Not Quite a Fail: No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

Chocolate and cheesecake. A simultaneous craving for chocolate and cheesecake was the seed that sprouted into my idea for no bake, chocolate cheesecake bites.

The desire for chocolate and cheesecake had me in the kitchen scanning the pantry shelves and the refrigerator shelves.

 Hmmmm...a no bake cheesecake mix, chocolate almond bark, milk,.......AND chocolate syrup.

Those ingredients made perfect sense for making a chocolate cheesecake.  Brain cells continued to process the bytes of thought into a more developed idea. Finally, a plan emerged from all of the processed ingredient data and options.

THE Plan

1. Use the no bake cheesecake filling, but not the graham cracker crumbs.
2. Flavor the milk for the cheesecake with chocolate syrup.
3. Use the mini-muffin pan with liners for cheesecake bites.
4. For the crust, use melted chocolate almond bark.

One, nagging thought did keep popping up for attention - What if the chocolate syrup, an added liquid, caused the filling to remain soft? 

You know what I did, right? Told myself it would be just fine.  Anyway, let me continue this not quite a fail tale. 

The Plan Worked Well

• The cheesecake filling blended very well with the chocolate milk.
• The melted chocolate bark was somewhat thick, but it smoothed easily with a teaspoon.
• The cheesecake filling was quickly poured into each liner.
• A last minute addition: shaved, chocolate almond bark on top of the cheesecake bites.
• The completed, pan of twenty-four bites went into the refrigerator on the top shelf. 
• The timer was set for one hour.

Beep-beep-beep. One hour was up.

Anticipation was high as I removed the pan from the refrigerator. Carefully, I removed one bite from the pan and gently began to remove the liner. 

Remember that one nagging thought about the filling? 

The outside edges of the cheesecake filling remained attached to the liner. Oh well, the cheesecake bite still looked good and the chocolate almond bark was firm.

Greedily, I popped the whole bite-sized treat into my mouth.

Luscious, chocolate cheesecake sent my taste buds into a flash mob dance. My teeth parted to bite into the chocolate bottom, and encountered a disc of chocolate almond bark. 

Remember the last time you bit into a solid chocolate Easter bunny? Biting into the chocolate bottom of the cheesecake bite was exactly like that moment. 

However, I remained optimistic. I am a "glass half full" woman. After all, the cheesecake box directions said to, "wait at least one hour before serving." The filling could still get firmer. Plus, the bottom was solid, but it was chocolate.

24 Hours Later

The cheese cake filling was still slightly soft. The outside edges of the cheesecake filling continued to stay on the liner. 

In Conclusion

The slightly soft, chocolate cheesecake filling had my taste buds dancing with happiness. A perfect blend of chocolate and cheesecake flavor. Chocolate almond bark is chocolate almond bark, it always makes me happy to eat it. My brain cells have already been busy formulating a new plan for making No Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Bites. Keep checking in because I have another box of  No Bake Cheesecake!