Monday, April 27, 2009

Daring Bakers Challenge -- cheesecake!


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

My spin on the challenge recipe was a slightly lightened lemon-blueberry cheesecake:

example

I was considerably creative with this month's challenge! I'm glad we had the opportunity to think "outside the box" (springform pan?)

~ I chose to lighten the recipe by using all Neufchatel cheese in place of the full-fat cream cheese, and half-and-half instead of the heavy cream

~ I chose a shortbread crust (from Joy of Cooking) instead of a graham cracker crust

~ I added the zest of one lemon to the cheesecake batter (I would zest two lemons and add more juice next time for more lemony flavor)

~ I chose to forego the waterbath method, and followed the baking instructions for the New York Style Cheesecake recipe in Joy of Cooking (I tend to prefer a more dense, almost cakelike cheesecake, and this resulted in fantastic texture!)

~ I topped the baked cheesecake with 2 cups frozen blueberries cooked with 1/4 cup sugar for 10 minutes

Delicious, despite the overly-browned crust. I think I need a new springform pan . . . drat. Perhaps I'll buy one of those watertight Kaisers, and try the bain marie next time?

10 comments:

Sharon said...

Ahhhh, yum yum!

Jo said...

Great job on your challenge and the cheesecake looks really delicious.

kk said...

ooh, your cheesecake looks delicious. I will have to try to bake the cheesecake without the water bath next time, as I like the dense texture too. great job! =P

Ricki said...

Looks just beautiful! Mmmm--love cheesecake!

aTxVegn said...

Lovely. I love the lemon and blueberry combination.

ice tea: sugar high said...

lemon and blueberry sounds lovely! Great job on this month's challenge

Chantal said...

that blueberry topping looks to die for

Lauren said...

Mmm, your cheesecake looks amazing!! I love the blueberry topping =D

MeloMeals said...

Yum! it looks delicious!

Unknown said...

I love your version. Thanks for being a part of the April Daring Baker's Challenge!

Jenny of JennyBakes