Time flies, whether you’re having fun or not. Thankfully, most of my time has been occupied by enjoyable things, but the past week or so seems to have completely escaped my grasp. Planning is clearly not my forte, judging by the lack of posts recently, but at least I had the forethought to make my entry for the Daring Bakers early on before this whirlwind of activity picked up and carried off my free time.

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

Perhaps it’s a good thing that this was in fact, not a challenge due to schedule constraints, but part of me deeply misses the old days of crazy recipes, near-disasters that force one to think outside of the box, and rising to the occasion, ultimately finding an even better result than anticipated. Cheesecake may present some difficulties and potential pit falls, with the threat of cracked tops or dense fillings looming, but once you make one, you can pretty much make a million. With you eyes closed. While twittering. And preparing dinner at the same time.

Regardless, a plated presentation was definitely in order, being one of my favorite things at the moment. The whole she-bang starts out with a key lime cheesecake made in a silicon hemisphere mold, baked for only a few minutes to set and then frozen. Once each half sphere is popped out, they’re placed on top of tender graham cakes, imitating the flavors of a traditional cheesecake crust. Beneath that, for a satisfying crunch, is a thin layer of almond shortbread, anchoring the whole dessert and adding a nice nutty flavor beneath it all.  Crowned with some candied key limes and sugared mint leaves, it was a rich but refreshing dessert, perfectly suited for this heat wave we’re experiencing on the east coast.  If only I still had one of these little plates left now!