The Baked Cheesecake Challenge

a.k.a. The Great Cheesecake Disaster.

So The Boyf and i decided to do another baking challenge after the success of the focaccia competition. This time we each had to make a baked cheesecake of some description.

I decided to make an apple crumble cheesecake. I was going to assemble the recipe myself- ie make a plain baked cheesecake, top with a spiced apple compote, then crumble topping, but instead i decided to go with this recipe, and to be honest, it didn't go to plan at all. Nothing in particular went wrong, when i was making it, but i think my springform tin leaked a bit (so i ended up with melted butter all over my oven,which then created an alarming amount of smoke), then the mixture rose more than expected around the outside and burnt a bit, while the middle didn't do much at all.

Anyway, after it has been left in the fridge overnight i was hoping that a miracle may have occurred or a little emergency cheesecake fairy had appeared to make it look prettier, but alas, there it was, looking sad and forlorn and very, very ugly.

i am a very ugly cheesecake. that is all.

I've had a little taste today for my sunday lunch dessert and i'm pleased to report that it doesn't taste as bad as it looks, it's actually quite nice. It looks much better inside than it does on the outside, which is probably a lot like myself (beauty comes from within, right, and in my head i am Lily Cole) I do think that just making a plain cheesecake with an apple crumble topping will work better though, maybe this is something to try sometime in the future.

Meanwhile, he made a double chocolate cheesecake which looks A-mezzing. It really does look lovely:

Last time we took great steps to ensure an independent judge and appropriate blinding. This time I can't bring myself to waste such effort as he is the clear winner. Even my mother, who should be heavily biased towards me, has said that he has won. Her exact words when she saw mine: "oh dear, what on earth is that?"

All of this means, dear people, that i have lost a cheesecake baking competition to someone who had to ring me to clarify what cream cheese is. I hang my head in shame and crawl into a corner to cry gently for many hours.

The score is now 1:1. And this is before proper judging.

UPDATE: Well of course he won. I mean, no contest at all really.