Cheesecakes are such wonderfully scrumptious desserts. What’s more, they are easy . . . in many ways, easier than a pie. If you have trouble with pie crusts, bake a cheesecake. (Crumb crusts are never soggy or tough and you don’t have to invest time in making pretty edges.)

Cheesecakes are perfect for holiday entertaining. If you make a cheesecake, you’ll always impress your guests.

In this article we’ll explore the world of cheesecakes. We’ll give you some guidelines and recipes so that you can create your own wonderful cheesecakes.

Cheesecakes are versatile. They consist of three basic parts: the crust, the filling, and the topping or flavor. Knowing that, you can mix and match these parts into wonderful combinations. Using a vanilla filling, consider these combinations:

• A cherry vanilla cheesecake with a graham cracker crust
• A raspberry vanilla cheesecake with a chocolate crust
• A blueberry vanilla cheesecake with a gingersnap crust
• A strawberry vanilla cheesecake with a vanilla wafer crust
• An apple cinnamon cheesecake with a walnut crust

Pumpkin and chocolate are two other fillings that work well together. A pumpkin cheesecake is to-die-for. For you choc-o-holics, consider a chocolate cheesecake and pair it with raspberries or cherries if you like.

Cheesecakes don’t have to be paired with fruit toppings. Our German Chocolate Cheesecake topped with chocolate and caramel is one of our most popular recipes.

You can see the possibilities.

• Fruit toppings and fillings for cheesecakes
• Techniques for perfect cheesecakes
• How to freeze part of your cheesecake for later
• Get the perfect pans for perfect cheesecakes
• Questions and answers about cheesecake