Customize Your Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a universally beloved dessert, typically reserved for days that you’re feeling particularly indulgent. The rich, creamy decadence of a plain cheesecake is delicious all on its own, but culinary academy students and graduates are probably looking for something that’s more of a challenge. Some like to make their dessert a little fruitier, while others can’t imagine a dessert without chocolate. While some bakers don’t prefer anything but a classic cheesecake made with cream cheese, eggs and whipping cream upon a graham cracker crust, for others, a no-bake variety will do just fine. Here are a few different ways you can prepare your favorite cheesecakes:

While plain cheesecake is delicious, there’s so much more you can do with it.

Make them bite-sized: In order to make bite sized cheesecakes, all you have to do is find cupcake liners in whatever size you’d like to make your cheesecakes. You can line them with graham cracker crust or simply lay a piece of graham cracker or vanilla wafer at the bottom of each liner. Pour your cheesecake mix into the liners and top it with some sprinkles or a dollop of chocolate and a maraschino cherry. This is a great dessert to take to a party, since it’s so much easier to serve than a single cake.

Swirl the top: If you want your cheesecake to have a little bit of extra flavor, simply swirl your it on the top of the cake with a toothpick for an aesthetically appealing option. Do this with a rich flavor like pumpkin pie filling, caramel or chocolate for something especially decadent, or “lighten it up” with some fruit filling. Mixing and matching is always a good idea too, like chocolate raspberry or caramel apple.

Change up the crust: Sure, graham cracker is a classic choice for a cheesecake, but what’s life without a little bit of excitement? Change the crust up by creating one made from your favorite cookies. Packaged chocolate chip or chocolate sandwich cookies are great options, but far from the only ones. Simply crush the cookies with a food processor so they’re nice and crumbly. Mix some melted butter in so you can press all of the crumbles together on the bottom and sides of your pie tin.