July 30th is national cheesecake day and you might be surprised to learn that the first time cheesecake was enjoyed was over 4 thousand years ago in ancient Greece. It was considered to be a great source of energy and was even served to athletes during the first Olympic games in 886 B.C. It was made with cheese, pounded until smooth, they mixed with honey and a bit of spring wheat flour and baked in brass pans. When the Romans conquered the Greeks they managed to get the cheesecake recipe and made it their own, calling it Libuma and serving it on special occasions. It was soon enjoyed all over the world as the Romans conquered more and more land.
Eventually, it made its way to America where again the recipe was changed to include cream cheese. Now when I think of cheesecake I automatically think of New York style cheesecake. Amazingly the man who is credited with creating the New York Style is responsible for several well-known sandwiches. The most well known are the Rueben.
Every region around the world has its own spin on cheesecake. They use different cheeses, different cooking methods, and even different toppings. It is no surprise that this well known and enjoyed desert has its very own day.
Unfortunately the man, woman or organization who gave this dessert a day is unknown, fortunately, the day stuck anyway. Now the best way to celebrate this day is, and I am sure that this comes to no surprise, to grab a slice of cheesecake.
Personally, I love a slice that is light, smooth and covered in more blueberries than you know what to do with. But that is one of the best things about cheesecake, it can be made to make everybody happy.
Some people love chocolate, nuts, bananas, berries, peaches, caramel, and many other things. These things all add something to your cheesecake, or you can eat it plain. Though cheesecake is anything but bland. It is also easy to make.
All you need is:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 graham cracker crumb crust (make your own click here)
Set your oven to 325 degrees
Line the bottom of a cheesecake springform pan with your crumb crust of choice, pressing the crumbs down in to ensure an even layer throughout the bottom.
Mix your cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together in a bowl until it is smooth and you can no longer see any small clumps of cream cheese.
When you have everything blended add the eggs and blend them in. Pour your mix into your crust and throw it into your oven for about 40 min.
To test your cheesecake carefully reach into the oven and poke the center of the cheesecake with a knife. If the knife comes out clean your cheesecake is done. Pull it out, let it cool 30 minutes and then place it in the refrigerator for about 3 hours before serving.
Once you are ready to serve your cheesecake pull it out of the fridge and put whatever toppings on it that you want. There is also national blueberry cheesecake day, cherry cheesecake day and white chocolate cheesecake day.
Other Cheesecake Recipes
- No bake cheesecake –
- Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles
- Strawberry Cheesecake Popsicles –
- Cherry cheesecake cookies
- Strawberry Cheesecake Lush (no bake)
- Stunning Greek Yogurt Cheesecake
- Cheesecake Factory Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake
- Cinnamon Cheesecake Squares
- Cherry Cheesecake Dip
- Cherry Almond White Chocolate Cheesecake Bar Mix
- Blueberry Banana Cheesecake
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / sadakko