Sunday, April 27, 2008

Daring Bakers Challenge - Cheesecake Pops


Bin of cheesecake pops
Originally uploaded by watchjennybake.
This month's Daring Bakers Challenge was hosted by Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah from Taste and Tell. The recipe can be found both places, so don't look for it here!

The basic premise is that you make a cheesecake, make balls out of it, and dip them in chocolate and other things. I had some creative inspiration that I didn't follow through on, mainly because the texture of the cheesecake was a bit too delicate. I wanted to make balls and decorate them in three different ways, and turn them into cheesecake pop shish-ka-bobs. It just wasn't meant to be.

The cheesecake had a really hard time setting up. I had baked it for double the time required when I took it out because it had started to crack, but I don't think the recipe was as infallible as I would have liked. As a result I had to take an extra day or so with this recipe, allowing more time to work around the softness of the cheesecake.

The cheesecake itself was left in the fridge overnight before balls were made, and the pops were frozen overnight rather than just for a few hours before being dipped in chocolate. Even as I dipped them, as they came to room temperature the chocolate seemed to want to stick less.

When I finished this recipe, I was not feeling like my cheesecake pops were particularly photogenic. I am always bringing recipes into work, but my co-workers never end up in my pictures.

Caroline digs in
Not this time. I sent out an e-mail informing them that showing up for break and cheesecake pops meant they might end up in the blog. Caroline, pictured here, was so excited about this idea that she posed for a picture even though she didn't eat a cheesecake pop!

Janet has chocolate on her lip
Janet gives the cheesecake pops a thumbs up.

Susan isn't sure
Susan models the first problem with how I made the recipe. When I went to the grocery store, they had no popsicle sticks. The only thing I could find were coffee stirring straws, which are remarkably flimsy.

Linda tries to eat delicately
Linda models one way to eat the cheesecake pop, by supporting its weight with the thumb from the other hand.

Elaina is crazy about her cheesecake pop
Elaina just decides to attack hers. I would like to be able to say that no cheesecake pops were harmed in the making of this blog, but that would be a lie.

How to eat a cheesecake pop
Ed uses an extra toothpick to try to solve the eating problem, but it falls on the table anyway.

Cheesecake Pops Make a Housecall
My cheesecake pops were pretty mobile. They even made a house call to be consumed by a librarian who recently had surgery.

Another use of cheesecake
Not all of the cheesecake got made into pops. This recipe really makes quite a bit! The first strawberries of the season had started to show up, so some of it was eaten with those. It made me wish I had thought to poke some strawberry pieces into the cheesecake balls before dipping in chocolate - that would have been a dream.

Speaking of strawberries, I might have bought a gallon today, and might be spreading the strawberry love shortly in my blog. Stay tuned.

Categories: Chocolate, Cream Cheese, Daring Bakers

77 comments:

Dagmar said...

The pops look very pretty. I LOVE the photos of your co workers eating pops!

glamah16 said...

I like the last photo with the plain cheesecake and fresh strawberry. Your co workers lloks happy to recieve such a treat!

Sarah said...

Your pops look great! I took mine to work too and everyone loved them, except that the first bite usually caused them to fall off the stick! :) Good job!

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love your post! Great photos and what great sports your coworkers are!

Jen Yu said...

Ha ha ha! I love that you got pics of your co-workers noshing on the pops - that's classic :) They look great and you did a fantastic job of decorating them.

Agatha said...

Great note & pictures :)

Laurie said...

How great Jenny! It's fun to share. They look great!

Deb said...

great job on the challenge!!! love the pic of elaina attacking her pop! lol
i found my sticks at michael's- they're made by wilton so i'm sure you can get them on their site, too- that is if you were going to make them again... you never know!
rock on

Christine said...

Your pops look great and everyone seemed to enjoy them! Good job!

Fran Z said...

Haha Fun pics! Your pops look great! My co-workers loved mine also!

Barbara Bakes said...

Love the pictures. You must be the favorite person in your office!

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm, those look REALLY good. Aaaaand, now I want cheesecake. :)

Anonymous said...

I kept half of my cake for another time, too. It's in the freezer right now awaiting PMS, guests or another worthy occasion.

Bumblebutton said...

How fun it is to share! Nice job--and the strawberry one made me realized what an opportunity I missed too!

Deborah said...

Lucky co-workers! And the bite with the strawberry - yum!!

Jerry said...

Love the photos! Great job

Lunch Buckets said...

Love the "action shots"!

Julia from Dozen Flours said...

Oh I just LOVED your post. Everyone's reaction was just classic. I really struggled with the what another daring baker described as, "lumpy, old, hand cream". I had high hopes for my pops too -- I had purchased a few different types of chocolate but after the first batch with the toffee and almonds, I just wasn't willing to sacrifice it.

I think you did a fabulous job and coffee stir sticks? Way to improvise!

Anonymous said...

Love the co-worker shots! Beautiful pops... very well done!

kellypea said...

I loved your post. What great people you work with! As far as being photogenic goes, how can any type of cheesecake not be gorgeous? Hmmm?

Anonymous said...

How fun to see another DB from South Carolina! Glad your coworkers liked them so much. They look pretty!

Anonymous said...

I agree, this recipe makes a LOT of cheesecake! It's great when you have enough to share with others :)

Your office mates look like they enjoyed it.

Anonymous said...

That was funny! I love how you got your co-workers in on a taste test! Great photos. Love the strawberry with the cheesecake on the spoon.

Melanie said...

Fun post! Your coworkers are officially famous now. Your pops turned out great, I think, even with the flimsy straws!!

Angel said...

Oh your pops look fantastic, and i love the fun picts of your co-workers. I also used some of the excess cheesecake for other treats. I thought it was delicious! Great Job!

Karen Baking Soda said...

Pops in action! Loved the pics! To be real honest... I would have welcomed some of that strawberries to tame the richness.

Maggie said...

I love your co-worker reaction shots!

April said...

This post made me smile today! Great looking pops!! I can't wait to see some strawberry love!

Carrie said...

Jenny,
I love your blog, and the pics of everyone enjoying are priceless! Thanks for finding me so that I could find you! I will be back :)

Carrie

reprehriestless warillever said...

I've never been a huge fan of cheesecake, but *my* does that last picture look good.

Fresh fruit makes anything a delicacy :)

Ally said...

Lol, I love your coworkers expressions! Your pops look lovely!

Faery said...

I love this post, your pops are really yummy I can see that in the face of your work parners :)

Proud Italian Cook said...

Your co workers look very happy! I have to say, I'm loving that last photo too!

The Food Librarian said...

These are great! My librarian (public library in the Los Angeles area...but I did graduate from UCLA!) co-workers loved my pops too. Great job!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you & your co-workers had a lot of fun with this! It's impossible NOT to enjoy eating something from a stick - even when you have a bit of trouble with the stick! Great job - they look beautiful.

xoxox Amy

Mandy said...

good job on the challenge, and your colleagues are great sports too. :)

Anonymous said...

They're beautiful - but even more beautiful are the faces of your co-workers hahaha!

Mrs Ergül said...

Hi Jenny, that's such a good idea to include your co-workers in this entry! Going by your occupation, I'm sure you know a lot about music :)

Nice meeting you!

Jenny said...

A strawberry in the middle of the pop? Now that sounds like a heck of an idea!

Meandering Eats said...

Thank goodness for coworkers or else projects would never be consumed! I think shish kabobs would have been fun! Maybe laying the cheesecake balls in a row, stringing a wooden skewer through them, and freezing them? Great job!

Simona Carini said...

Your photo essay is really nice: I had fun reading it. I think the pairing with strawberries is a good idea.

Anonymous said...

I would appear we had the same idea with the fruit! I like the pictures of your co-workers enjoying your pops. That's great.

Astra Libris said...

I think your pops are totally photogenic! They're gorgeous! The photos are awesome - you and your coworkers really captured the heartwarming joy of eating and sharing deliciousness. Three cheers to you for brightening your coworkers' day!

(P.S. Thank you so much for your lovely, kind DB comment on my blog...)

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Lovely looking pops! The photos of your colleagues are priceless!

Anonymous said...

Jenny, thank you for your lovely comment on my blog. I am glad it traced me to yours:) You have a great blog and I am going to subscribe to you!

Oh, your pops look marvelous and yummy! No wonder your co-workers look so happy:))

Anonymous said...

Jenny, can't see you RSS subscription link. Please help.

Anonymous said...

What a nice treat for your co-workers! And I'm kind of glad I cheated and didn't use the sticks... looks like they were hard to eat!

jasmine said...

I really like the photos of your colleagues--they look like a a fun bunch of people...mind you us music librarians* wouldn't surround ourselves with non-fun people :)

j

*I'm an ex-music librarian--no formal training, just found myself in charge of one of the province's largest choral libraries...funny how that happens...

Barbara said...

What a great idea to get pictures of your co-workers enjoying the pops!

test it comm said...

Nice post. The shots of your coworkers eating them are great. I used the same straws and had the same problems in that they could not hold the weight of the pops.

creampuff said...

Looks like everyone loved them and understandably so!

Gigi said...

Very cute! I loved all the photos of your co-workers enjoying the pops.

Jaime said...

looks like everyone at work enjoyed them!! :) enjoying them w/strawberries sounds like a great idea too :)

Anonymous said...

Haha. Love all the pics of people enjoying them!

pixie said...

Amazing pops and I love all the photos of them being eaten in many a different way!

Kelly-Jane said...

Great post, and lots of happy colleagues with lovely pops :)

Anonymous said...

I think the photos of your co-workers are great! A very good idea!

Anonymous said...

Great photos, and awesome post. I love the way you documented everyone eating/attacking the pops.

Tiffany @ Lattes And Life said...

We gobbled up lots of plain cheesecake too!!! Love the pics with your coworkers....

Brilynn said...

Fun pics! Nice to see everyone enjoying the pops, (which I know took forever to make... mine didn't set up as much as I thought it would either).

Texana said...

Don't ya just love it when everyone thinks your food tastes great! Good job!

Sakya said...

I loved your pictures and your post for that challenge :)
Great job your cheeseCake are very nice
Thank you for your visit on my blog to
Sakya

enza said...

amusing, I can't stop laugh!!!!
maybe the real sense of the monthly DB challenge is this: meet new special people!!!

Pixie said...

I think I'll take some snapshots of the testers next month- great idea and well done on the challenge!

Anonymous said...

Your photos are so funny!

I looove the strawberry idea - molding some cheesecake around a strawberry chunk, then dipping in chocolate, then coating with graham cracker crumbs - just like a real cheesecake!

desie said...

that's what it's all about-friends enjoying your creations!
sorry to hear the texture wasn't right, i think it all depends on the brands of cream cheese, my cake was surprisingly firm even without refrigerating. your pops looked great, nevertheless.

Anonymous said...

Those pictures are just too funny! I found myself smiling all the way through your post!

Ritsumei said...

I love the descriptions & pictures of all the ways to eat a cheesecake pop! I am a late baker, but I did actually get my post up, it's here.

Helene said...

Great on the pops! The reportage pictures are precious!

Mcwhisky said...

Sharing is caring. Wait to go! Pretty pops you have there. :)

Erika said...

I love the 'action' photos! So cute and so true. The pops were great but definitely hard to eat!

Erin said...

The curd did not make the cheesecake slip at all, but it did take longer to freeze overall until they were ready to dip. I weighed the cheesecake to only about 1.25 oz. and let the extra .75 oz. be curd weight, so they weren't too heavy.

Thanks for your comment, your cheesecake pops look beautious and delish!

Cakespy said...

Oh my. Poor Ed with his fallen cheesecake! That is a truly sad moment. :-) They look awesome!

Anna said...

I also had trouble eating my pops due to lack of lolly sticks - I used cocktail sticks for mini pops! But I don't think my family got into the spirit of it to the extent your coworkers did ^__^

Anonymous said...

Priceless photos! The strawberry idea is terrific -- there's always next time. Try looking for sticks on eBay if you can't find them locally

Dolores said...

I love your shish-kabob idea... and your coworkers' eagerness to enjoy the spoils of your labor is great!

Y said...

That's so cute. I love how game your co-workers were, to taste and even pose for photos :)