Daring Bakers Challenge #2

This month’s Daring Baker challenge was truly a challenge for me on many levels. I had made cheesecake before but not this recipe. I couldn’t find a roasting pan that my cheesecake pan would fit in so I ended up using a big stainless steel bowl, which was cumbersome but worked fabulously. The cheesecake took well over an hour but I was in no hurry. The grandkids and I hung out and watched movies while the cheesecake baked and baked and baked. I think it was close to 2½ hours but I did use a very
deep pan to bake it in.

Once out of the oven the challenge was in waiting. It took forever to cool and I was just itching to get to it and play. Another few hours went by till it was finally cool enough to cover and put in the fridge. I let the cheesecake sit in the fridge overnight and then got to forming the balls. That was a challenge too. The cheesecake was sticky and gooey! I found that wetting my hands a bit really helped.

My grandkids couldn’t wait for the pops to freeze (this was going way beyond bedtime for them) so we melted the chocolate in a double boiler and quickly dipped two pops, one for each and then dredged the sticky things into some quick sprinkles. The half-frozen pops took a little bit long to get the chocolate coating hard but the kids didn’t care, they ate them just as they were – goopy and apparently yummy judging from the smiles on their faces.

Once the pops were frozen solid and the kids were gone, I had a blast dipping and decorating. I did some with sprinkles, some with slivered almonds, some plain chocolate and some I just drizzled it and left large bits of cheesecake showing. They were a hit! I’ll be making them again for a party we’re having in June. I hope my cholesterol can handle it.

Introduction from Ellie

These cute little bites of cheesecake, held on a stick and dipped in chocolate and, if you like, decorations, are sure to make you smile. The cheesecake is New York style, the pops can be jazzed up with different toppings, and they are FUN…just right for a party. They are from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor. Isn’t that an alluring title for a cookbook?

Cheesecake Pops

Makes 30 – 40 Pops
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5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ cup heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks

1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)

Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) – Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees 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.

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.