I recently found out ice cube trays are magical.

Two trays can be purchased at a dollar store for as little as a dollar. These babies can help you save time, moderate portions, impress people at parties and store small-portions of food.

Since I bought ice cube trays, I have mainly used the trays for mini cheesecakes. Using the trays is a good way to discourage eating an entire cheesecake in one sitting. Making ice cube tray cheesecakes is great for anyone lacking self-control.

This recipe can be difficult. One important tip is to coat the ice cube tray in coconut oil and let it sit for a few minutes first, before any other prep takes place.

The recipe can be tweaked with added ingredients.

Any additional ingredients such as chopped chocolate chips, bananas, blueberries, oats, or strawberries should be cut up before being added to the mix.

Extra flavorings like raspberry coffee syrup or caramel sauce can also be added before the ingredients are blended.

Ice cube trays can also be used to freeze coffee to blend for frozen coffee or to keep cold coffee from becoming watered down.

They can be useful when making chocolate covered strawberries, homemade popsicles, freezing fresh herbs in olive oil, freezing sauces, making Jell-O shots or portioning out cookie dough.

If you really want to spice up your ice cube tray game, you can buy trays that have each segment in fun shapes. Having shapes that give you a shallower area with similar surface area will give you the ability to use less ingredients. For example, you could pour a little melted chocolate into the bottom of each segment, and top with fruits or nuts.

No matter what you make with ice cube trays, they are a cheap and fun way to spend a weekend experimenting in the kitchen. 

Enjoy the cheesecake recipe below!

Ingredients

For the cheesecakes:

1/4 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup light cream cheese

2-3 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To coat the ice cube trays:

1 cup virgin coconut oil

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup honey

Chocolate coating:

1 cup virgin coconut oil

1/2 cup cocoa powder

¼ cup honey

1. Blend or mix the cheesecake ingredients until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl, blend the chocolate coating ingredients.
3. Spray a pre-chilled, ice cube tray thoroughly with a coconut oil.
4. Pour the chocolate into each segment of the tray.
5. Coat the bottom and the sides of each segment in chocolate.
6. Fill each ice cube mold with cheesecake filling.
7. Top with a layer of chocolate coating.
8. Freeze for at least two hours.

Contact Courtney O’Brien at [email protected].