Mini pecan pie cheesecakes

Method
Prep:35min  ›  Cook:40min  ›  Extra time:2hr  ›  Ready in:3hr15min 

1. Grease a muffin tin generously with melted butter, including the entire top of the tin.
2. Dust a flat work surface with flour. Roll out shortcrust pastry; cut out 10 (10cm) circles of pastry using a round cookie cutter.
3. Place pastry circles into the muffin holes, working quickly and pressing down centre of pastry to ensure pastry coats the sides. Smooth down the top edges so the mini pie cases are uniform and even. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Beat cream cheese, 100g brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon bourbon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt in a bowl using an electric mixer until cheesecake mixture is well combined and no lumps remain, scraping down sides of the bowl as necessary.
5. Whisk golden syrup, 75g brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon bourbon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt together in a separate bowl to make the pecan pie filling.
6. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Move oven rack to the lowest shelf in the oven.
7. Fill the chilled pastry bases 2/3-full with the cheesecake mixture using an ice cream scoop with a lever. Knock the bottom of the muffin tin onto the counter to expel air bubbles. Top each pie with 1 tablespoon chopped pecans; fill to the top with pecan pie filling. Garnish the centre of each pie with a pecan half.
8. Bake on the lowest rack in the preheated oven until puffed and golden, about 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours.

Tip:

You can use the lid of a large yogurt container to cut out the pastry.