Paloma Cheesecake Shots |Cooking With Amanda

Can I share a secret with you?

Okay, deep breath, here it goes. I didn't have my first bite of cheesecake until my mid-twenties. Do you still love me? Did I lose my food blogger card just now?

I'm always a little ashamed to admit that truth, especially because my mom is one of the best cheesecake bakers I know out there and I grew up in New York. I never knew my reasoning for not eating it before, except that in my mind I kept associating cheesecake with being savory or even tangy. Which some cheesecakes can be, but let's face it, cheesecake is wonderful, sweet, creamy and downright delicious. Of course all those years of skipping out on cheesecake eating when I was younger means these days, if I'm going for cheesecake I'm going all out for the real deal.

Except that it's a whole day affair! You've got to let the ingredients come to room temperature, bake the crust, prepare the water bath, let the cake cool properly to avoid the dreaded crack down the center and then chill for hours before you even enjoy your first bite! Who has time for that? It's a good thing someone out there came up with no-bake cheesecakes because I'm ready to embrace them!

What's even better than not having to spend all day baking and chilling, is that no-bake cheesecakes can be proportioned for any size. Essentially, if you feel like a little cheesecake snack, you can go ahead and whip some up.

That's where these shooters come in, it's the perfect serving size for just a tiny taste. Make them for a special night at home or for a party, it's really optimal for any occasion. The next best thing to these shooters is having a cocktail in hand, so I combined the two!

The creamy cheesecake gets topped with a tequila spiked grapefruit curd, reminiscent of a paloma cocktail. The only thing we are really missing at this point is the beach, sun and fun.

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Paloma Cheesecake Shots Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Tequila Grapefruit Curd :

1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice, from 1 grapefruit
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 ounces tequila

For the Cheesecake:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs

Directions

In a small saucepan over medium low heat combine the grapefruit juice and sugar and cook for 1-2 minutes until the sugar starts to dissolved.
While stirring, slowly drizzle the egg yolks in the liquid. Continue to cook for 6-8 minutes, scraping the bottom of the saucepan with your whisk or spoon to make sure the yolks don't burn or scramble.
Once the curd starts to the thicken, turn off the heat and stir in the butter, once piece at a time until it is completely melted.
Set a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour in the curd, discard any solids and at this point stir in the tequila. Transfer the curd to an airtight container and refrigerate until chilled, about 4 hours or overnight. The curd should thicken up more once it's completely chilled.
To make the cheesecake shooters, place the cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, salt and vanilla bean paste in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and whip on medium high for about 2-3 minutes.
Scrape out the cream cheese and transfer to a medium mixing bowl.
Add the heavy cream to the bowl, swap out the paddle for the whip attachment and on medium high speed, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold in the whipped cream into the cream cheese, until the mix is light and has a mousse like texture.
Transfer to a piping bag with a large round tip.
Fill the bottom of shot or small glass with crushed graham crackers and then divide the cheesecake between the 4 glasses, you are going for about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons in each glass.
Lastly top with about 1 tablespoon of grapefruit curd.
Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.
Extra curd can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.