Monday, April 27, 2009

Daring Bakers - Say Cheese! Ginger Lime Baked Cheesecake



Are you wondering as you casually surf the blogosphere today why every foodie on the planet appears to simultaneously have decided that baked cheesecake was next on their "to do" list? Never fear, this is not just your imagination or a sense of deja vu - it's Daring Bakers time again!

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

However, as Jenny says:

The real challenge this month is to take this basic recipe and play with it. Make it unique. Make a showstopper of a dessert. Add flavor, sauces, decorations – dress it up and show it off.

I am a fan of cheesecake of all types (baked or unbaked), and fruity cheesecakes are my favourite because the acidity of the fruit balances out the rich decadence of the cheese. However, I tend to avoid making cheesecake because I know that it is pretty full on in the calories stakes, and I tend towards being a couch potato. (Since I began this blog, I have gained a certain amount of weight that won't budge.) However, with Jenny's choice for Daring Bakers this month, I have the perfect excuse to make a cheesecake.

There is also no danger that I will be left holding the cake, so to speak, because my team is hosting a morning tea on Tuesday this week. Apparently, my new work friend Ruth tells me that unless Legal holds a morning tea soon, we will be cut off from the Finance morning teas, with Finance being our nearest neighbours. It is perhaps not so sinful that Legal hasn't had a morning tea for a while, because until I arrived, there were only two people in Legal (as opposed to 20 or so people in Finance!). However, I made it clear that I love to bake and HAVE to bake, so I was more than happy to ensure that Ruth doesn't get "excommunicated". I was also impressed to learn that my new boss, Rod, cooks and bakes. No excuses then!! (I understand that Rod is thinking of making creme brulee spoons for the morning tea - wow, who thought that a guy would up the ante on my baking standards! No offence fellas, but the majority of guys that I know are not food bloggers or chefs, and rely on their significant female other to feed them.)

I originally was going to make a ginger and chocolate cheesecake, but if you have been following TWD this month, you will know why I am suffering somewhat from chocolate overload. To give me some ideas, I did a quick Google search on ginger cheesecakes, and lo, I found a recipe for ginger & lime cheesecake. Accordingly, I used Abbey's recipe, but used gingersnaps for the crust instead of graham crackers, laced the batter with glace ginger and lime zest, and substituted the lemon juice in the cheesecake recipe for lime juice. To decorate the cheesecake but leave it simple so that I can transport it to work, I piped whipped cream around the edge.

As this post goes to air, I have no idea what my cheesecake tastes like (other than a lime-y lick of the rim of the springform pan after being removed from the cheesecake), as our morning tea is not until tomorrow. However, I will update you with my verdict once it has been sliced.

Update - the Verdict: this cheesecake was absolutely amazing - light yet creamy, melt in the mouth, and the ginger and lime were dream flavours. It went down really well - it was definitely a hit. I would rate this as my top cheesecake recipe ever.


To see all the other fabulous cheesecake variations by the other Daring Bakers (and believe me, there are some absolute stunners!!), please visit the
Daring Bakers blogroll. Jenny's site will have the recipe, should you want to make this cheesecake yourself.

31 comments:

Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella said...

Great flavour combo there! I think the ginger and lime would go gorgeously with the rich cheese filling :D

Y said...

Looking forward to hearing the verdict on the cheesecake. So nice of you to uphold Legal's status in the morning tea stakes ;)

Engineer Baker said...

Oh that flavor combo sounds absolutely fantastic. And yes, I'm chocolate-ed out as well :) I bet everyone will appreciate your contribution to Tea!

Audax Artifex said...

Ginger lime a man after my own tastebuds - I found that the cheesecake was light and not to sweet. Great choice and I hope it finds favour at the morning tea. Interesting that you have so many foodies at work. I just love Melbourne.

Deeba PAB said...

It's PRETTY PRETTY PRETTY, & I *HEART* the flavours. Ginger & lime are tugging the strings of my heart...

Sugar Daze said...

Wow! Ginger Lime sounds like a fabulous flavor addition! Awesome job!

Mary said...

great cheesecake!

The Caked Crusader said...

Am loving the fancy piping! Looks like you made a super cheesecake

Lisa said...

oh!!!! ginger and lime sounds heavenly

Cakelaw said...

Thanks Lorraine - I am a ginger and citrus fiend, so I can't wait to try it.

LOL Y - we can't let the team down!

Thanks Caitlin - who knew you could have too much chocolate?

Thanks Audax. I have just moved North, which makes a foodie guy even more remarkable.

Aww, thanks Deeba.

Thanks Little Miss Cupcake!

Hi Mary, thanks - I like the fact that it is so tall - I can't wait to dig in (patience is a virtue that I missed out on - sigh).

Hi Crusader, possibly one of the only things I take away from cake decorating classes is how to weild my piping bag properly - oh well, it's definitely a useful skill.

Thanks Lisa - I figure that ginger + citrus will cut the richness a bit.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

A wonderful combination of exotic flavors! Your cheesecake looks beautiful!

Cheers,

Rosa

A_and_N said...

lemon is my favorite addition to a cheesecake too! coffee is my least favorite flavor. I also read your TWD post. I can see why you are suffering from chocolate overload ;)

And hey, nice to know about your boss...that he also likes to bake!

Teanna said...

Ginger lime cheesecake!? I've never heard of such a thing and it sounds AMAZING! Great choice to keep yourself in the tea-time loop!

Sara said...

You did a great job here, I love the decorations. The flavor combnation sounds delicious too.

Angela @ A Spoonful of Sugar said...

Mmm... ginger and lime. Killer combination!! Beautifully decorated too.

Anonymous said...

Your cheesecake sounds wonderful. I love ginger/lime flavorings.

The Blonde Duck said...

I adore cheesecakes. They're so good!

breadchick said...

EXCELLENT flavor combos! I love ginger and lime together. One of the best reasons to eat Thai food. So I'm sure this cheesecake worked.

Kitchen Bliss! said...

Ginger and lime sound so delicious! I know I would love this, great job!!

Cakelaw said...

Thanks Rosa :)

Hi A&N, a little citrus goes a long way in my books. Yes, I am very excited that my boss bakes - curious now to see the results.

LOL Teanna - perhaps it will be on your teatime list for next time. Thanks :)

Thanks Sara. I had seen in advance the pretty amazing decorating done by others in the group, but I knew that anything too fancy would come to grief on the way to work (public transport can be rough!).

Thanks Angela :)

Hi Pinkstripes, I am with you on that.

Hi Duckie, aren't they just?

Hi Mary, I hadn't thought of the Thai connection, but you are right - refreshing and flavoursome.

Thanks Kitchen Bliss :)

peasepudding said...

Ginger and lime sounds fabulous! It looks great too. Funny you saying that you were thinking of making Turkish delight too, I was pondering on Ginger & Rhubarb but couldn't get hold of any rhubarb!

Lauren said...

Mmm, your cheesecake looks lovely, and the flavour combo sounds divine =D.

Gretchen Noelle said...

Ginger & lime sounds great. I wanted to do a gingersnap base and lemon cheesecake but my friends said no! One day...

Unknown said...

I love the idea of this flavor combo. Let me know how it tastes! I also agree that citrus and cheesecake really balance each other out. And you're getting the right idea, bringing all these baked goods to work. Hehe.

Anonymous said...

Ginger and Lime sounds phenomenal, and by the looks of your cheesecake, no doubt it tasted wonderful in conjunction with the tanginess of the cream cheese. Great job!

Mermaid Sews said...

Looks great, what tip do you use for that decoration?

Anonymous said...

Ginger and lime what a wonderful combination. Glad it turned out well at work. Beautiful.

Big Boys Oven said...

Ginger & Lime sounds like a prefer combination for a cheesecake, with the present of citrus, the cheesecake will not taste too sweet! welll done.

TeaLady said...

That looks and sounds heavenly. I think this cheese cake just became my basic. So easy to change up and not mess up the texture of it. Lime and ginger. Perfect!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

This cheesecake is indeed amzing and yours looks pretty good too.
As for weight gain, that's one of the unfortunate side effects of food blogging! :)

Cakelaw said...

Thanks Aparna. I think I am happy to wear a few extra kilos so that I can et what I make :)