Cheesecake is probably the most popular cheese-based dessert. This delightful pie made its debut in Ancient Greece around 776 B.C. during the first Olympic Games. It was served to athletes to help and prepare them for several rigorous events. It was only centuries later when the cheesecake found its way to North America where it was welcomed with open arms and hungry stomachs.

The invention of cream cheese in 1872 by a dairy farmer was a milestone in cheesecake history. Today, cream cheese is the most popular kind of cheese used for cheesecake recipes.

The Sweet Types of Cheesecakes

There are two types of cheesecakes: the savoury and the sweet. Savoury cheesecakes, much like its British definition, are aromatic and normally seasoned with herbs and spices served as appetizers, often accompanied with a salad. On the other hand, the most conventional way of cooking cheesecakes is the sweet type.

There are a number of methods of cooking sweet cheesecakes. The Traditional cheesecake, also known as the New York style, is heavily based on cream cheese. Often, this kind of cheesecake contains a hint of lemon but is best served plain and without toppings.

Another kind of sweet cheesecake is the Cherry. Cherry cheesecakes are similar to New York style cheesecakes because they are also based on cream cheese. However, Cherry cheesecakes are topped with a cheery pie filling though there are now variations including blueberries and strawberries.

There are also sweet cheesecakes suitable for health buffs. One example is the low-fat cheesecake, which contain either sour cream or low-fat cream cheese and yogurt. For vegetarians, tofu is an excellent replacement for cream cheese and eggs.

Several cheesecake recipes have been popularized by whatever country they originated from. The Japanese cheesecake has a lighter style that can be achieved by using whipped eggs and lesser cream cheese. As for the German cheesecake, Quark cheese or cottage cheese is used as a substitute for cream cheese. The Italian cheesecake is based on the Roman style cheesecake and uses ricotta cheese. Lastly, the Belgian or Dutch cheesecake adds chocolate chips or cocoa and sometimes condensed milk to the traditional cheesecake recipe.

The Classic New York Cheesecake

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Probably one of the most popular kinds of sweet cheesecake is the New York style cheesecake. This kind of cheesecake was particularly developed in New York during the 1920 by Jewish delicatessens.

Anyone can make the classic New York style cheesecake. Firstly for the crust, you need a heavily cooking spray-coated 10-inch spring form pan, one and one-half cups of graham cracker crumbs, one teaspoon of honey, one-fourth cup of sugar and five tablespoons of honey. Mix all of them together using your hands until the crumbs appear moist. Pour the mixture into a pan and spread evenly across the bottom. It is also necessary to pat the mixture down firmly using your hands.

As for the fillings, you will need five eight-ounces bars of cream cheese, two tablespoons of flour, one and one-half cups of sugar, grated lemon rind, five eggs, two egg yolks, three-fourth teaspoon vanilla, and one-half teaspoon orange liqueur.

Place all the dry filling ingredients in a bowl and beat together until completely blended. Add the wet ingredients and pour into a pan. Preheat the oven for 400 degrees and bake for ten minutes. When the top gets golden, lower the temperature to 200 degrees and bake for thirty-five to forty-five minutes. Always remember to cool before serving.

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