A cheesecake is a rich dessert featuring cream cheese as a primary ingredient. Eggs are another important ingredient used in cheesecake to help the treat achieve its best texture. Some people enjoy eating plain cheesecake, but there also is a large market for cheesecakes with different fillings and flavors. Some cheesecakes swirl an accent flavor through the basic filling like a ribbon, while other cheesecakes flavor the entire filling. Some popular types of cheesecake filling include chocolate, fruit and caramel.
Many cheesecakes have a crust on the bottom, and cheesecake filling can be placed between the crust and the main layer of cheesecake mixture. Extras also can be mixed into a cheesecake or placed on top. Chocolate chips can be added to a cheesecake to make the dessert more appealing for chocolate lovers. Melted chocolate also can be combined directly into the cheesecake mixture, giving the entire cake a chocolate flavor and a darker color.
Fruit is a popular item that can be added to a classic cheesecake. Strawberries, blueberries and cherries all work well on top of cheesecakes or swirled into the main cheesecake filling. When a person is preparing a cheesecake for a fall celebration, he or she may want to consider using apples or pumpkin as a filling.
Caramel is another filling option for cheesecake. A person can add caramel to cheesecake by drizzling some on top of the finished dessert. A sweeter cake can be achieved, however, when a thicker layer of soft caramel is used as a cheesecake filling above the bottom crust.
Some bakers make standard cakes using cheesecake as a center filling. Cheesecake filling can be made from scratch by following any standard cheesecake recipe. If a person is baking in a rush, then he also can buy pre-made cheesecake filling at a grocery store.
New York-style cheesecake, containing a lot of cream cheese, is sometimes considered the staple of the cheesecake world. It is important to remember, however, that many other kinds of cheesecake exist. Italian cheesecake is made using ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese. This type of cheesecake has an entirely different consistency than New York cheesecake and is popular with Italian Catholics around Easter.
No-bake cheesecake requires no time in the oven. This recipe leaves out the eggs and instead mixes ingredients such as whipped cream and vanilla with the cream cheese. While a no-bake cheesecake requires no time in the oven, one should remember allow time for the dessert to be refrigerated before serving it to guests.