Challenging Myself - 2014 Dessert Challenge

So I have noticed that I'm still terrible about blogging. Here's the thing though... I'm trying new recipes all the time still! So here's to my goal to get back into putting the stories of my successes/failures on the blog. I decided the best way to do this is to institute a challenge again. I liked the Cheesecake Challenge. I royally sucked at it after my son was born, but it was FUN.

In an effort to make this a productive endeavor, though (and because I'm actually in the process of losing that 15 pounds--halfway and trying to maintain...), I'm going to make a more flexible "Dessert Challenge." I know,  it doesn't sound as cool, at all. But it's probably more practical, since I avoid cheesecake like the plague (it's too good to give away and too fattening to eat all the time!).

So I've decided to make my own "Baker's Challenge." The goal is to make one of these desserts a month, on average (at least). I have 7 desserts here, enough for one a month from June-December. I even selected a wide variety of treats to suit all sorts of occasions. Let's see if I can manage it!

1. Chocolate Chess Pie



2. Tiramisu Sandwich Cookies



3. German Dark Rye Bread



4. No-Bake Nutella Cheesecakes



5. Cannoli Cupcakes



6.  Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Skillet Cookie



7. Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Back in the Kitchen

I found this amazing website today called "The Daring Kitchen." It's just a group of bakers/cooks that each month take on a challenge. I love the concept! And I want to do it... but I am going to try to ease back into my blog, first.

So, life happened. I was writing up until late summer of 2012. At the end of 2012, my son was born. Let me just say, adjusting to two was a challenge for me! The last thing I had time for was blogging/baking/trying new things.

But now my little guy is over a year and I think we have our rhythm. Moreover, I'm getting back into meal planning and trying new recipes. Unfortunately, I'm STILL trying to lose 15 pounds. That hadn't changed since the inception of this blog. However, I am already 5 pounds against my goal, so it's going well! Which means, of course, I can't bake too much or too often. Although my coworkers like my diet--it means they get quite a bit of my left overs.

So here's to a new beginning. I'm not going to take on the Cheesecake Challenge again, yet. I even tried a few of those other recipes and didn't blog about them. But right now, it's baby steps into blogging. If I get going, I'll set a challenge. My goal is to join the Daring Bakers, but I need to make sure I can handle it, first!

Here we go!

Cheesecake Challenge #8: Cafe de Leche Cheesecake

Yesterday's experiment was Cafe de Leche cheesecake from The Spiced Life, which looks so pretty in the picture I didn't bother taking one of my own (it wasn't holding it's shape well when cut and it was disappearing into the belly quickly, so I figured this picture would do):

From The Spiced Life

Jackpot!

Here's the story: we went to Olive Garden for dinner. Olive Garden does happen to have a very good Tiramisu. And often my mom gets it. But this time, she didn't, because we had this cheesecake at home waiting for us. And the best part? It's almost kind of like a creamy, cheesecaky version of Tiramisu. Slightly different, but similar flavors. Super creamy. Espresso. Caramel. Chocolate.

I love this cheesecake. It's DELISH.

Cafe de Leche Cheesecake
from The Spiced Life

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 cups Chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. Cocoa Powder
8 Tbsp. Melted, unsalted Butter
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla

Coffee Cheesecake:
16 oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1 cup Sugar
3 large Eggs
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. Vanilla
2 1/2 tsp. Instant Espresso

Caramel and Ganache Layer:
1 can Dulce de Leche (made with milk)
3/4 cup Heavy Cream
6-8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix together crust ingredients and press into a 9" spring-form pan. Cover pan in 4 layers of foil.
2. Combine cream cheese and mascarpone, beating until blended. Add sugar, then eggs, one at a time.
3. Microwave 1/4 cup of cream in small bowl until hot and whisk in espresso powder. Let cool to tepid.
4. Add espresso mixture, cream, vanilla, and lemon juice to cream cheese mixture and blend until smooth and creamy.
5. Pour batter into crust and place in water bath. Bake 45-55 minutes or until almost done. Turn off the oven and leave resting for 1 hour when done. Allow to finish cooling on counter, then chill overnight.
6. Heat up the dulce de leche so it is pourable, and let cool to tepid. Pour over the cake and chill an hour.
7. Make the ganache by simmering the heavy cream and then adding the chocolate. Let cool to tepid and pour over the dulce de leche layer. Return to chill for 3 hours or until chocolate is set.

Cheesecake Challenge #7: Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake

This time I tried the Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake from Mel's Kitchen Cafe:

From Source

Wow. Yum. Delish. This one was a total hit and success. It is extremely rich, but that's how I like my chocolate. It turned out beautifully, too, but we'll get to that. This one is a 5 start, creamy, rich, chocolaty concoction:

And you know what else was wonderful about this cheesecake? Mine was actually quite pretty! We took it to dinner at a friend's house and they thought the cake was bought! That's always a compliment when it looks store-made pretty.

So here is the recipe for this awesomely chocolate cake:

Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake:
(from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Ingredients:

Crust:
9 oz. chocolate cookie crumbs (like grahams)
1 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. melted butter

Cheesecake:
10 oz. chopped semi-sweet chocolate
32 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup Cocoa powder
4 Large Eggs

Topping:
3/4 cup whipping cream
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 Tbsp. sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a 9" Springform pan. mix the crust ingredients and press into bottom of pan only. Bake until set, about 5 minutes, and keep oven on.
2.  Melt the cheesecake chocolate and cool until lukewarm. In separate bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa powder. Add eggs one at a time and then add chocolate.
3. Pour cheesecake filling over crust and bake until just set, about 1 hour. Once cooled, chill overnight.
4. At least one hour before serving, heat topping ingredients in saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Cool slightly and pour over cheesecake, spreading to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Chill until set.
5. Allow cheesecake to stand 1-2 hours at room temperature before serving.

Cheesecake Research

An important part of any cooking challenge should include research, right? So, of course, I'm always doing my own research. Here are two recent discoveries:

Surprisingly, the Chick-Fil-A cheesecake is REALLY good. Just don't get anything on it. I got chocolate sauce on it, and it's just Hershey's syrup--so declasse.

And, on a less surprising note, I had the most amazing cheesecake this weekend while in Vegas. We went to the Factory and I tried the Kahlua Coffee Cocoa Cheesecake and it is AWESOME. Delish.

Might have to try this recipe!

The Inspiration, The Challenge

I don't know why I'm starting a new blog, because I'm already terrible with the one (and a half) I already have. But here's how and why it's happened:

I have become newly obsessed with both Pinterest and a variety of baking/cooking blogs I've found on the internet. Therefore, I've been filling my recipes/sweets/cheesecakes/cupcakes boards up on Pinterest with all sorts of fantastic treats. While working on this yesterday, I had the inspiration to make a new cheesecake every week, in an attempt to try out many of the recipes I've pinned. Kind of sounds like Julie and Julia, right? Yeah, kind of does.

Except, here's the thing... I'd also like to drop about 15 pounds. Ha! Cheesecake and weight loss!

So, I've decided to amend my challenge a little bit. I still want to bake my cheesecakes, but between trying to eat better, working two jobs, settling into our home, and raising a two year old, there just isn't the opportunity to make a cheesecake a week. I'm just being realistic here. Therefore, I've decided, instead, to start "The Cheesecake Challenge," which works like this:

-I'm going to select 25 cheesecake recipes from my Pinterest. I will make these 25 recipes this year (hopefully, although I'm not holding myself to any hard and fast deadline--25 just seemed like a reasonable number).

-I will blog on the results of my 25 Cheesecake Challenge. I don't actually expect anyone to read or care about my cheesecaking experiences, but I'd like to keep track for myself--which is why I've made myself a separate blog for the baking fun.

-I may also make things other than cheesecake and catalog them in my blog, here, because I just love baking and sometimes I want something other than cheesecake.

-There are no promises on regularity. Life happens.

So we begin the challenge! In fact, I've already started, last night, after the inspiration. I picked the easiest one to start. More on that later, though.