Daring Bakers: Cheesecake

I have been absent from the blog and from Daring Bakers for the past couple of months for several reasons, some of which are actually acceptable. Chiefly, because I will finish library school in a matter of weeks and am currently searching for a full time job. When I have more free time and less anxiety, I hope to post with increasing regularity.

Anyway, I couldn't turn down this particular challenge: cheesecake! A treat I savor but have never made in my own kitchen. This particular recipe claimed to be foolproof (immune to cracking and other notorious cheesecake mishaps!) so I launched into the task at around 7:30 last night. Yes, today was the due date. As my friends will tell you, I am nothing if not honest. And consistently absent-minded.

I whipped up the cheesecake and a brownie batter simultaneously, layered them into muffin tins, and these little bites came into being. I kept it simple due to the aforementioned stressful factors, and also because I had a wicked cold this weekend and was unenthusiastic at the prospect of a complex cake.

The cheesecake recipe can be found over at Jenny Bakes. I used a tablespoon of Bailey's for the liqueur, and left out the graham cracker crust in favor of a brownie base. The brownie recipe is Nick Malgieri's (via David Lebovitz) and is my new favorite brownie recipe. I made a half batch with whole wheat flour, which resulted in enough of a base for the cheesecake.

I ended up with about 18 mini cheesecakes, and I covered half with raspberry jam. Delicious!

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