Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt and melted butter. Place cupcake liners in a 12 cup muffin tin and begin dropping rounded Tablespoons of the graham cracker mixture into each liner. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the liner lightly, creating a crust. There may be some crumbs left over.
• Pre-bake for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven and reduce temperature to 350°F.
• In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla extract until fully combined and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.
• In a small bowl using a whisk or hand mixer, beat the egg whites until frothy and doubled in size.
• Gently fold the eggs whites into the cream cheese, mixing to a smooth yet thin consistency, then divide among the 12 muffin liners until the cups are almost full.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes until the filling returns to its normal shape. Don’t worry about cracks in the surface, as you’ll be covering them with chocolate.
• Chill for a minimum of 2 hours before topping.
• Using a double boiler, gently melt your chocolate for the hard shell topping, stirring occasionally to combine.
• Pour chocolate on top of the cheesecakes, making sure to coat the entire surface. Wait until the chocolate hardens before topping with strawberries.
• For the ganache topping: Heat heavy cream and vanilla in a saucepan until it starts to steam. Add chocolate shavings and stir gently until just combined.
• Pour spoonfuls of the ganache on top of each cheesecake and gently press over the edges. Dip each strawberry in the ganache and place one on top of each mini cheesecake.