Dessert is a key element to any successful meal. Forgive my pun, but it truly is the icing on the cake—that last, delicious detail that will leave people both full and incredibly satisfied. For cheese lovers, cheesecake is an ideal dessert choice. It allows you to both satisfy your sweet tooth and settle your deep craving for cheese. Like any classic dessert, there are countless variations on the traditional cheesecake recipe. Here are ten that make the cut for the most delicious, and most decadent.
10. Classic Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of culture: the word on cheese
You can vary a recipe a thousand different ways, but sometimes nothing beats the original. That is absolutely the case with cheesecake. Look at this picture. Can you deny that your mouth is watering?
9. Lemon Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of culture: the word on cheese
Lemon-flavored desserts are almost ironically common, given how sour a lemon is by itself. For those who seek a slight tang to their desserts, adding lemon is perfect. This works very well with cheesecake recipes, creating a whole new element of contrasting flavors that thrills the taste buds. It’s the combination of creamy and sour you didn’t know you needed.
8. Fruition Farms Ricotta Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of culture: the word on cheese
Rhubarb is that ingredient everyone kind of forgets about when they make dessert. However, like lemons, they add a slight tang that enhances most desserts. In this recipe, the rhubarb is optional, but I would certainly consider using it.
7. Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of My Recipes
Chocolate can improve just about any recipe, and cheesecake is no exception. Chocolate cheesecake is a gift from the heavens: it melts in your mouth and leaves you craving more. Add fudge to that, and you have an irresistible dessert you will never forget.
6. Fromage Blanc Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of culture: the word on cheese
What’s great about this recipe is there’s so much room to play around with it. It recommends adding graham crackers to the bottom, but it also gives you options for alternatives. It does the same with the added jelly. If you’re looking to experiment in the kitchen, this is the perfect recipe for you!
5. Gingerbread Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of Martha Stewart
The holiday season is my favorite time of year, and nothing reminds me of it more than gingerbread. Making elaborate houses while nibbling on the legs of the residents while claymation Christmas specials played in the background was a staple of the holiday season growing up. In addition to reminding people of the holidays, the gingerbread flavor adds a whole new element to the classic cheesecake recipe. It both creates a new texture and an interesting combination of flavors. If you’re looking for a way to indulge in your inner child this holiday season, I would highly recommend trying this.
4. Vincent Price’s Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of culture: the word on cheese
Vincent Price may have been known for his roles in horror movies back in his prime, but the recipes in his cookbooks are as notable as his performances in House of Usher and The Fly. Just look at this picture. How can you resist?
3. Tiramisu Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of culture: the word on cheese
My family owns an Italian restaurant, so tiramisu was pretty much a staple of my childhood. It was served at every major holiday growing up, and was the first dessert my grandfather taught me how to make (right after teaching me how to make our family’s infamous spaghetti sauce). Therefore, tiramisu holds a very special place in my heart. But this is more than sentimentality. The combination of these two desserts is actually delicious, and their strange textures and flavors actually compliment each other quite well. Whether or not you’re Italian, you should try this at least once.
2. Red Velvet Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of My Recipes
This is a pretty common variation on the traditional cheesecake recipe, and is served in most bakeries where cheesecake is offered. That does not make it any less delicious, however. In fact, this is a delightful variation, full of rich flavors. Add a cream cheese frosting and you pretty much have the best cheesy dessert imaginable.
1. Pumpkin Cheesecake
Photo Courtesy of Real Simple
I want to say it is an absolute shame that most places only offer this for two to three months of the year, but that’s probably a blessing. If it was offered year-round, I’d probably weigh a thousands pounds. Plus, it makes it more of a treat when I actually do get to eat it. This combination is heavenly. It tastes almost too good to be real. There is truly nothing else like it, and that’s why it takes the number one spot.
Featured Image Courtesy of Circo’s Pastry Shop
Amanda Doughty
Amanda Doughty considers cheese to be an essential part of her upbringing, as her family owns Anthony's Italian Kitchen, an Italian restaurant in Portland, Maine. She studied creative writing at Emerson, where she was considered an outcast for refusing to touch the disgusting pizza in the Dining Hall. She admits that is a bit of a food snob, especially when it comes to pizza and cheese.
