Sunday, April 27, 2008

Daring Bakers April Challenge - Frozen Cheesecake Pops

Steven here, good friends, and I gotta tell ya - Joey turned over the honors this month to moi, yours truly, because he's such a great guy. I LOVE cheesecake, chocolate and just about anything you can add to it to make it even yummier. This month's challenge is to make "cheesecake pops" - lovely little balls of cheesecake on a stick, glazed with a delicious chocolate coating, and enhanced any way you choose to do so. I had a blast with this one. The basic cheesecake recipe is SO good, that we will surely incorporate it into future desserts. The consistency is dense and rich, just the right amount of sweetness, and holds its shape well - important when you are forming balls.

I started by combining the cheesecake ingredients, mixing them according to the recipe, and baking. The directions called for a 10" cake pan, but in lieu of that (we don't happen to own one that size- YET)...I used a 9" square pan which is a bit deeper than usual - we often use this one for brownies. I baked the cheesecake (longer than called for because of our freakin' oven which has a mind of it's own and never maintains a proper temperature.grrrrrrr.) Then cooled to room temperature and proceeded to chill the lovely golden mixture overnight. Saturday morning I woke up, headed straight to the utensil drawer for our ice-cream scoop, and dug into that pan to start forming 2 ounce balls. I wore rubber gloves because the mixture is sticky, and shaped the balls and placed them on parchment for the next step - freezing. At this point, Joey, with sticks in hand, plunged the lollipop handles into the balls and we shoved them into our already bulging freezer for several hours, during which we ate, shopped, and I rested while Joey made a Tres Leches cake for a co-worker's birthday.

That afternoon, the chocolate came out of hiding and warmed itself by the fire for the enrobing of the balls.

We dipped some of the balls into crushed chocolate grahams, then into three different kinds of melted chocolate - some in white chocolate (tinted green as we had bought it for St. Pats and not had a chance to use it), semi-sweet and bittersweet. While still warm, we immediately rolled them in various toppings: multi-colored jimmies (see photo), mini cherry chips, toffee bits, chopped toffee peanuts, and for a few we just covered one type of chocolate with it's opposite drizzled on top...its such a lovely tray of goods.


Cheesecake Pop Assortment


Cheesecake Pops


Cheesecake Pops 2


I hope you all get to try these - we surely will add them to our menu, and can't wait to see the look in your eyes when they roll back in your head. Several who tasted them at work today said they had little mouth orgasms (if you'll pardon the use of the word).

More comin' atcha soon - stay tuned...but don't stay hungry - order from us NOW!

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

These look really beautiful- I love all your different color & decoration combos, trop beau!

Anonymous said...

LOL, I too had many comments from those that tried mine but I didn't get the "mouth orgasms" comment. Forgive me but I must steal that one for future use, when I try anything that is divine!!!
I love the colorful display of your pops.

And a Belated Happy Birthday to Joey!!!

Ramona said...

Great Job I loved the many flavors and colors it really shows what you can do.

Anonymous said...

gorgeous pops..lovely array of colours...no one could resist this!

Katrina said...

So cute! I love all the different colors!

Anonymous said...

Your pops are so colorful! Really lovely.

Helene said...

Happy beltaed birthday Joey!
The pops turned out great, I love all the color pops!

Anonymous said...

Great color pops, so vibrant and down right cheerful. Enjoyed!

pixie said...

though i love your varied treatments, I'm glad they aren't in front of me---I'd have eaten them all! bravo!

BC said...

They are a perfect! I loved them too.

Amy J. said...

Too awesome! I love all of the variations you did!

Christine said...

Your pops turned out great! How did the cake turn out? I want to see pics.

Faery said...

Wow they are gorgeous all of them great job

Anonymous said...

Wow! What a wonderful variety of pops! Very nice job!

Jerry said...

What wonderful pops! Glad your friend gave you the reigns this month!

Lunch Buckets said...

Like a Whitman's Assortment of cheesecake pops. Only better tasting :)

Lori said...

These look so great!! I'm sorry I missed them at work. Are they served frozen or just chilled?

~Amber~ said...

Beautiful looking cheesecake pops. What a wide variety of colors and toppings. It is kind of like going to the doughnut shop, you know you want one and they all have the same base but you do not know what topping flavors you want. :)

Jenny said...

I had a feeling these would end up on the menu, so dainty and fun. Yours looks like a party on a tray!

Veron said...

All the variations are simply amazing! great job!

Deborah said...

Your pops look just amazing! I love how colorful and different they are!

lynne said...

Your pops are beautiful! My favorite is the green with brown drizzle. It reminds me of a lamp we had in the 70's when I was a kid; (I always wanted to eat it.)

Barbara said...

What a beautiful assortment of pops!

Bakerette said...

these are so perfect...

T’s Treats said...

Beautiful!! I love all your colors they are awesome!!

Sheltie Girl said...

Simply Divine....Beautiful pictures.

Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go

Tempered Woman said...

Oh my~ I love the green and chocolate contrast. They look so gorgeous! I just imagine your coworkers were in heaven. YUM!

Unknown said...

Ah yes, definite mouthgasms with these. Yours look beautiful too.

ParisianCigarettes said...

You have a serious talent for decorating. So gorgey!!! Argh I'm jealous!!!! Yummy yum

Texana said...

You did a fabulous job. I want one--oh I can't decide which to choose!

Anonymous said...

so nice and perfectly done :) very good job ! congrats !

Gabi said...

Wow-look at all those gloriously decorated beautiful pops! Excellent job!

Suzana Parreira said...

How adorable! I love the different decorations - they all match perfectly together. And I agree, the pops are awfully good.

Dolores said...

Great job Stephen... I LOVE all of the festive colors.