The Great Macon Baking Week: Kinjo’s Black Sesame Snickers Cheesecake
As the Great Macon Baking Week competition nears its end, 41NBC's Drake Rozelle ventured into Kinjo Kitchen and Cocktails in downtown Macon.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — As the Great Macon Baking Week competition nears its end, 41NBC’s Drake Rozelle ventured into Kinjo Kitchen and Cocktails in downtown Macon. The eatery, known for its Asian inspired soul food with a pinch of southern flair, has entered a unique creation into the baking competition: a Black Sesame Snickers Cheesecake.
Crafted by owner Chelsea Hughes, the dessert went through several iterations before Hughes found the perfect combination of flavors.
“Originally it started as just a black sesame cream cheese batter on a chocolate crust,” she said. “And then I kind of got a wild hair one time and topped it with chocolate ganache and then just felt like there was some texture missing, some flavor. The next time I made it added candied walnuts and miso caramel and then topped it all with ganache, and it ended up feeling kind of like a Snickers ice cream bar.”
Inspired by an ice cream shop in Savannah, and being an owner of an Asian restaurant, Hughes is continually exploring flavors common in Asian cuisine. Despite being unfamiliar with black sesame in desserts, Rozelle was pleasantly surprised by the cheesecake.
“That chocolate was really smooth,” he said. “The candied walnuts were nice and crunchy, but they weren’t in the way. Normally, I don’t really like nuts in my baked goods, but they complimented this really well.”
If you’d like to try the Black Sesame Snickers Cheesecake, Kinjo is open Monday through Saturday from 5 to 9:30 p.m. and for lunch on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hughes says the popular cheesecake is available on a first-come, first-served basis, and it’s selling out fast.
You can vote all week long on your favorite dish online. The competition ends on Sunday. To learn more about the competition and where to vote, click here.
