The Cheesecake Bible Review + 2 Delicious Free Cheesecake Recipes! (2024)

FAQs

What is the oldest cheesecake? ›

Over 4,000 years ago in the fifth century BC, the ancient Greeks on the island of Samos created the earliest known cheesecake. This rudimentary cheesecake was made with patties of fresh cheese that were then pounded smooth with flour and honey.

A water bath helps cheesecakes cook evenly, ensuring the edges don't bake faster than the center. The process gently bakes the custard slowly, ensuring a smooth and creamy filling. Otherwise, the dessert may get a rubbery texture. It also prevents cracking along the surface and browning on the top.

cheesecake, a dessert consisting of a thick, creamy filling of cheese, eggs, and sugar over a thinner crust and topped with sweet or sometimes salty items.

In Greece, cheesecake was considered to be a good source of energy, and there is evidence that it was served to athletes during the first Olympic games in 776 B.C. Greek brides and grooms were also known to use cheesecake as a wedding cake.

The ancient Greeks, by the fifth century BC, made the earliest known rudimentary cheesecakes (plakous meaning “flat mass”), consisting of patties of fresh cheese pounded smooth with flour and honey and cooked on an earthenware griddle.

The most expensive cheesecake in the world is from Rafele Ristorante in New York City and it's $5,000. But unlike those gimmicky desserts that cost $10,000 but come with a diamond ring or a trip, this one is so expensive because of the ingredients they use to make it.

Baking your cheesecake in a water bath is the best way to ensure cheesecake success. Don't worry—you don't have to buy any special equipment or a fancy bathtub-size baking appliance! It simply means placing the springform pan with the unbaked cheesecake in it inside a larger pan with hot water in it.

The Traditional Method: Bake at moderate to low heat (300–325°F) until the edges are set, but the center is still jiggly. Cool on the counter with an inverted bowl. The New York Method: The cake goes into the oven at 500°F for 15 minutes (min.) and then the temperature is reduced to 200°F for one hour.

But it's less possible to bake an excellent cheesecake without one. Big, showstopper cheesecakes baked without a water bath are more likely to overbake, which will give them a curdled texture, cracks in the surface, and lopsided tops.

When most people refer to Philadelphia-style cheesecake, experts say, they're talking about a version marketed by the cream cheese brand. New York style typically has sour cream or heavy cream in the mix. Philadelphia style doesn't. Which means it doesn't have anything to do with Philadelphia, the city.

What is the difference between French cheesecake and New York cheesecake? ›

A French Style Cheesecake is simple, elegant, and a bit different than the popular one New York Cheesecake. The French one it's creamier and leaves you with a strong vanilla flavor from the first bite.

The egg yolk's emulsifiers, lipoproteins, and lecithin, contribute to the cheesecake's creamy, silky texture. Almost every cheesecake recipe calls either gelatin or beaten eggs, which are used as a setting or thickening agents.

Cheesecake is called "cheesecake" because does not typically contain yeast, and has a crust. Whether it's baked or not, cheesecake is really a form of pie with a crust on the bottom. Most baked cheesecakes use custard as the filling made up of eggs, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla or other flavors.

Cheesecake is Technically a Tart

So, what we have is a dessert consisting of a pastry shell, a thick custard-like filling that can be sweetened with vanilla extract, limes, strawberries, chocolate, blueberries, or even pumpkin.

One of the first recorded recipes, dated in the first century and called “libum,” is a far cry from the creamy cake we know today. Calling for two pounds of “well crushed” cheese mixed with flour and a single egg, this version was formed into a loaf and baked in a hot fire under a brick.

Prepared cheesecake can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, per USDA food safety recommendations. We suggest storage in an airtight container, so it doesnt absorb any fridge odors.

The first recorded evidence of a cheesecake-like dessert dates to ancient Greece, where it was made with simple ingredients such as cheese, wheat, and honey. The Greek physician Aegimus even wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes in the 5th century AD.

Our first restaurant opened in Beverly Hills, California in 1978 with the initial intention of promoting the sale of cheesecakes and other baked desserts to other foodservice operators, retailers and distributors.