Everyone loves a cheesecake. A cheesecake can be the life of a party and they are not difficult to make. If you dress them up just a little, they can be truly memorable.
You can dress up a cheesecake with a topping. Fresh fruit always works. You can use pie filling for a topping or mix one cup fresh sliced strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries with 3/4 cup sugar. Mix the berries and sugar together to let the sugar dissolve in the juice.
You can dress up a cheesecake with a drizzle of white or dark chocolate. Pictured is a chocolate cheesecake with a white chocolate drizzle. Load melted chocolate into a pastry bag or a plastic bag with the corner cut off. Start the drizzle in the center and make a continuous swirl of concentric rings. Then drag the point of a knife through the rings to create the web-like appearance. Place a raspberry or strawberry as the centerpiece.
You can also dress up a cheesecake with ice cream toppings. Our German Chocolate Cheesecake is dressed up with chocolate and caramel ice cream toppings.
Additional Recipes and References
- Free! How to Bake, a free 250 page baking book
- Free! Easy Cheesecakes from A to Z (Includes “A Cheesecake Troubleshooting Guide)
- Free! A Manual for No-Bake Cheesecakes
- Springform Pans from Round to Square
- Click to see the Cheesecake Recipe Index with over 40 additional recipe
What’s the Best Way to Cut a Cheesecake?
Use the right knife, a sharp, thin-bladed knife. Don’t use a serrated knife as filling and crumbs tend to stick to the serrations.
Cut with a downward pressure, dragging the knife as little as possible.
After each cut, wash and dry the knife so that you have a clean blade slicing through the cheesecake.
My cheesecakes always develop cracks across the tops. What causes that?
Too much air entrained in the batter is usually what causes cracks in the tops of cheesecakes. To avoid this, don’t over mix. Whisk the eggs before adding them to the batter and mix on low speed just until blended. If there are other ingredients to add, mix them in with a spatula.
What’s the easiest way to make crumbs for my crust?
Lots of folks use a food processor; we don’t bother. We use a heavy duty zipper-type plastic bag and crush the crackers or cookies with a rolling pin a few at a time. We save the plastic bag for the next crust.
