27 April 2009

Daring Bakers April Challenge : Mountains of Cheesecake

I'm not usually a fan of baked cheesecakes, I prefer the non-baked set-by-geletin kind, but I'm not one to avoid a challenge either. Unfortunately my timing in making this months challenge was a critical failure, since I went back to Weight Watchers 2 days before I made it! This meant that the cheesecakes were given to work and house mates to feast on.

And now, the formalities :

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Anyways, I decided to make 8 different flavours of mini cheesecakes, since I knew I'd never get through a whole large one myself. I used the main recipe, which I increased to 1 and a half times, and then split into 8 for each flavour. The recipe below is for the base of two flavours at a time (or 12 bun sized bases) and one filling (or 6 bun sized fillings).


Part 1 : Base

Ingredients :


70g each biscuit (shortbread, chocolate chip cookies, gingernuts, digestives)
1 oz butter

Method :

01. Blend each biscuit into crumbs.


02. Melt the butter, and stir in biscuit.

04. Add about 1 tbsp biscuit mix into bun case.

05. Flatten with the back of a spoon.


06. Add a few nuts to base for an extra crunch.





07. Set aside.

Part 2 : Basic Filling

Ingredients :


125g cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cream
1 small egg

Method :

01. Cream the cheese and sugar until smooth.


02. Add the egg.


03. Beat in the egg until completely incorporated.


04. Beat in the cream.


Part 3 : Flavourings and Finishings

Ingredients :


Coffee/Milk Chocolate : 1 tbsp mocha coffee mix

Maple/Pecan : 18 pecans, 2 tbsp maple syrup

Coffee/Hazelnut : 48 hazelnuts, 1 tbsp instant coffee

White Chocolate/Strawberry : 3 squares grated white chocolate, 2 large strawberries

Coconut : 2 tbsp shredded coconut

Triple Berry : 5 blackberries, 5 raspberries, 2 large strawberries

White Chocolate/Milk Chocolate : 3 squares grated milk chocolate, 3 squares grated white chocolate

Milk Chocolate/Orange : 3 squares grated milk chocolate, zest of 1/2 an orange

Method :

01. Add flavour directly in to basic filling mix and stir.


02. Pour or spoon mix on top of base.







03. Bake at 160 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes.

04. Open oven door slightly, turn off oven, leave for 1 hour as oven cools.

05. Cool completely on a wire rack.

06. Refridgerate overnight.

Part 4 : Decorating


Shortbread – Maple /Pecan – Pecan Digestive – Coffee/Hazelnut – Hazelnut Shortbread – Coconut – None Cookie – Milk Chocolate /Orange – Orange Jelly /Milk Chocolate
Digestive – Triple Berry – Blackberry Jelly Gingernut – White Chocolate /Milk Chocolate – White Chocolate /Milk Chocolate Gingernut – White Chocolate /Strawberry – Strawberry Jelly /White Chocolate Cookie – Coffee /Milk Chocolate – Milk Chocolate with Coffee /Milk chocolate


11 comments:

Jamie said...

Wow so many variations! Yum!

Unknown said...

They are so pretty, and I love the variations in crust too. Thanks for doing the challenge this month!

-Jenny from JennyBakes

Martha said...

8 flavors! Holy crap. Nice job.

Angelica said...

Awww, they look so cute! i especially like the ones with drizzles on top. Great job!

Christina said...

You were ambitious! They all look so tasty!

Memória said...

Wow! You made a lot of cheesecakes with detailed photos!! I commend you on all of your work!! Awesome!

Chantal said...

Very creative variations!

Laura said...

Love all your different variations

Lisa said...

Oh wow, I'll take a couple of the white chocolate/milk chocolate and maple pecan, please!!!

Nicole said...

Wow you got so creative! I'm impressed :)

Audax said...

Bravo on this challenge and I just love all the pictures of the process and some many combinations. Wonderful effort so many to chose from - all sound so nice. Cheers from Audax