27 April 2008

Daring Bakers: Cheesecake Pops

Every so often something pops into my head as being so common sensicle that I immediately dismiss it because it's so obviously a good idea that someone else has done it and done it better.

Time travel to 1987: Enter the cheeseypop (a frozen cheesecake lolly) into my head...and immediately dismissed in the aforementioned way.

Time jump to 2008 and the April 2008 Daring Bakers challenge, co-hosted by
Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms and Deborah of Taste and Tell, Cheesecake pops. Chocolate-coated cheesecake balls on a stick.

Okay...my cheeseypops weren't choco-coated, but the idea is the same. A bite-sized cheesecake portion, frozen onto a stick...perfect for parties.

It's like the dessert version of cocktail weenies...except there isn't any dipping sauce...well there is, but it's frozen onto the cheesecake.

Our lovely hosts let us run free with the recipe to a certain extent--we could flavour it as we wanted and decorate it as we wanted. The only limitations were keeping the cheesecake untinted and keep the lolly to a two-ounce size.

OOPS...on both counts...sort of...


I don't know why, but I've been thinking of pina coladas a lot lately. Maybe it's a latent desire to be somewhere...anywhere...where I can just laze about with a book or two. I even went so far as to buy a frozen can of pina colada stuff...which I intend to use in something...possibly a drink.

So, apart from the rum, the two primary flavours are coconut and pineapple. I've never seen coconut cream cheese in the shops, but I have seen it in pineapple Needless to say, instead of buying a regular, cream cheese-flavoured brick for the challenge, I bought a pineapple-flavoured tubblette of cream cheese. Heck, it saves me from looking for pineapple flavouring. But instead of it being titanium white, it's more of a winter white--a creamy-peachy colour. Well, I'd never bought it before, so I didn't know...oh well...at least it wasn't pink like the strawberry or blue like the blueberry (or, I suspect green, like the chive flavoured) kinds.

The original recipe called for five bricks of cream cheese. Since I wasn't making it for a party and I don't have room in my freezer for 35 cheeseypops, I scaled the recipe down to one brick's worth. It was quite easy, since I pretty much do most things in grams and mls. I poured it into my smallest ceramic round baking thingie and it baked up really nicely--it took about 35 minutes to set properly. I also made a mental note that this quantity is perfect for a small cheesecake for two-four people.

When time came to make the little balls, I didn't have a two-ounce scoop and none of the shops I checked in had them. Knowing they had to be walnut-sized I got out my teaspoon and started scooping balling and impaling. I wound up with 12 lollies from one brick...which tells me they were a wee bit too small, but it just means there are more "servings."

I found stabbing each orb with a lolly stick oddly therapeutic. Maybe there's a hidden acupuncturist inside me, maybe in a previous life I was one of Vlad's armed guards. To my surprise, the sticks stuck and didn't tip to the side--nor did the cheesecake slide off when lifted.

After a couple of hours in the freezer, I dipped them in melted dark chocolate and then plunged them into bowl of shredded coconut, left over from the
March Challenge, and popped them back into the freezer.

Yummy yummy yummy...and the perfect size (for me). The pineapple wasn't too strongly flavoured, but it was nice with the coconut.

Which got me to wondering...what about cheesey kebabs? Two little cheesecake blobs on either side of a strawberry or pineapple chunks...frozen, of course... or what about doing these with savoury garlic cream cheese (I do like the garlic bonbons at my favourite chocolatrie)...

Nah, it's probably been done before...

If you're interested in making Cheesecake Pops, read Lemon Pi's post (I really like the little lolly holders).

To read what the other DBs did with this challenge, take a meander through our blogroll.

cheers!
jasmine





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35 comments:

Lis said...

pineapple cheesecake doused in chocolate and coconut.. *swoon* I love this flavor combination!

I'm so glad you decided to make them, sweetie.. been thinking about you. :)

Lots of love & hugs!
xoxo

KJ said...

What a great idea. I never even thought of using flavoured cream cheese. They look terrific!!

Y said...

Seriously, I think you were just way ahead of your time! I love the idea of a savoury cream cheese pop too. That's certainly one to explore as a canape idea. Maybe they could be rolled in green herbs. And I have to ask.. garlic bonbons??

Gigi said...

What a great idea ...using flavored cream cheese! I love the coconut and and the chocolate. Great job Jasmine!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Totally well done! Great idea to start with the flavor already in the cream cheese! I think they are lovely.

Cakelaw said...

Pineapple flavoured chesecake pops sounds delicious!! C;ever you for scaling down the recipe - I made the whole batch and my work colleagues struggled to get through them all.

K and S said...

anything dipped in chocolate and then topped with coconut has got to be good! way to go!

Deborah said...

that is so smart - using the flavored cream cheese! The thought didn't even come to my mind. I love your pina colada flavored pops!

creampuff said...

Ah 1987 ... brings back good memories!

I will eat absolutely anything covered in coconut but make it a pineapple flavoured cheesecake ball and I will happily cover myself in them.

Lovely!

Gretchen Noelle said...

I do like your other ideas! Yum! These look delightful with the coconut sprinkled on!

glamah16 said...

Now this is the best flavor combo I have seen so far. Love It!

Jenny said...

You risk taker you! :-)
Interesting how one package took the recipes quoted 35 minutes to bake, which explains why 5 packages took almost 1 1/2 hours!
Nice flavor variation, pineapple and coconut sounds lovely to me.

Christine said...

Yum love the pineapple idea! These came out great!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow...Your flavor combination sounds heavenly! Great job!

Sheltie Girl said...

Jasmine - You did a wonderful job on your cheesecake pops. I love the coconut pineapple cheese cake flavor...it sounds simply yummy.

Natalie @ Gluten a Go Go

Jerry said...

I'll trade you some pops for yours cause pina colada sounds so yummy!

Anonymous said...

Reminds me of my favorite See's pineapple truffle. Flavored cream cheese = great idea!

Julia from Dozen Flours said...

Wow... positively decadent. Yummmm!

Oh and regarding the pan I used for my little square pops, I found the pan at Joanne Fabrics. They also had one that was in a sunburst/flower shape.

Jen Yu said...

Oooh, pina colada?! That's clever and they look terrific. Great job. I too scaled the recipe down by 1/5. Love the coconut flakes :)

Andrea Meyers said...

Oh my. Pina colada pops with coconut...so decadent!

Jaime said...

i LOVE pina coladas! great idea for the lollipops :)

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Yummy! These are so different than most of the other DB posts I've been reading today. A perfect one-bite treat.

Helene said...

Great take on the pops! Pina Coladas...summer here I come! They turned out lovely!

Unknown said...

I had a savory cheesecake with a warm tomato sauce during a tasting menu once, so it doesn't take much more to take it to a pop level. Worth pondering! I love your pina colada idea for sure, although I'm not sure I've ever had pineapple with dark chocolate (but how could you go wrong).

Shandy said...

WoW! What a great flavor combination, pineapple and coconut! I bet these were absolutely delicious and the cheesecake balls certainly look adorable in your picture! Beautiful =D

Mandy said...

pina colada? Love it!

Anonymous said...

I always wondered about those tubs of flavored cream cheese. Your pops look great! Love the coconut.

Y said...

Jasmine, I'm still very intrigued by that garlic (and now red pepper also!) chocolate thing. What's the name of your local chocolaterie? Do they do mailorder? :)

L Vanel said...

I also divided the recipe by 5, and had plenty, so glad I didn't do a whole batch. Your cocktail theme was a great creative twist on the challenge.

Anonymous said...

Pina colada pops with chocolate? Sign me up!

Sara said...

oh my! pineapple, coconut, chocolate AND cheesecake???? what a combo.

pixie said...

pineapple is not my favorite cake flavor but yours is intriguing!

Dolores said...

The dessert version of cocktail weenies... what a perfect description of these. And I love your pina colada version!

XUP said...

I think the kebobs are an excellent idea. I've seen fruit on a kebob, but never with cheesecake.

jasmine said...

Hello all!

Yeah it was a bit of mine own laziness setting in...next will probably be a pre-flavoured cheesecake...well...maybe not...the flavours are a bit plasticky.

j