Daring Bakers POP! (Dairy-free cheesecake pops with recipe)
I’ve had a lot of fun with every Daring Baker challenge I’ve participated in. I’m still an amateur baker and each month I’ve had to do something I’ve never done before.
First, I tackled my biggest baking fear – yeast. Next, was the first time I had ever made Swiss meringue buttercream (which I now make on a regular basis). In January, I made my first lemon meringue pie including my first time making lemon curd. And last month, I made my first layer cake.
This month is no exception for the list of firsts. Cheesecake. I happen to love cheesecake, but I haven’t had any since finding out I was lactose intolerant. I just figured cheesecake would be one of those things I wouldn’t have again without being in extreme pain (or taking an entire box of Lactaid crushed over the cheesecake).
With the help of the NEW Daring Bakers site, I was able to get my questions answered and made the cheesecake completely dairy free. And it’s delicious! The pops are so cute and an easy way to bring cheesecake to a party. Thanks to this month’s hostesses: Deborah from Taste and Tell and Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms. Be sure to check out the DB blogroll to see all the other cheesecake pops.
Cheesecake Pops
Adapted from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Me (halved the recipe and made it dairy free)
Makes ~35 pops
2 1/2 8-ounce package of Toffuti Better than Cream Cheese – at room temperature
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoon of flour
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 Tbsp full-fat soymilk + 2 tsp Earth Balance margarine – melted, mixed and cooled to room temp
1/2 pound dark chocolate
1 tablespoon of shortening
straws & sprinkles
Preheat oven to 325F. 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 eggs and the egg yolk, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream mixture (milk + butter).
Pour the batter into 8-inch pan, coated with cooking spray. 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 ramekins. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes. (Mine took 50 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. (I refrigerated overnight.)
When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls (My cheesecake was very firm. I just cut the cheesecake into squares and triangles) and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a straw 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 a double boiler (I use a bowl over a pan of boiling water), heat the chocolate and 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.
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. Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. (I let held the pop for a minute or so to let the chocolate set so that I wouldn’t have a “footprint” on my pops)
Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Those are adorable! I love the idea of lemon meringue cupcakes.
They are adorable!! Great job and I am glad you had success with the recipe.
Congrats on a successful challenge!
OMG, are they cute! Like little porcupines. So glad it turned out for you. Fab job!
I really liked your idea of making the cupcakes. No cutting up and great single sized servings. They look just great.
Makes me wonder– why didn’t I think of that?
Hey~ I made lemon maringue cuppies too! I am so sold on making pies this way in the future- very fun. Love the spikies- great job.
Your LMP looks great! I love the cuppies
LMP cuppys rule! ::high five:: love all the pictures of your process… great job!
I really like the little pies everyone is making..now I want to redo mine.blessings,
marye
http://bakingdelights.com
Oh so cute! I had considered trying my second attempt in a cupcake tin… until I waited until the last minute, that is! 🙂
Congrats! These look fabulously divine!
Ah ha, another fellow Boston baker! Your tarts are beautiful! Love the peaks on the meringue!
Those are so perfect!
PS: I have those red measuring bowls. I love them! 😀
so SMART to have all of your ingredients out FIRST. I really should know this by now.
Ooooh, I love your cupcake-pies. How’d you make the meringue spikey?
And what did the husband think of the final product?
your little ones are adorable. Great job on your challenge!!
your lemon meringue cupcakes are so cute! job well done! 🙂
They’re so cute!! Great job!! :O)
i had that crust shrinkage problem too. it’s a bummer.
———-
kate
http://www.thecleanplateclub.net
Dolores – I just spread the meringue around and then using a spatula, pressed it into the meringue and pulled it out and voila! Spikes!
Your little cupcakes are adorable! That was a great idea!
Your little tarts lok just lovely. well done!
a challenge executed incrediblely well!
They look just perfect!!
Nice job!
Too cute! Love the cupcakes. I want one!
My crust did the same thing! Your cupcakes look great though!
~Carrie from bakersbakery.wordpress.com
Your “pie-cups” look perfect. Great job!
Jane of VeganBits.com
Very cute! Did you turn away and silently mock your husband “my mom makes a great…”, no of course you wouldn’t have, I must be projecting 🙂
You did a wonderful job on your lemon meringue tarts!
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
~ We’re lactose intolerant at our house too.
Nice cupcakes! And if it makes you feel any better, I’ve been a DB’er for a year and friends and family, all non-bloggers, always know what I’m making. They kinda have to since I always tape the recipe up on the kitchen cupboards!
Yayy! I love reading success posts like this! They look great and that’s a good idea to bake them in muffin tins. Well done!
I love your little lemon meringues!
Awesome! I love how differently everyone’s turned out, but these little cuties are so adorable 🙂 Great job!!
So cute! I’m sure everyone enjoyed you addition to the spread!
I love cupcake idea. One big pie seems so messy, these seem neat and tidy. Congrats on another successful challenge!
The shrinking crust always affects my mini cupcake pies too. The trick is to make them overhang the cups enough so that they shrink down to just the right size. Your little pies are darling!
It’s awesome for me to have a website, which is helpful in
favor of my know-how. thanks admin