Mini Peanut Butter Fudge Mousse Cakes

Mr. Pixie Crust and I took a weekend trip with some friends for their birthday this Saturday and had a fun- packed weekend of wine tasting and other adventures. When we got back to L.A. yesterday, though, it was really nice to be home and relax the rest of the weekend. After taking a 3 hour nap on the couch, I whipped up these little guys. They are pretty rich and delicious. The best part is that they're super easy- after mixing up the filling, you simply leave them in the pan to set overnight.


For the Chocolate Crust: 
-6 oz gluten free chocolate wafers or sandwich cookies
-3 tbsp butter Grease mini cheesecake pan and set aside.

Place cookies in bowl of food processor and grind until they are a fine powder. Pour crushed cookies into a large bowl. Melt 3 tbsp butter and add to cookies. Stir until mixture is coated and moistened. Place a heaping 1/2 tbsp of crust into each cavity of pan and press into bottom of pan until smooth and even. Bake for 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees and allow to cool until room temperature.


For the Peanut Butter Mousse:
1/4 cup cold coffee
1 tablespoon powdered gelatin
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar

Place coffee in a shallow microwave safe bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over it and set aside for five minute until gelatin blooms. Microwave bloomed gelatin mixture for 10 seconds and stir until no lumps remain. Set aside. Combine cream cheese, peanut butter, and sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth. Set aside. Place heavy cream into a stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high until medium peaks form. Set aside. Add one tablespoon of gelatin into peanut butter/cream cheese mixture at a time and gently fold to combine. Add heavy cream mixture and fold to combine. Place mixture in a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe into wells. Refrigerate overnight for best result. For smooth and even sides, use an offset spatula and run it along the edge of the removable bottom before lifting out.


Note The chocolate topping is extra chocolate swiss meringue buttercream I had on hand. I would recommend topping with a lightly sweetened whipped cream drizzled with melted chocolate or ganache.