the two colors together so that you have a mottled finish.  Paint thickly over the beans so the base of the cup is completely covered.  Then mixed a little of this paint with some water (approximately 1:1 ratio) so that you have a thin, watery paint.   Using rough brush strokes paint over the yellow petals.  The idea is to create a rustic, textured look so don't try to be too neat ... the brushstrokes and drips add to the look!  While the paint is still wet, a little bronze/gold glitter over the center really adds some seasonal sparkle!  Leave the flowers to dry.













Finally, you will need to fix your flowers onto your wreath.  You could use a hot glue gun for this (on my Christmas list!) or just use dressmaking pins like I did!  The advantage of using pins is that they flowers are re-positional... useful when trying to space them out in an eye-pleasing arrangement!  Finish with a loop of ribbon at the top to hang it from your door and a large bow!  Ta-dah!!!!  Hang from your front door and feel smug (and saintly for your thrifty & eco-conscious efforts) when you see the envious looks from your neighbors & visitors!