The Strawberry Cheesecake Tarts Recipe

I forgot to put the Strawberry Cheesecake Tarts recipe at the end of my last blog post. Keep in mind, this is a highly sought after recipe that I share with very FEW people. It's TOP SECRET. The story behind it is.......

Way back a long time ago, before I was married (which was nearly 100 years ago last month), I went to a bonko party with Mom with Pat Kellum's bonko group at her sister Sylvia's house. This was probably 1990. Sylvia's teenage daughter (even younger teen than me) had made the dessert that night and she followed the recipe on the side of the box of a Duncan Hines strawberry cake mix. I had never in my life tasted cheesecake and I thought I hated it. It just sounded nasty. The words "cheese" and "cake" had no business being in a sentence together. Because I was 18 or so I figured it was high time I grew up and demonstrated some manners and stuff so I ate one to be polite. Oh my GOODNESSS......it was the best thing I'd ever tasted in my life. I made a pig of myself. I don't know how many I ate. I asked for the recipe, she told me it was on the side of the strawberry cake mix box. I think some time shortly after, I bought the cake mix and the recipe was still there and I even made them once. Not long down the road I ended up married as fate would have it, and I often thought of those things but I didn't have the recipe. I went and bought a box of strawberry cake mix, but the recipe on the box was something else by now. I fretted for some time. I was in college at MC so it had to be like 1992 or 1993. Everybody knows how bad I hate using the phone. And back in those times, there was no internet. But I called up Pat Kellum and she thought she knew what I was talking about and gave me a recipe but it was not the right one. She gave me Sylvia's number, who also gave me a cheesecake tart recipe but it was not the right one either. I was just terribly disappointed and had no idea what to do. After some time I decided.....I'm gonna call up Duncan Hines. So I did lol. I called them and described to them in depth what I remembered about this particular recipe and after 15 or 20 minutes of searching their database the lady found the very recipe that I was obsessing over. She told it to me over the phone, then she also printed it and mailed it to me.
So basically, this recipe is a very hard-fought for recipe and dear to my heart. It didn't come easy, folks. I had to use the telephone to get it. And I hate the telephone. Everyone who has ever tasted these begs me for the recipe. I tell them, sure, I'll give it to you later. But I don't. Yep, I'm stingy with that one. I want to be the only one within a 200 mile radius who can make these suckers. But I have decided that you, my family and blog readers, are special enough (and way beyond a 200 mile radius) that I shall share this beloved, secret recipe. Feel the love!!!!!!


All drama aside......lol. Here is the recipe:

**Key things to remember:
- It is CRUCIAL that you use FOIL cupcake liners. I tried it once with paper ones, NOT happening.
- You may very well have lots of leftover crust mix. I always seem to have more crust mix than filling. I either use it to make a double batch, or just dump it.


Ingredients:
Crust - 1 box Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme Cake Mix, 1/4 c. margarine melted.

Filling - 2 pkg (8 oz) softened cream cheese, 3 eggs, 3/4 c. sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping - 1 & 1/2 c. dairy sour cream, 1/4 c. sugar, 12 fresh strawberries halved.



1. preheat oven 350 degrees. Place foil liners in 24 muffin cups.

2. FOR CRUST: combine cake mix and melted butter in large bow. Beat at low speed with electric mixer for 1 minute. Divide mixture by heaping Tbsp evenly into muffin cups. Level do not press. (Like I said, you may only use about half of this crust mixture instead of spooning it evenly. To spoon all that evenly will pretty much fill up the muffin cups.)

3. FOR FILLING: combine cream cheese, eggs, 3/4 c. sugar and vanilla extract in medium bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until smooth. Spoon evenly into muffin cups.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until set. (I bake them just until a couple of them crack open.)

5. FOR TOPPING: combine sour cream and 1/4 c. sugar in a small bowl. Spoon evenly over cheesecakes. Return to oven for 5 minutes. Cool.

6. Garnish each cheesecake with strawberry half. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

7. Stand back in awe, as your creation becomes the life and love of the party. Share it if you wish, or be like me and keep it your little secret ; ) lol



I think next time I'll share my recipe for "chicken spaghetii" or as some call it "chicken tetrazzini" or as others call it "rotel chicken spaghetti". I love that stuff. Easy to make, and fattening as HECK. Probably most people have this recipe, or one similar. But it's coming next....



~Chef Tracy