Pages

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Daring Bakers: Pop Goes the Cheesecake!






Remember those picture puzzles from when you were a kid? Always accompanying slightly cheesy but endearing drawings, there seemed to be two main kinds: "which does not belong?" and "what's missing?"

Let's try one for foodie adults: in my photo of this month's Daring Baker's challenge, Cheesecake Pops, "What's missing?"



If you guessed "the lollipop sticks," you would be right! Every step of this month's challenge proceeded beautifully in our kitchen - until I tried to get the sticks to, well, stick. Even after several rounds of freezing, they still slid out of the little bits of cheesecake at the slightest provocation. So... my pops became pop-stick-less-icles.

On the scrumptious factor, however, they were flawless, and the mini size was positively a delight to create! As soon as I saw that the ever-awesome Deborah of Taste and Tell was hosting this month's challenge, along with Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms, I knew we were in store for an exceptionally delightful challenge.

On a lovely springy evening, with warm hints of summer dangling in the air, the cheesecake batter whipped up smooth and vanilla-creamy...



Then I decided to get a bit creative, and baked the cheesecakes pre-molded in little lollipop circles... via mini-muffin cups! (they actually reminded me of little cheesecake biscuits - it must come with being a good southern girl, thoroughly trained by my grandmother in biscuit making, that makes me see biscuits in every round shape...)





I was a bit worried that the cheesecakes wouldn't part company with their little muffin cup homes, but they popped right out and turned into cheesecake pops just as lovely as you please (and yes, bad pun totally intended).

I used the microwave method to temper the chocolate coating, which surely has to be the reason microwaves were invented.



There's something utterly magical about the moment when your pieces of chocolate suddenly transform into a perfectly smooth, creamy puddle...



I decided on a classic harlequin design...



until I went a little crazy with food coloring polka dots!



Rather posh lollipops, no? Here's to growing up along with our lollipops!

(Make sure to "pop" over to the Daring Bakers blogroll to peruse more cheesecake magic! Yep, bad pun intended again... ;-)

18 comments:

  1. Awesome job on your cheesecake! Love the decorations

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahh, sorry that the sticks didn't, well, stick - but hey, I still LOVE your lollipops for this month's Daring Bakers Challenge - they're all very posh, indeed! :0)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey, great job! At least you didn't have to mess with the shaping of a messy ball!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your pops are very cute Antonia - stick or no stick, I agree that these taste great.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Making a problem into a creative opportunity is just a Daring Baker way. Love what you did with them!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the two tones!! It sounds like getting the sticks to "stick" was a common problem, but good for you for persevering!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your cheesecake pops look great even without the sticks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The ones without the green dots remind me of Black & White cookies. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  9. They're like abstract cheesecake pops. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi! Great idea to bake them in mini muffin molds! Maybe because of the shape and size of your pops, they need ice cream sticks instead of lollipop sticks, which are smaller and thus harder to grip? =)

    ReplyDelete
  11. cute! my lollipop sticks would only stay in if the cheesecake was actually frozen...

    ReplyDelete
  12. they remind me of ladybugs....
    I had a few stickless pops, but that was because I ran out of sticks. In any case, these pops are amazing with out without the sticks!
    And yours look so beautiful; wonderful idea to bake them in the muffin tin!

    ReplyDelete
  13. No sticks required! I suspect the cheesecake was easier to eat this way. Delicious! One of my favorite desserts when I feel like indulging.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think I like them better than the pops! Great job, they're very grown-up looking.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Regardless of the shape or the sticks, this is an awesome recipe and you did an awesome job on yours! Too cute!

    ReplyDelete