1017. Date Dessert Timbales

Timbales was a favorite form of food presentation in the seventies and eighties, and continues to be for catering companies and hotel buffets. It is basically a food, savory or sweet, individually portioned into a mold similar to an espresso cup and then unmolded before serving. These dessert date timbales are a modern take on that vintage concept.
A casing of digestive biscuit paste encloses a rich creamy date-cinnamon filling. Not quite a mousse, not quite a cheesecake, this is a dessert in its own right. I used Arabic coffee cups for the mold, feel free to use Turkish or espresso coffee cups instead.

Ingredients:

250g digestive bisuits (16-17 pc)
1/3 cup thickened cream (gheemar)
1/2 cup packed seedless dates
1/2 cup cream cheese (110g)
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder, or less to taste

Garnish:
caramel
walnuts

Method:

Place a small sheet of cling film on the inside of eight Arabic or espresso coffee cups, with an overhang. Set aside.
In a food processor, blitz the biscuits to a fine powder. Add the thickened cream and blitz again to form a sort of dough. Divide the dough into eight portions. Press three quarters of each portion into the base and sides of the prepared cups. Set aside, and keep the remaining bits covered to keep from drying out.
In the same processor, blitz together the dates, cream cheese, sweet condensed milk, and the cinnamon until combined. Spoon the filling into each of the prepared cups. Flatten the remaining quarter of the dough portions and seal the cups, pinching the sides to contain the filling. Fold the cling film overhang to enclose the dessert completely, and refrigerate overnight.
To serve, unmold the dessert from the cups and peel off the cling film. Place on the serving dish wide-base down, and garnish with come caramel and walnut.

صحة و عافية