Another month, another Daring Baker Challenge. What I want to know is where the month of April went! Did I forget to set my alarm and sleep through a solid chunk of days? Or for that matter, did I even get to sleep once, since the longer days of sunshine have persuaded me to add in a few hours to my daily routine? Either way, I found myself scrambling to get this one done, and I’m almost embarrassed to present my haphazard results after browsing through so many other far more impressive and professional works of pastry art.
Right off the bat, this one didn’t sound too difficult; Cheesecake pops. We’re talking cheesecake, scooped into balls, skewered onto lollipop sticks, and dunked into chocolate. What could be bad about that? Modifications were pretty basic, and conversions from regular cream cheese to tofutti was a no-brainer. I happened to have vegan sour cream on hand, so that replaced the egg, and I also used potato starch instead of flour because I wanted to share these with family during Passover. Finally, there was little choice but to scaled down the recipe in a big way, because there was no way I could justify shelling out the cash for 5 tubs of tofutti cream cheese for this little side project. Adding in just a touch of peppermint oil for a refreshing flavor to contrast with the chocolate, I set up a miniature water bath in an 8-inch round cake pan- My small batch of cheesecake batter fit perfectly!
Patience became a thing of the past once the base was fully baked and out of the oven- Forget waiting 3 hours for it to “thoroughly chill;” I tossed the whole thing into the freezer straight away, anxious to finish up and get a taste! It was a very forgiving recipe and no harm came of my haste, so before long I had 18 lovely lollipops dipped in chocolate, and then rolled in either chopped pistachios or cacao nibs. Just do me a favor and ignore their partial nudity, as I had just finished munching away on my chocolate chips when I realized that they would be needed for other applications… My remaining supply was a bit limited.
While unimpressive in appearance, these little morsels of creamy goodness were a wonderful treat, and were certainly easy enough to consider making again for a gathering or party. But until then, I beg you to go look at the other Daring Bakers’ creations, as their talent really puts me to shame this month.
Your title made me giggle!! They are gorgeous, what are you talking about :)
Great job on the challenge!
You’re too modest, these are so cute and look absolutely delicious! :0)
I just love them! I love the contrast between the dark chocolate and bright green pistachio!
They look wonderful to me too!
Unimpressive?? They look amazing!
Just perfect! Well done.
Wowwww these are amazing lollipops dear!! Just perfect!
I really adore them. You are great
Silvia
You might have had the right idea going straight to the freezer… my cheesecake didn’t want to form balls straight from the ‘fridge. And I love how you scaled the recipe down to a more appropriate size.
Oh, but they do look impressive to me! I bet they were very tasty, as well…
Cheesecake lollipops…. dipped in chocolate! What an incredible idea, they look amazing, who came up with this concept?
Not sure how you could use unimpressive as an adjective about these! They look just adorable! Hope everyone enjoyed them!
Mmmm… cheesecake! Beautiful! I personally like the “partial nudity”… the contrast in color and texture is beautiful and inviting. I hope everyone enjoyed.
Pistache! What a great idea! These are beautiful, and I agree, the other Dbers creations are fabulous, too. This was a fun challange.
Your pops are beautiful! I love the pistachios and I hear ya about the cost for 5 tubs of Tofutti!
I love the pistachios!! Your pops look great!
How can you say your pops look unimpressive? The pistachios in it alone are enough to make me want to reach out for one!
Oh my goodness!! I want one, hehe.
They look absolutely wonderful. Love the pistachios. Great photos.
Hannah – You did a wonderful job on your cheesecake pops. I bet the peppermint flavor tasted fabulous with the chocolate.
Keep the Alternative Daring Bakers in mind for May for the next bake along.
Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
Love the title! Great job!
Haha!! Love the title ;0)
Once again, you successfully completed another DBC – bravo, Hannah!!
I also can’t believe how April flew by.
Those little pops looks so delish.
Your pops are lovely. A little nudity never hurt anyone, plus being able to see the cheesecake makes them more visually appealing than just looking a a blob of chocolate. Well done.
They are gorgeous! Great job on this challenge!
Cheesecake pops?! What a fun challenge! I do think your pistachio-encrusted lollipops are quite adorable and would die for a taste of one!
These are gorgeous! Seriously, if you’re not impressed, send them my way!! ;)
I wouldn’t say unimpressive at all! They look fabulous! :)
the pistachio ones looked the best to me, great job.
Hannah these are dressed beautifully – note to self add pistachios to ways to try with these pops.
Your title is wonderful.
April sure did go by quickly, not that I’m complaining- May is on it’s way!
The lollipops looks so fancy and yummy! Mmm….chocolate and pistachio covered cheesecake- my mouth is watering!
No one is putting you to shame this month — these are quite gorgeous!
Oh they are so very cute!
As a fellow woman of haste, I hear you about the freezer. As a fellow woman of haste, I question how you got such pretty, circular balls when mine are anything but.
BEAUTIFUL! I had a hard time getting mine to be round after they sat on the parchment. Your pops are pretty…
these look adorable and delicious
I’m not much of a baker anymore and I don’t have vegan supplies on hand (although my daughter would like that), but your humorous recitation made me WANT to try it your way.
I might be able to make cheesecake lollipops are nice as yours, but I’m sure that my story won’t be told as well. Thanks for sharing.
Gorgeous pops! You did a great job!
Absolutely beautiful! I think these are pretty much perfection, Hannah :) Just like everything you make!
those look so tasty! : )
Unimpressive? That’s just crazy! These are beautiful! Well done!
Pretty. I would not have known they were dairy free if you hadn’t said they were.
I like it when the cheesecake peeks through at the top. I made mine do that deliberately. Lovely choice of nuts!
Your pops look wonderful! I would never have thought to do that with cheesecake. How nice that you can eat them during the holiday! That makes them even better, right? ;)
They’re adorable! I think they’re best partially naked, hehe.
The pistachios look delish with the chocolate!
I think these look amazing Hannah!! And tasty too I bet….
I like the nakedness! It gives you an idea of what’s on the inside… These are simply gorgeous!
Your pops are perfectly round, gorgeous looking morsels of vegan goodness. Have no shame :-)
These looks so beautiful! I’m sure it will be a hit during parties.
i for one like a little nudity with my vegan cheesecake (:
I have yet to find cacao nibs in my neck of the woods. Your pops look fantastic!
really nice job! They look great to me too!
those are gorgeous! almost too pretty to eat!
Don’t be silly! Your pops look great!
Don’t be silly – your pops are beautiful! The green of the nuts really pops against the chocolate.
Ooo they look great! The little water bath you setup is cute! Great idea to use cacao nibs. I have never used them in baking before – I’ve only tried them as is.
Hannah, seems like we have the same movie references! Love so lollipops; so sophisticated with pistachios.
xx fanny
those are gorgeous! I actually like that there’s not too much chocolate so you can see the cheese, and I LOVE the pistachios. they must go so well with the creamy cake!
they are perfect :) absolutely well done :)
Congratulations !
Did you have any problems dipping these? The last time I made cheesecake lollipops they kept falling off the stick as I dipped them…