Daring Bakers: Cheesecake Pops

First off, I have to apologize for my absence in the blogging world. School and interviews for a summer job (I found one! at a place that makes waffles and pancakes) have kept me very occupied, and with finals and what not coming up soon I'll continue being busy for a while. I'm updating my blog when I can but I know I'm greatly falling behind in visiting other people's blogs. I love and appreciate all of your comments and visits to my blog though! I look forward to being done finals (end of May) so I can have more time to bake (I'm already compiling a long list of the things I want to make this summer) and do food blog things. I'm not trying to be a snob by not visiting and commenting!

Deborah from Taste and Tell and Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms chose cheesecake pops for this month's Daring Bakers' challenge. I wasn't really excited by the idea of cheesecake pops, though I am a huge fan of cheesecake. They seemed like more work than they were worth and I didn't want to have to find lollipop sticks. (I ended up using sticks meant for caramel apples.) BUT of course this story turns around.

I loved these cheesecake pops. Like really loved them. They were so cute! I especially fell in love with the one I coated with broken Reese's pieces (not the peanut butter cups but the pieces that are like smarties/m&m's which are so much better than peanut butter cups). It was really fun to come up with different chocolate/topping combinations and I had lots of yummy things in the house to play around with.

The variations I made were: white chocolate & oreo, white chocolate & oreo & gummy bears (had to have one with gummy bears!), white chocolate with toasted coconut, milk chocolate with crushed Reese's pieces, and milk chocolate with crushed animal crackers. (Speaking of animal crackers, I am still dying to make this lemon cheesecake that uses them in the crust.)

For the first pop, I attempted to first coat the ball in crushed up oreo cookies and then in white chocolate - which is why you see cheesecake pops that just look like "cookies & cream" because it all mixed together. Delicious though.

All the flavour combinations were really yummy, and I was surprised at how much I liked the cheesecake when it was covered in chocolate like that. I didn't add shortening to my chocolate (an allowed deviation), and found the texture of it perfectly matched the cheesecake. The chocolate hardens really quickly on the frozen cheesecake pops though, so you have to work fast. This might not happen if you add the shortening to the chocolate though.

I would definitely make these again for a special occasion or party. Or maybe have a cheesecake pop decorating party! Mmm. I 1/5 the recipe and it turned out really well. You can see the measurements that I used at the bottom of the recipe. Go check out the other Daring Bakers' cheesecake pops!

Cheesecake Pops
Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

5 8-oz packages cream cheese at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
¼ cup heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)

Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Note: I 1/5 the recipe and the measurements worked out really well. I made sure that the batter would come up 1 1/4 inch in the baking dishes I used (3 little ramekins). I baked it for the same amount of time as you're supposed to bake the regular cheesecake.

The measurements I used (makes about 6 or 7 pops):

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese
86 grams sugar (0.4 cups)
7.6 grams all-purpose flour (0.05 cups)
a little less than half of a 1/8 tsp measure if you have it
1 large egg
0.4 egg yolk (eyeballed this obviously)
0.4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp (15 mL) heavy cream

TWD: Bill's Big Carrot Cake

This week, Amanda of slow like honey chose Bill's Big Carrot Cake for the TWD challenge. I've definitely eyed this cake on more than one occasion. Sarah said she was going to make cupcakes, instead of the 3 layer cake it was intended to be. This sounded perfect to me because then I could easily half it, plus I finally got to use my mini muffin pan!

The cake was easy to make, and oh so very delicious. The first day I tried it I thought it was good but not outstanding. But the next day and even a few days later, oh wow it tasted even better. This is an incredibly tasty carrot cake, and a definite competitor for the previous favourite, which has pineapple and dates. I think there's a bit too much sugar in the icing though for me, because I could taste the icing sugar and it detracted from the yummy cream cheese flavour.

I'd really like to try healthifying (yes that is not a word) this cake. It's so moist and flavourful I'm sure it could handle some playing around with (whole wheat flour, applesauce, less sugar - my usual tactic).

I wanted to thank the TWD members for inspiring me to make the time to do fun things like bake from Dorie's beautiful cookbook. I get really busy with school and life (as we all do) and I feel like I don't have time to take part. But then I see others who are busy, tired and what not and they're making the time. Why should I miss out on the fun? Go check out the other TWDers and see how their cakes turned out!

Other TWD Challenges I've done:
The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart
Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie-Cake
Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
Orange Berry Muffins

Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Baking: From My Home to Yours

Yields 10 servings
(When halved, makes 24 mini and 3 regular size cupcakes)

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted with a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)*
1/2 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)

Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

To make the cake:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting:
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving:
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

Storing:
The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

*I did half sweetened, half unsweetened.

Caramel Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm submitting this caramel cake with caramel cream cheese frosting to the Sugar High Friday Sweet Gifts event. The idea behind this month's event is that you post about something you made for someone or want to make for someone.

I made this cake for my sister in law for her birthday a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure what to choose for her. Something really chocolatey? Something with nutella? (I think I'll have to make a nutella one for her next year.) And then I remembered this caramel cake I saw on Bake or Break and thought it would be perfect. She really loved it and said that it had all of her favourite things, which made me really happy. Plus the cake was insanely delicious. And I do mean insanely.

I think my round cake pans must be 8 inch pans though since the cakes really rose into quite the domes that I had to slice off (and nibble away at all day while making the different parts of the cake). I really loved the cake. It was my vision of the perfect dense cake. I don't think the cake itself really tasted like caramel though. But there was caramel in the frosting and as a filling.

I had no idea that this cake was going to involve so many different things and so much time. I was happy to make it but I guess I didn't read the recipe too in depth and just dove in. I've only made caramel a couple of times and think I was only partly successful this time. I was really scared of burning the caramel that was used in the icing and I think I ended up not cooking it long enough (it was quite thin). As for the caramel filling - as you can see, I didn't let it cool enough before spreading it on the cake, so it oozed over the sides and everywhere. My sister in law said this was a good thing though. Anyway, the cake was awesome, my sister in law was happy, and I learned a few things about caramel and praline making.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Carrot Coconut Cake with Cream Cheese-White Chocolate Icing
Caramel Almond Tiger Cookies
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Caramel Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Cottage Living

Makes 1 (9-inch) 2-layer cake

3 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups light brown sugar, divided
1 1/4 cups butter, softened and divided
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Garnish: Pecan Praline

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans; line with lightly greased parchment or wax paper.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Place 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, and 1 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 5 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture and 1 cup milk alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating at low speed after each addition. Pour into prepared pans; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire rack. Place 1 layer on a cake plate.

3. Combine 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, evaporated milk, and 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Cook (without stirring) until a candy thermometer registers 238°. Transfer to a heat-resistant bowl, and beat 3 minutes or until thickened and easy to spread. Quickly spread filling over cake layer on plate. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; chill 15 minutes or until set.

4. Spread a thin layer of Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting over filling. Top with second layer. Frost cake. Chill 20 minutes or until frosting sets, then cover and chill 4 hours or overnight. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Cottage Living

1/4 cup light brown sugar
10 tablespoon butter, divided
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1. Melt brown sugar and 4 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil over medium heat; remove from heat. Whisk in cream; blend well. Transfer to a heat-resistant bowl. Cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally.

2. Place remaining 6 tablespoons butter and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Beat in vanilla and salt. With mixer running, slowly pour in cooled brown sugar mixture; beat until smooth. Add powdered sugar gradually, beating well after each addition until completely smooth. Chill slightly for a firmer texture, stirring occasionally.

Pecan Praline
Cottage Living

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Combine sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small skillet over medium-high heat; cook (without stirring) until golden. Stir in pecans; remove from heat. Rapidly spread mixture onto greased foil. Cool completely. Break into small pieces; store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Pan-Fried Onion Dip

Alright so I know the photo is not that great and the dip may not look that awesome but believe me when I tell you your life is not complete without it! Especially if you let the onions caramelize longer than the recipe suggests. It's extremely addictively good. While I was making this, I had deja vu. So I went to one of the Best of Bridge cookbooks and looked up the recipe for "Caramelized Onion Dip". That's odd - it's exactly the same, except the Barefoot Contessa recipe uses 2 onions (which admittedly does make it better). But I was just really surprised to see that it's literally the same, including cooking method and times.

Anyway, delicious. Make it! We ate it with baby carrots, celery, and toasted whole wheat pita cut up into little triangles. It's a heavy dip (with the mayo, cream cheese and sour cream) so I think vegetables are the perfect thing to eat it with.

Pan-Fried Onion Dip
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Yield: 2 cups

2 large yellow onions
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup good mayonnaise

Cut the onions in half and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick half-rounds. (You will have about 3 cups of onions.) Heat the butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, cayenne, salt, and pepper and saute for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onions to cool.

Place the cream cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Add the onions and mix well. Taste for seasonings. Serve at room temperature.

Eggnog Bars

More than a year ago, I took 125 Cookies by Elinor Klivans out of the library and fell in love with it. I had to have it! It was full of so many different kinds of cookie recipes with a little story before each one, general tips for packaging and sending cookies, and every recipe has some general tips including freezing and doubling guidelines. I think it's not a very popular cookbook as Amazon.ca didn't have it in stock at the time, and when I just checked now Amazon.com didn't either. (I ordered mine through the "used & new" link on the Amazon page). You'd probably recognize Elinor Klivans' other cookbooks, Big Fat Cookies and Cupcakes! And oh my I just discovered another cookbook I want while looking her up on Amazon, The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookie Cookbook.

Anyway, even though I've had this cookbook for a while, I've yet to make anything from it. I came across the eggnog bar recipe and thought it would be a perfect addition to our Christmas goodies. It's actually more of an eggnog cheesecake bar, but is delicious whatever you call it! It has no eggnog in it, but does have rum, nutmeg and cinnamon. The crust to eggnog cheesecake ratio is about 50/50 which I love, as I am a real crust lover. As for how it tastes, yes it is delicious but it's not super eggnog-y. Next time I'd add more spices, and make sure that I use dark rum (I used light rum). Maybe even add extra rum. The recipe also suggests that it makes 12 servings, but I cut it into about 30 little squares, which are just big enough to nibble on while also being able to eat other treats!

Eggnog Bars
slightly adapted from 125 Cookies (Elinor Klivans)

Nutmeg Graham Cracker Crust
2 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
10-12 tablespoons (1.25-1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, melted*

Eggnog Filling
12 ounces cream cheese, softened 3 to 4 hours at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons dark rum
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Make the crumb crust:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan with parchment paper, letting the parchment paper extend over the ends of the pan.

Put the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl and mix together. Add the melted butter and stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened with the butter. Transfer the crumbs to the prepared pan. Using your fingers, press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of the parchment paper. Bake the crust for 8 minutes**. Cool the crust while you make the filling.

Make the filling:
Increase the oven temperature to 350F.

Put the cream cheese in the large bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed until smooth, about 1 minute, and blend in the sugar and flour. Add the egg and egg yolk and blend in until smooth. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix in the vanilla, rum and whipping cream. Pour the filling into the crumb crust. Sprinkle the nutmeg evenly over the top.

Bake about 25 minutes, or until the filling looks set when you give the pan a gentle shake.

Cover the pan loosely with paper towels or a tea towel and cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Take the paper towels or tea towel off of the top and refrigerate for 1 hour. Cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator at least 6 hours or overnight.

*Original recipe calls for 8 tablespoons (1 stick) of butter, which is what I tried originally but the crust was so crumbly even after baking it. So I drizzled and spread more melted butter on top. In my notes I wrote 10-12 tablespoons butter.
**I ended up baking it for probably 15 minutes, but I'll leave the original suggested baking time in there because I did the crust a bit differently. Just bake it until it's firm and at a point where you'd want to eat it, as it's not getting any more baking after this.

Cream Cheese Brownies

I really don't make brownies very often, which is probably a good thing because I love eating them. The best brownie recipe (okay I think actually the only brownie recipe that didn't come out of a box) that I've used was one from a high school cooking class. I'm not sure where that recipe went though. Anyway I came across this recipe for fudgy brownies in an issue of Everyday Food that had a modification option for cream cheese brownies. Cream cheese anything, and I'm sold. The other great thing about this recipe is the use of actual chocolate and cocoa powder, instead of just cocoa powder (which I'm not a big fan of).

I'm undecided as to what my favourite kind of brownie is - traditional fudgy and kind of gooey like this one, or really dense but more similar to a dry cake-y ganache (if that even makes sense, I'm thinking of the brownies at Terra Breads mmmm). The brownies that I made fall under the fudgy and kind of gooey, and they're definitely good but I wouldn't make the cream cheese variation of this recipe again. The cream cheese mixture was poured a bit in the middle and then on top, but it all seemed to float to the top. Everyone agreed that it wasn't worth it to put the cream cheese mixture into the brownies - it just didn't add that extra something special that I thought it would. For me, it didn't taste enough of cream cheese, but some people thought it did. It also bothered me that it browned so much on the top (it didn't look like this in the photo provided in the magazine but then that food isn't always edible or fully cooked). I'll still be keeping my eyes open for another cream cheese brownie recipe though. I want to try David Lebovitz's dulce de leche brownies next!

Super Fudgy Brownies (with Cream Cheese option)
from the May 2007 issue of Everyday Food

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for pan
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-inch square baking pan with butter. Line bottom and two sides with a strip of parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two sides. Butter paper, and set pan aside. In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. Place butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes; remove bowl from pan. Add sugar; mix to combine. Add eggs, and mix to combine. Add flour mixture; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.

3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Using paper overhang, lift brownies out of pan; transfer to a rack to cool completely (still on paper). On a cutting board, using a dampened serrated knife, cut into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 2 days.

Cream Cheese Variation
4 ounce bar cream cheese, room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Before transferring the batter to the pan at the end of step 2 in the basic recipe, prepare cream cheese mixture: whisk 4 ounces room-temperature bar cream cheese with 2 tablespoons room-temperature unsalted butter. Whisk in 1/4 cup sugar, 1 large egg, and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Alternately spoon chocolate batter and cream cheese mixture into pan; with the tip o fa paring knife, swirl to marble.