White Chocolate Mousse Dome with Strawberries and Walnut Praline

I love small dome shaped cakes, they just look quaint and special. These cakes contain a sponge base with white chocolate mousse and strawberries covered in a dark chocolate shell. I originally wanted more of a glaze than a shell over the top but they still turned out wonderful. The walnut praline on the top adds a sweet little crunch and was so simple to make.

One day I will invest in a 'hemisphere' cake tin to make perfectly round dome cakes, but for now I make do with small pinch bowls that are almost completely round. Feel free to make your own sponge too but I found one marked down at the supermarket so used that instead. These little domes are quite appealing and will impress dinner guests but they are so easy to make and can be made ahead of time.

White Chocolate Mousse Dome with Strawberries and Walnut Praline

Adapted from Taste.com

What you will need

1 sponge cake
About 12 strawberries
200g dark chocolate
1 tbsp olive oil

For the mousse
180g white chocolate
300ml thickened cream
1 tsp gelatine powder
3 eggs, separated

For the Praline
1 cup crushed walnuts
1/2 cup sugar

What you will need to do

Using the pinch bowls as a guide, cut out six rounds of sponge cake at about 15mm thickness and set aside.

Prepare 6 small pinch bowls by lining them with glad wrap.

To prepare the mousse, melt the white chocolate and cream over a double boiler until the chocolate has melted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. Place 1 tbsp of boiling water in a small heatproof bowl and add the gelatine. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil (I used the same one from melting the chocolate) then take off the heat. Sit the bowl of gelatine in the saucepan until the gelatine dissolves.

Stir the gelatine and egg yolks into the cream and chocolate mixture then refrigerate until slightly thickened. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into the cream mixture until evenly combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pinch bowls and divide evenly amongst them. Place in the fridge. Cut the strawberries into halves and remove the tops. Take the bowls out of the fridge and press in four halves into each one.

Take the sponge cake rounds and place into each bowl. Press down gently until you can feel that the sponge is touching the mousse. Wrap any excess plastic wrap over the sponge to secure firmly. Place in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler and add the olive oil. Remove the bowls from the freezer and tip upside down. Carefully remove the mousse cakes and take away the plastic wrap. Sit on a wire rack over a baking tray.

Carefully pour the dark chocolate over the mousse working quickly one at a time to try and cover the whole dome before the chocolate sets. Place domes back into the fridge.

To make the walnut praline, place the sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper and spread the walnuts out over it. When the sugar is melted and turning a caramel colour, remove from the heat and pour over the walnuts. BE CAREFUL IT WILL BE SUPER HOT! Leave the walnuts to sit until the sugar has hardened. Break the praline up using a food processor or just whacking it with something hard (I used rolling pin).

Remove the domes from the fridge and top with a small amount of praline. If they don't stick well, melt the tops a little with a blowtorch then add the praline. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Mini Cookies and Cream White Chocolate Cheesecake

Ok so I saved the best for last, mini cookies and cream cheesecakes! Oreos make for the BEST chocolate cream biscuit to use for cookies and cream, I don't know what it is about them but they are simply the best (better than all the rest!). I decided to try something a little different with the bases this time and used a whole oreo cookie as the base. They fit perfectly into the bottoms of my cupcake tray!

One thing though, the edges of the cookie base went pretty soft after spending time in the fridge :( and some of the bases didn't come out of the tray very well. Next time I make them (and there will be plenty of next times!) I think I will make them in white cupcake papers. That way you wont lose any of the biscuit base when removing them from the tray. 

I found that these tasted better after being in the fridge for a couple of days. The cheesecake really firmed up and the cookie pieces went soft. Surprisingly the biscuit bottom stayed fairly firm, just the edges where there is no cream went soft. BTW how cute do the oreo bases look when cut open like that?? Yummo!!

This recipe also makes a great slice or cake so feel free to change it up. You will probably need to adjust the base but just follow this recipe for a solid oreo base. 

Mini Cookies and Cream White Chocolate Cheesecake

(Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cream Cheesecake from Nestle's Australia's Sweet Baking Favourites)

What you will need

 3 packets oreo biscuits

100g butter, melted

1 tsp gelatine

2 tbsp hot water

190g cream cheese

95ml condensed milk

150ml thickened cream

1/2 cup white chocolate, melted

What you will need to do

For the bases, place an oreo in the bottom of each cup in a silicone cupcake tray.

For the white chocolate cheesecake, place gelatin and hot water in a small bowl and mix until dissolved. In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Add cream, gelatin mix, melted white chocolate and beat until combined. Crush one and a half packets of oreos and add to the mix. Mix until combined. Spoon mixture on top of bases. Cut remaining oreos into quarters and place on top of each cheesecake. Place in fridge to set.

Mini Honeycomb White Chocolate Cheesecakes

Honeycomb, what glorious stuff! Crunchy and sweet and when chocolate coated, an absolute dream. I'm usually a creamy and soft kind of gal, but for honeycomb I make an exception. I used Cadbury Crunchie bars for this recipe but there are heaps of other great honeycomb confectionaries available you  could easily substitute for. 

The honeycomb that was mixed into the cheesecake went all melty after being in the fridge for a while. I liked it but it may not be everyone's cup of tea so consider yourselves warned! The oreo base is super rich so you could replace it with a plain biscuit base to eliminate some sweetness, urm but why would you want to...? Overall super delicious sweet little treat :)

Mini Honeycomb White Chocolate Cheesecake

(Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cream Cheesecake from Nestle's Australia's Sweet Baking Favourites)

What you will need

1 packet oreo biscuits

100g butter, melted

1 tsp gelatine

2 tbsp hot water

190g cream cheese

95ml condensed milk

150ml thickened cream

1/2 cup white chocolate, melted

3 Crunchie bars

What you will need to do

For the base, place a 12 cup cupcake silicon tray on a baking tray and set aside. Crush the oreo biscuits and mix with melted butter. Place a spoonful of mixture into each cup of the cupcake tray and press down firm (I used the end of a rolling pin to press them down hard). Place into fridge to set.

For the white chocolate cheesecake, place gelatin and hot water in a small bowl and mix until dissolved. In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Add cream, gelatin mix, melted white chocolate and beat until combined. Chop up 2 Crunchie bars into small pieces and add to the mix. Mix until combined. Spoon mixture on top of bases. Chop up the remaining Crunchie bar into big chunks and place a chunk of top of each cheesecake. Return to fridge to set.

Mini Rocky Road White Chocolate Cheesecake

It's no secret,  I LOVE rocky road! I love marshmallows, I love nuts and I love chocolate. I also love white chocolate cheesecake and the two together become deliciousness overload. After a few days in the fridge, the marshmallows start to melt into the cheesecake and turn so unbelievably soft and sweet.

I chose an oreo biscuits base as I've made it before and it is just divine. I may have forgotten the cherry or jelly aspect of rocky road in these but they honestly don't need it, they are delicious enough as is. I love making things in miniature, but you can totally make this as one big cheesecake if you wish.

Mini Rocky Road White Chocolate Cheesecake

(Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cream Cheesecake from Nestle's Australia's Sweet Baking Favourites)

What you will need

1 packet oreo biscuits

100g butter, melted

1 tsp gelatine

2 tbsp hot water

190g cream cheese

95ml condensed milk

150ml thickened cream

1/2 cup white chocolate, melted

2 picnic bars

1 bag marshmallows

What you will need to do

For the base, place a 12 cup cupcake silicon tray on a baking tray and set aside. Crush the oreo biscuits and mix with melted butter. Place a spoonful of mixture into each cup of the cupcake tray and press down firm (I used the end of a rolling pin to press them down hard). Place into fridge to set.

For the white chocolate cheesecake, place gelatin and hot water in a small bowl and mix until dissolved. In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Add cream, gelatin mix, melted white chocolate and beat until combined. Chop up picnic bar into small pieces and add to the mix. Chop up marshmallows into quarters and add to the mix. Mix until combined. Spoon mixture on top of bases. Return to fridge to set.

Mini Jersey Caramel White Chocolate Cheesecake

Mmmm, jersey caramels are so underated. Delicious cubes of caramel and cream, what's not to love? But I find it so rare that they are incorporated into recipes. No longer is that the case! I added them to the base and the filling AND topped these little beauties off with them.

The caramels in the filling slightly softened and became a bit oozey, YUM! The ones in the base added a chewy surprise to every bite. If I had thought about it at the time I would have tried melting some jersey caramels and swirling them through the cheesecake mix instead of adding chunks, just for something different.

Mini Jersey Caramel White Chocolate Cheesecake

(Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cream Cheesecake from Nestle's Australia's Sweet Baking Favourites)

What you will need

1 packet jersey caramels, chopped into small pieces

1 packet plain biscuits

100g butter, melted

1 tsp gelatine

2 tbsp hot water

190g cream cheese

95ml condensed milk

150ml thickened cream

1/2 cup white chocolate, melted

Extra jersey caramels for tops

What you will need to do

For the base, place a 12 cup cupcake silicon tray on a baking tray and set aside. Crush the biscuits and mix with melted butter. Add a handful of chopped jersey caramels and mix to combine. Place a spoonful of mixture into each cup of the cupcake tray and press down firm (I used the end of a rolling pin to press them down hard). Place into fridge to set.

For the white chocolate cheesecake, place gelatin and hot water in a small bowl and mix until dissolved. In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Add cream, gelatin mix, melted white chocolate and beat until combined. Add the rest of the chopped jersey caramels. Pour mix onto bases. Top with extra jersey caramels chopped in half and place in fridge to set.

Mini White Chocolate Cheesecake

Okay so Choctober is almost over, thank god! My body hates me for all the chocolatey goodness I have been ingesting this month, I've had to take up swimming AND running just so I didn't completely balloon. This week I went a little crazy, cheesecake crazy. I made cute mini white chocolate cheesecakes, but that wasn't enough, I had to make a few variations with extra flavours thrown in. So the last couple of days of Choctober will be delicious little white chocolate cheesecake variations.

I used the same recipe from the Trifecta Cheesecake last week, but just used a plain biscuit base. I used a silicon cupcake tray to make these but I think they would be just as cute and probably less messy if you used cupcake papers. I also discovered while taking photos of these that photos of white foods are really hard to do well :( so shiny!

Mini White Chocolate Cheesecake

(Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cream Cheesecake from Nestle's Australia's Sweet Baking Favourites)

What you will need

1 packet plain biscuits

100g butter, melted

1 tsp gelatine

2 tbsp hot water

190g cream cheese

95ml condensed milk

150ml thickened cream

1/2 cup white chocolate, melted

What you will need to do

For the base, place a 12 cup cupcake silicon tray on a baking tray and set aside. Crush the biscuits and mix with melted butter. Place a spoonful of mixture into each cup of the cupcake tray and press down firm (I used the end of a rolling pin to press them down hard). Place into fridge to set.

For the white chocolate cheesecake, place gelatin and hot water in a small bowl and mix until dissolved. In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth. Add cream, gelatin mix, melted white chocolate and beat until combined. Pour mix onto bases and place in fridge to set.