Cheesecake Pops-Daring Bakers

This month's daring bakers challenge involved a technique I had never used before. I had my first go at cheesecake in a water bath. Overall this recipe was not as hard as I expected, though like everyone else, I had to extend the baking time of the cheesecake (I think I left it in the oven about an hour). They worked well frozen, and the ones I did not cover in chocolate we used for chocolate fondue. I am super excited for what the next month of Daring Bakers will bring.

Cheesecake Pops

Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

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

Irish Cream Bundt Cake

I recently got a bundt pan from my MIL and J wanted some kind of bundt cake. I found what sounded like a great recipe on Allrecipes.com for Irish Cream Bundt cake. J wanted one that used pudding so this one fit the bill so I thought. I made the cake and icing and all turned out well until I served it to J and his parents. He was disappointed when there was no 'tunnel' of filling. Evidently when he wanted one that had pudding he did not mean a recipe that included pudding in the mix but one that had a 'special tunnel'. Lesson Learned on his part, be more specific next time.



Irish Cream Bundt Cake

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup chopped pecans 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix 4 eggs 1/4 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur 1/2 cup butter 1/4 cup water 1 cup white sugar 1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped nuts evenly over bottom of pan.
2.	In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Mix in eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil and 3/4 cup Irish cream liqueur. Beat for 5 minutes at high speed. Pour batter over nuts in pan.
3.	Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto the serving dish. Prick top and sides of cake. Spoon glaze over top and brush onto sides of cake. Allow to absorb glaze repeat until all glaze is used up.
4.	To make the glaze: In a saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and continue boiling for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup Irish cream.

Mexican Lasagna

This was a great variation of regular Lasagna. I forget who's blog I found this one, so if it yours please let me know so I can give you credit. The guys loved this and J was taking leftovers to work all week.


Mexican Lasagna
1lb Ground Beef
1 pkg Taco Seasoning
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
6 6" Corn Tortillas
1 c Salsa
1/2 c shredded Cheddar
1 can Black Beans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef and drain the fat. Add taco seasoning tomatoes and black beans. Heat thorough. Spoon 1/2 beef mixture in 9x13 pan sprayed with olive oil (or whatever spray oil you use). Place a layer of tortillas over the beef mixture. Repeat layering process once. Top the top layer of tortillas with salsa then top with cheese. Bake for 20 min or unitl hot and bubbly.

Baked Ziti

Who doesn't love meat, tomato sauce, pasta and lots of cheese baked to perfection? I have made this a couple of times since these pictures were taken and it has passed the approval of the guys I live with as something worth repeating. I found the recipe at Sugar and Spice.

Baked Ziti

1 pound tube shaped pasta
1 Jar spaghetti sauce
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, cut into chunks and cooked
1 cup grated Romano cheese, divided
8 oz. mozzarella, diced
Shredded mozzarella

1. Cook pasta to al dente. Drain and put into a large bowl.

2. Toss pasta with 3 cups sauce, sausage, 1/2 cup Romano cheese, and diced mozzarella.

3. Pour into 13x9 glass baking dish and top with remaining 1/2 cup Romano cheese and handful of shredded mozzarella sprinkled on top.

4. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 15 minutes until sauce and cheese are bubbling.

Life is an Adventure

Well. Here I go on a spree of posts. It has been almost a month since I added to my blog. In that month life has been a bit busy in ways that may be a blessing down the road. Hopefully the next six months see us enjoying a family vacation to Canada and maybe looking toward moving forward with life, rather than sitting stagnant.

Daring Bakers: Round One: Layer Cake

Okay, I know I have been pretty lax on the blog posting, this is all really still new to me and life gets in the way for sure.

I opted recently to join the Daring Bakers Blog Challenge. I would like to become more active and creative with my baking and figured this would be a great way to expose myself to new and exciting baking opportunities.

The March challenge was Dorie Greenspan's "Perfect Party Cake" chosen by Morven. Before this challenge I had never made a cake from scratch. I grew up with a basic layer cake from a box with can frosting in the middle. It also was perfect timing as I had to make a cake for my Husband's 30th birthday party which was the middle of the month.

The cake turned out fabulous! The only variation I played with was adding almond extract instead of lemon and strawberry jam instead of raspberry. (My father is not a raspberry fan) I also only made a two layer cake instead of a four. I think I did pretty good for a first time from scratch cake. It was a super hit at my Husband's party. I received a ton of compliments on how it looked and when I told them I made it all myself they all were very impressed.

Here is the recipe we were given:

PERFECT PARTY CAKE
Courtesy of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours (page 250).


Words from Dorie
Stick a bright-coloured Post-it to this page, so you’ll always know where to turn for a just-right cake for any celebration. The original recipe was given to me by my great dear friend Nick Malgieri, of baking fame, and since getting it, I’ve found endless opportunities to make it – you will too. The cake is snow white, with an elegant tight crumb and an easygoing nature: it always bakes up perfectly; it is delicate on the tongue but sturdy in the kitchen – no fussing when it comes to slicing the layers in half or cutting tall, beautiful wedges for serving; and, it tastes just as you’d want a party cake to taste – special. The base recipe is for a cake flavoured with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic (and so simple) pure white lemony hot-meringue buttercream but, because the elements are so fundamental, they lend themselves to variation (see Playing Around), making the cake not just perfect, but also versatile.

For the Cake
2 ½ cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Cake
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Take a look here at how the other DB's creatively made cakes.

Kalamata Feta Chicken

I found this recipe on SparkPeople.com (it is also a Cooking Light recipe) while looking for healthy, lower calorie dinner options. If I was to make this again (which I won't be, I will get to that later) I would probably add more seasoning to the chicken as it cooked. My husband and brother in law were not the biggest of fans (actually I got some funny looks from both of them as they took bites) and ended up scraping off the cheese/olive/tomato topping.

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked orzo 1/2 t salt 1/4 t pepper 10 pitted kalamata olives, chopped 8 grape tomatoes, finely chopped 1/4 cup fresh parsley 1/4 cup (1 oz) crumbled feta cheese with basil and sun dired tomatoes 1 t dried oregano 1 T dried parsley 4 4oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts Cooking Spray 1/2 cup water

Directions

Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain; stir in 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper.
Combine olives, tomato, parsley, cheese, oregano, and 1/8 t salt.
Coat chicken with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining salt, 1/8 t pepper, and a dash of oregano.
Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side. Transfer to a serving plate; keep warm.
Add water to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Pour mixture over chicken. Top chicken with olive mixture, and serve with orzo. Makes 4 servings.


Number of Servings: 4