Daring Bakers: Cheesecake with Roasted Rum Pineapple and Pineapple Flowers

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

For this month's Daring Baker's challenge,  we were supposed to make cheesecake, but do something different and wonderful to it.  I've always wanted to make these pineapple flowers and thought about a roasted pineapple and rum topping I had made a while back for a cheesecake.  So I put the two items together and it made a beautiful cheesecake.  Jenny's recipe didn't call for sour cream or creme fraiche in the recipe, but I do believe it gives a cheesecake a special flavor and I always add it.  

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Daring Bakers: Valentino Cakes

So it's Daring Baker's Challenge time again! This month, the February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE's blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef. They have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

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Caramel Cake - Daring Baker's November Challenge

I was scared to make this cake.

When I saw what this month's Daring Baker's Challenge was, I was excited because it was something sweet and the last couple have been savory.    This cake comes from Shuna Fish Lydon, who is a professional pastry chef and writes the great food blog, Eggbeater.  I started reading all the comments by people who have previously attempted this cake and had real problems with it.  I was sure I would, too.   But Shuna had lots of detailed notes posted about how to deal with some of the challenges of this cake and I followed them thoroughly and did not have any problem at all.   The cake was moist and light and absolutely delicious.  The caramel frosting is outstanding.  So if you have the urge to make this cake, don't be afraid. It was pretty straightforward. It just takes a little time to make it properly.

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