Cream cheese is inextricably linked with cheesecake.
There are hundreds of recipes for cheesecake. Whether you’re making a New York, European or Japanese-style cheesecake. Ranging from simple to wildly complex, we see delicious cheesecakes all over the world.
NEW YORKSTYLE CHEESECAKE
Every classic has its own story, tradition and history. When it comes to American cheesecake, we can assume that it was invented by European immigrants with several references to the German kâsekuchen. These in turn may have their origins in Roman and Greek antiquity. The New York-style cheesecake dates back to the 1950s. It differs from other cheesecakes mainly in its heavy, dense texture that feels extremely smooth and rich. It has a sweet and tangy flavour.
The New York or American cheesecake is a baked version just like the Japanese cotton cake, and consists of three layers: a bottom layer of biscuits or crackers, the baked cheese filling, and a topping or frosting. It is always baked in a warm water bath that keeps the warm oven air moist, helping the cake to bake slowly and evenly. It also helps to ensure that the end result has a smooth top without large cracks. Professional baker’s ovens nowadays can achieve this result without using the au-bain-marie technique.
Purists also differentiate between American and New York cheesecake because the latter contains extra sour cream. The New York cheesecake is simply bigger, bolder and better. Eggs, sugar and cream cheese remain the building blocks for the baked version, but we also see pimped versions with banoffee (banana and caramel), white chocolate, peanut butter and lemon or lime.
EUROPEAN STYLE CHEESECAKE
The no-bake or European style is a sleeker version of the cheesecake that does not require an oven or au-bainmarie. This version is also built up in three layers, with the cheese filling not containing eggs but being bound with gelatin instead.
The Japanese cheesecake is more fluffy, jiggly and sponge-like than a regular cheesecake. It was originally created by Tomotaro Kuzuno, a Japanese chef who went to Germany in the 1960s and encountered käsekuchen, a German-style cheesecake. This light and fluffy cake is also known as soufflé cheesecake or jiggle cheesecake, but outside of Japan it’s simply known as Japanese cheesecake. By contrast, the cotton or jiggle cake can be compared to a very airy soufflé and is baked exclusively with a cream cheese filling mixed with an ample quantity of whipped egg white.
Perfect texture? Check! Balanced taste? Check! Ideal for baking, cooking, spreading and decorating? Check! And also suitable for sweet and savoury creations? Check! Debic Cream Cheese really does check all your boxes.
Check our article about international pastry chef Sandrine Bauman-Hautin.
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