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Big Black Dog: Daring Bakers and the Cheesecake Pops

April 27, 2008

Daring Bakers and the Cheesecake Pops




Well today is the day and my first challenge completed for Daring Bakers!!! And I'm already looking forward to May and the next challenge. And a special thank you to Elle of Feeding my Enthusiasms and Deborah of Taste and Tell for hosting our April Event!

The Cheesecake Pops were fun to make, but...a big but, I don't think I would make them again. Not that they're not good, in fact delicious, but there were problems. Everything went as expected but as soon as the pops started warming to room temperature, they did not adhere to the stick which became very messy, very fast. There's nothing more depressing then to see a child happily munching away and then all of a sudden the tasty Pop has fallen off the stick and the dog is making a beeline for the treat!!



Cheesecake Pops
Recipe adapted from "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey"

5 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 c. sugar
¼ c. all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ c. heavy cream
Boiling water as needed
30-40 (8-inch) lollipop sticks
1 lb. chocolate, finely chopped (whatever type you want for dipping)
2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
Assorted decorations (sprinkles, sanding sugar, chopped nuts, etc.)

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 F. Set some water to boil.


In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes (*note: I baked mine for an hour, so keep in the oven longer if needed).

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.


Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.). Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.




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18 Comments:

Blogger Lis said...

Love 'em! And apparently your dogs did too, eh? ;)

Okay how did yours remain so round? Were you able to store them in the fridge upright? They are gorgeous!

I'm so glad you joined up with us. Michelle!

xoxo

April 27, 2008 at 10:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

FUnny! I have a very similar doily my mom made in the 40s...
Your pops look fantastic.

April 27, 2008 at 10:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your first challenge -- they are beautiful. Sorry your pops were falling off the sticks, but I bet your dog was happy. Mine sits hopefully at my feet as I bake, waiting for just such mishaps.

April 27, 2008 at 12:04 PM  
Blogger Lucy..♥ said...

Congrats are in order ! ! ..... I do know they gave you a tuff time, but your "Cheesecake Pops" look so yummy delicious & gorgeous !

April 27, 2008 at 12:58 PM  
Blogger Michelle said...

Lis, I'm a candy maker and I knew the pops would flatten while freezing. I only took 3 at a time out of the freezer to dip in chocolate. And right before I dipped each one, I held the top in the palm of my hand and the warmth from hand rounded out the flattened edges.

Then I dipped in the melted chocolate and confections and put in the frig, upright, for a minute or 2 until the chocolate hardened.

I stored them in my frig resting on the ball and they did not flatten out any more after the chocolate had hardened.

They were very good tasting, just a bit messy for children and my husband to eat.

April 27, 2008 at 2:01 PM  
Blogger Barbara said...

Great job on your first DB challenge! Your pops look incredible.
And my dog loved them too. She was underfoot while I was forming and dipping them. Anything that fell to the floor was quickly hoovered up by her.

April 27, 2008 at 3:10 PM  
Blogger Jen Yu said...

They are gorgeous - great job! And yes, they don't tend to remain "pops" if it gets warm. Poor kid :( The dog must have been thrilled (mine would have been!).

April 27, 2008 at 3:15 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Well, they look great. (I kind of agree about not making them again - maybe as cheesecake petits fours instead of as pops).

April 27, 2008 at 6:22 PM  
Blogger Gato Azul | Chat Bleu said...

They look lovely. I anticipated the problem with the shapes by making them square... ;-P I remember making truffles... ugh, messy hands. Welcome to DBs

April 27, 2008 at 8:06 PM  
Blogger Deborah said...

Wonderful job on your first challenge! We ended up eating them mostly without hands after the stick fell out. Welcome to the DAring Bakers!!

April 27, 2008 at 8:38 PM  
Blogger OhioMom said...

WOW !! Love the pics Michelle, especially since I can see them now LOL !

Those look yummy !

April 27, 2008 at 9:32 PM  
Blogger Meandering Eats said...

Your pops look fantastic! What is that holder that you're using? It's lovely. I had meltage issues, too. It was 90ish degrees in San Diego, so dipping was a nightmare. I would make it through half a tray of frozen cheesecake, then have to re-freeze because they were falling off the sticks into the chocolate.

My pup liked the cheesecake, as evidenced by the patch of cheesecake skin that was missing from the top when I stepped out to pick up dipping supplies. I'm a big Rottie fan and the pics of your puppies had me cooing idiotically at my computer screen. At work. :)

April 28, 2008 at 3:41 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

I had the same problem with a broken hearted child and a falling pop--I think that making them MUCH smaller might help, but at the end of the day they are that kind of treat--the kind that comes on a stick but you serve with a bowl.

I agree--yours are super round and super pretty. Mine were not so much. :) But boy they were tasty.

April 28, 2008 at 10:14 PM  
Blogger Michelle said...

Moowie, the holder I used for the Cheesecake Pops is actually a small vase. The insert, you can see in the picture, has holes for the stems of flowers so it acts as a frog. I picked it up at Homegoods for $5 one day. I bought it as a little hostess gift...but I decided to keep it myself.

April 28, 2008 at 10:58 PM  
Blogger Lunch Buckets said...

Welcome to the group! Your pops look great, and I have it on good authority that dogs love cheesecake :)

April 28, 2008 at 11:27 PM  
Blogger Tempered Woman said...

Well they look really cute~ any consolation whatsoever? ;-)
Congrats on your first DB challenge!

April 29, 2008 at 8:56 AM  
Blogger Mehgan said...

Ohhh, your pops are just lovely!!

May 2, 2008 at 8:23 PM  
Blogger Gretchen Noelle said...

They do look rather lovely! Welcome to the Daring Bakers!

May 3, 2008 at 8:58 PM  

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