Cheesecake Pops

I made these for my friend Liz’s first annual BBQ. She was also secretly celebrating the launch of her new blog where she’s chronicling her life, fitness, and cupcakes. I knew I needed to bring a dessert that would be worthy next to her chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes…. which were TO DIE FOR! I’m not sure that my cheesecake pops compared, but they were definitely pretty!

I had never heard of cheesecake pops until I came across Bakerella.com. She is the queen of dessert pops… searching through her blog makes you want to drop whatever you’re doing and dabble in creating a pop of your own. I knew this was the perfect recipe- something unique with a pretty presentation and without a doubt delicious.

To be honest, I don’t know why I thought this recipe would be a piece of cake. It’s very time consuming and needs to be executed in stages. If I had managed my time better and made these in the proper stages it required, I probably would be raving about this recipe. But because I was frantically running around my kitchen trying to finish in time for the BBQ my feelings about it are a little sour. Of course I’m guilty of trying new recipes at the very last minute, usually baking minutes before guests arrive not even knowing if my new recipe is trustworthy. So the blame is all mine! This recipe, if done with the right time management, is actually flawless!

You can’t go wrong with a dessert that is bite sized with a beautiful presentation that kids and adults alike will enjoy. The decorations I used are only one option and can be adjusted to your liking. For example, you can use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate for your dipping chocolate and sprinkle chopped nuts, coconut,or toffee bits for your decorations.

I recommend baking the cake four days ahead. Letting it sit in the refrigerator overnight to set. Then day three, shaping the cheesecake into balls and freezing overnight. Day two can be spent dipping in chocolate and decorating and then put back in the freezer to set overnight again. The final day the pops should be transferred to the refrigerator to be kept cool, but not frozen. Then serve and enjoy! For those of you that can handle the prep work required of these, you will not be disappointed in the results!



Cheesecake Pops
Adapted From: www.bakerella.com
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients
16 oz softened cream cheese
½ cup white sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup sour cream
Melted chocolate (dark or milk)
White chocolate to drizzle
Food colouring
chopped nuts and sprinkles to decorate



Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the sugar. Add eggs one at a time on low speed. Add vanilla, almond extract, and sour cream. Beat until smooth. Pour into a greased 7" or 8" pan and bake for 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cake for an additional 1 hr in oven. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

To assemble the pops, remove the pan from the fridge. Using either your hands or an ice cream scoop form balls of the desired size and place on a parchment lined pan. Place in the freezer until they have hardened. Melt your chocolates and tint the white chocolate if using. The best way to melt the chocolate is using either a bain marie (place a heatproof glass bowl over a pot of barely simmering water) or in the microwave for small amounts of time on a low setting. Push the sticks into the pops and start dipping the pops. The chocolate will set very fast so be quick if decorating with candy, chopped nuts or sprinkles. Drizzle with white chocolate if using and leave to set. Refrigerate until you are ready to use the pops.