Cindy deRosier: My Creative Life: Christmas Tree Mint Cheesecake Mousse

Are you a fan of creamy cheesecake? How does rich, fluffy mousse sound? Perhaps some cool mint? I love all three, so I put them together into one amazing dessert. (If I do say so myself. Which I do. It's really, really good.) And because it's winter, I put served my cheesecake mousse in Christmas tree creme brulee dishes. My dishes are about 15 years old, so I couldn't find an exact match, but here are some similar tree-shaped dishes that should work. Or, try this really cute set of tree dishes (affiliate links here and throughout the post).

Mint Cheesecake Mousse

Ingredients:

3/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. powdered sugar, divided
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese
1/4 tsp. mint extract
2-3 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
Leaf Green gel food color
star and circle sprinkles

Steps:

Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 c. powdered sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Set the whipped cream aside.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream cheese until light and fluffy, approximately 2 minutes on the highest speed. Add the remaining 1/2 c. of powdered sugar and the mint extract.

Remove 1/4 c. of the cream cheese mixture and put it into a small bowl. Stir in the cocoa powder, a teaspoon at a time, until the mixture has the consistency of a truffle. Set it aside.

Return to the mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar, and mint extract. Add the food color, a small amount at a time, until you get a shade of green that is slightly darker than you want the final color to be. I like to stick a toothpick into the gel, then swirl the toothpick through the mixture until it stops giving off color. Then use a clean toothpick to repeat the process. It usually takes me 2-3 toothpicks' worth to get the shade I want.

Gently fold the whipped cream into the green mixture. Scoop it into the dishes, then fill in the trunk area with the truffle mix.