Creamy, fresh and original: the cheesecake is one of the most popular cakes for young and old. Sweet and savory lovers are in agreement and make people who want to devote themselves to cooking happy while having little time available. Because bringing a homemade cheesecake to the table is really child's play!

Discover all the salt and pepper tips for prepare a cheesecake perfectly done!

Cheesecake: the origins

The origins of cheesecake are to be found in the name itself, which in Italian translates as "cheese cake", and go beyond American cuisine. Given that this is one of the oldest foods produced by man, it does not surprise us to know that the first cheese cake was served to athletes during the first Olympic Games, in Greece.

According to what the ancient Greek poet and philologist Callimaco handed down to us, in the eighth century BC a certain Egimio wrote a text entirely dedicated to the art of making cakes using cheese. In short, a guide to cheesecake ante litteram.

Historians confirm the Greek passion for the cheesecake. In 776 BC in the island of Delos the athletes were refreshed with one cake made from sheep's cheese and honey. Which also happened in ancient times Rome, where a placenta was served, a cake made with two discs of pasta with cheese in between. Recipe reported by Cato the Censor in his De Agri Cultura.

As we know, in relatively recent times, the cheese cake it has not been relegated to the Mediterranean, but has even crossed the Atlantic Ocean, where it has gained global fame. Precisely for this reason it has become a symbol for the Esperanto (those who speak the universal language of Esperanto).

All the peoples of the various continents have in theirs traditional cookbooks a cheese cake. But the most famous version, the one with the rusk and the cheese cream, was born in North America. All the fault (or merit?) Of James L. Kraft. In 1872 the American dairy producer tried to reproduce the famous one French Neufchatel cheese. The result was not exactly what was desired, but led to the discovery of a very tasty alternative, which we now know as "spreadable cheese "o cream cheese spread, the basis of modern cheesecake. Precisely for this reason we tend to attribute the origin of the cheesecake to the Americans, without thinking that even at the base of this recipe there are European roots.

The ingredients and the basic recipe

The most famous recipe nowadays is that of cheesecake New York Style. To prepare it you need dry biscuits, cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla.

THE cookies you need them to create the basis of the cheesecake. Chop them with a mixer and put them in a bowl. Put some butter in a saucepan and pour it over the chopped biscuits. Help yourself with a spatula to mix the ingredients then use them to cover the bottom of a lined zipper mold. Make it firm in the fridge.

To prepare the cream break the eggs into a bowl and whisk together with the sugar. Add the vanilla seeds, the spreadable cheese and mix all the ingredients until you get a soft cream. At the end add half the sour cream to the rest of the mixture.

Remove the mold from the refrigerator with the base of crumbled biscuits, pour the cream and level well with a spatula. There cheescake New York Style it is cooked in a preheated oven at 160 ° C for 45 minutes. While the cake is baking, mix the rest of the sour cream with icing sugar. A cream will come out with which to cover the cake, which will then still be passed in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Take 80 grams of soft butter and work it with 2 egg whites and 250 grams of crushed biscuits. When the mixture is blended, place it in the hinged cake pan lined with baking paper and cook in oven already hot a 150 ° C for 15 minutes.

Separately whisk 2 egg yolks, incorporating them into 250 grams of spreadable cheese and 80 grams of sugar. When the cooking of the base is finished, you can create a fruit filling to put on the base. Cover with cream cheese and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let it cool, decorate and serve.

To prepare the cold cheesecake without cooking you can, indeed you must, of course skip all the cooking steps we have suggested so far. There basis? Prepare it and cool it in the fridge or in freezer. There cream? All you have to do is put all the ingredients together, add some gelatine dissolved in a little warm cream, mix and spread on the base. Level the mixture and put the result back into the cold to firm.

To avoid small unsightly cracks on the surface of the cake, better cover it with film, making it stick very well to the edges of the cake pan. Garnish the cheesecake without cooking just at the last moment. You can use compote or fresh fruit (berries, apricots and peaches are perfect).

Does the cheesecake go in the freezer or in the fridge?

To make the cheesecake firm without firing is the freezer is the fridge they are valid helpers. The first we will use it to speed up the time in case of need, the second is essential even just to keep the baked cheesecake or to compact the biscuit bases.

How to make cheesecake in a jar or jar

An original idea, easy and quick to amaze your guests is to prepare a cheesecake in jar or in a jar. In this case you will not need to cook yours single portion desserts.

The base should be placed directly on the bottom of the jar or jar, pressed and left to rest in the refrigerator. Then you can add the cream and choose to decorate the top of the cake to your liking.

The cheesecake in a jar or jar can be more frothy than the classic version e without gelatin. Just put the jar in the fridge, immediately after assembling the cake.

As we said at the beginning, cheesecake is the perfect dessert for those who do not like being in the traditional enclosure. Get creative by overturning the rules from the start and preparing one biscuit cheesecake: in this case the biscuits will not be blended but will remain whole, creating delicious layers between one spread with cream and another.

Try the cheesecake with pomegranate jelly, an excellent alternative to topping with fresh fruit, especially easy to eat. Finally, mix the pleasure of coffee with this cheese cake, preparing the cappuccino cheesecake.

Cheesecake: savory ideas

The cheesecake is born as a sweet with a salty base and evolves like dessert. But who said he can't go back to basics? Among the savory ideas to put on the table to amaze your guests, try the gorgonzola cheesecake: dedicated to lovers of strong flavors. Another variation with another cheese is the goat cheesecake.

For those who miss the flavors of the mountains of Trentino Alto Adige, there is the speck cheesecake. While for those who can not do without the aroma of the sea and the fish guato, the smoked salmon cheesecake. For vegetarians, an excellent recipe is that of zucchini cheesecake.