Ultimate Cheesecake

Finding the Perfect Cheesecake 🙌

Good Day Friends, 🥂

Talking all things Cheesecake in this Substack and a preview of what’s on the horizon so buckle up!

Grilling Season

It’s that time of year to fire up the coals and get in touch with that primal urge to cook over flames 🔥 .

Starting next week we will embark on a grilling series. Cooking over fire is something I have extensive experience with and remains to this day one of my favorite ways to cook.

We’ll be busting some myths, applying some science and giving you tips and tricks to building fires, managing heat and recipes that will have you embracing the mantle of being a true Grill Master.

If you’re thinking that we will only be covering grilled beef… wrong!

Cooking beef over fire is important and delicious but by no means exclusive. Poultry…. Pork… Fish… Fruits… Vegetables… all have take on wonderful properties when grilled properly.

Don’t miss this series… make sure you’re subbed to get all the tasty tidbits.

Father’s Day

Believe it or not Father’s Day is just around the corner 👀

In an effort to help you spoil dad, I’m giving plenty of notice for a Dad’s Day special.

🔥 🐙 🔪 Take $25 off The Octopod Classic Chef Knife 🐙 🔪 🔥

Having a sharp knife is essential for success in the kitchen. Show dad the ultimate love by gifting him this premium quality Japanese blade that will last decades.

Full details on the product page, this is the knife that started my Ecom journey and I use on a daily basis.

To take advantage the discount use code “DAD” on checkout.

Is there one ultimate cheesecake to rule them all?

Probably not… we are in subjective waters here 😂

There are many styles of cheesecake, each with their own unique flavor and texture. The best way to finding your Ultimate Cheesecake?

Try all the styles and decide for yourself. In the name of research, it’s a tough job but someone has to do it, right?

In fact my favorite style of cheesecake I only stumbled onto within the last 5 years or so. So let’s break down the styles to give some context and then keep an eye on your inbox tomorrow where I’ll be dropping my favorite cheesecake recipe that you probably haven’t heard of… 👀

It’s gonna be tast-ilicious

Cheesecake 101

Without a doubt, cheesecake is one of the most popular desserts around the globe 🌏

There’s an entire restaurant empire that has been built on 50+ variations of mediocre cheesecake (we all know who)… and that’s because cheesecake is delicious.

When we are thinking of cheesecake most people think of:
Chilled, creamy, smooth, tangy, yet sweet dessert.

From that point is where a lot of departures can be taken.

Fluffy or Dense?

Crust or No Crust?

Baked or No-Bake?

Vanilla Purist or Flavor Rainbow?

Sauce or No-Sauce?

In most cases we are talking a cream cheese filling enriched with eggs, baked in a crust… then chilled. To fully appreciate the world of cheesecake let’s take a closer look at some popular styles.

Cheesecake Styles

NY Style 🇺🇸

If you’re in the West, this is the quintessential classic Cheesecake that most have come to grow and love.

Junior’s, in NYC, is widely regarded as the Gold Standard for NY Cheesecakes. They’ve received more accolades than one can count and you can even order a Junior’s Cheesecake online and have them shipped to you.

So what is NY Style Cheesecake?

We are talking dense and creamy here.

A cream cheese filling is fortified with lots of eggs, some heavy cream and sugar. A few NY cheesecakes will use sour cream in place of heavy cream for an extra tang.

A graham cracker crust is traditional but you will see cookie crusts used especially for different flavors like chocolate.

The creamy texture is a result of cooking the cheesecake in a waterbath to allow a slow cook that doesn’t curdle the eggs. (Note: there are some bakers who use a high heat, no water bath method to get more browning and lift to the cheesecake but this is seen less in NY Style and mostly in “Normal Cheesecakes”)

For my reference a NY Cheesecake is Plain and Dense.

Regular Cheesecake

In many ways the same as above, but not dense. The filling is much lighter. (Think Sleazecake Factory). There is nothing wrong at all with this style.

Italian 🇮🇹

A delightful style that is a complete flipside of NY Style.

Ricotta cheese is the primary and the resulting cheesecake is less moist and more granular than creamy. Honey and Bay leaf were used way back in the day by the Romans when making this ancient cake. Candied lemon peel is especially delicious on Ricotta Cheesecakes.

No-Bake 🧊

The baking process can be notoriously finicky for cheesecakes. People freak out if the top cracks and amateur bakers may be prone to overbaking (aka scrambling the eggs) since we’ve all been conditioned by the USDA that we will perish if cake fillings are undercooked.

Regardless the reasons, No-Bake cheesecakes came about as a convenience and time-saver. (Note: there is a whole genre of IceBox cakes but that is for another Substack entirely).

These cheesecakes contain no eggs and usually use a gelatin product to thicken. The result is a an extremely creamy texture, due to no heat being added. The lack of eggs will effect the texture leading to a lighter style of cheesecake.

Japanese 🇯🇵

The lightest cheesecake in the world was perfected by the Japanese. I’d liken this style to the Soufflé of Cheesecakes! 🙌

The batter is lightened by folding copious amounts of whipped egg whites which lighten and then lift the batter during the cooking process. It’s extremely fluffy and has no crust 🤯. Yes… no crust… perfect for gluten free peeps.

When done right this cheesecake is absolutely ethereal in my opinion.

Basque 🇪🇸

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Basque Cheesecake is cooked at an intensely high temperature that caramelizes and browns the cheesecake on the top and bottom, leaving a creamy (barely set) interior… and an amazing flavor contrast.

This cheesecake also has no crust, rather the high heat makes a pseudo-crust from the caramelized filling.

So which Cheesecake rules them all?

Drop a comment on your favorite style/flavor

Keep an eye out tomorrow as I’m dropping one of my favorite cheesecake recipes shared from a pastry chef who is a good friend… and I guarantee it’ll be a winner

Don’t miss it! Make sure you’re subbed… and see you tomorrow! 🥂