I was never a big fan of cheese cake. In the first place, why is it even called cheese cake when there is zero cheese in it? Cream cheese maybe but not cheese cheese. Major difference! And then I went to Australia. I didn’t think much of it but one day, drawn by delicious instagram pictures, I had cheesecake. And it changed my world. It was perfect! Cake love at first sight. And my journey in the world of cheeses found its beginning.
Same is not the Same
Everybody knows that the ‘same’ food tastes different in another country. The ingredients are replaced, the national palate has different preferences and the agricultural conditions might vary oh so slightly even between neighbouring countries. Classical example is always McDonalds. You won’t find beef in Indian hamburgers, obviously, and Korean burgers tend to be more on the spicy side. Even the normal crispy chicken is kinda spicy.
So when I am talking cheese cake, I am talking a whole variety of cheese cakes and the taste range and texture are surprisingly different. So much so, I dedicate this blog post entirely to the perfection that cheese cake can be. (Again, I’m not looking at you, German version.) From firm to fluffy, from mushy to runny, let’s make cheese cake talk the new rage!
Jury, Give Your Points
To start off, I give my kudos to the cheese cake that started it all: the Australian kind. Somehow Australia loves this cake and produces many different flavours of it. But no matter if you go all chocolatey or fruity, all of them have one thing in common. They are super firm. Almost solid. And that’s what I love about them. You take a good bite and have a lot to chew, the taste lasts longer and you get so much more full, it makes the small slices in which the cake is served actually seem reasonable. I still want more, though.
A very narrow second place is Japan. Their cheese cakes are a divine blend of creamy to almost airy. It melts instantly on your tongue and explodes in a smoothness sensation that is unsurpassed. But as soon as you hit that high, it is over – as is the case with most of Japanese sweets. They just don’t linger and make you want more. And more. It is not good for your travel budget, believe me. My special tip for you is to try the Kit Kat cheesecake (buy at supermarkets, not souvenir shops!) and the cheesecake on Harajuku crepes. Such weird combinations deserve a try and I can recommend both.
Third place is taken by Korea (for lack of more experience in international cheese cake tasting). The cheese cake you find here, I would put down to be more actual cheese than cream cheese. It does taste of gouda! So when I ordered shaved ice with cheesecake (which was basically just frozen water with crumbly cake on top), I felt like eating powdery slices of cheese. It was nice, but entirely unexpected and I am not sure about the combination. It was definitely not worth the price I paid for it.
There are so many different countries where I need to try out cheese cake and I will make it my mission to try it in each and every one I visit. But since I cannot predict anything, let’s just get to my – at the moment – least favourite cheese cake. The German one. It is mushy, the bottom dough is usually super bland and brown (tastes brown as well, if that’s possible), the top slightly dried out as well and it falls in on itself when you cut it. And did I mention the raisins in it? I hate raisins with a passion!
And the last country I tried cheesecake in is South Africa. Wasn’t a big fan of it either but it was decent and had no raisins. Let’s see where else I can get my spoonfuls of this creamy cake.
Do you like cheesecake and where have you eaten them? By the way, have you heard of my new Cheesecake sessions? Exclusively in my newsletter will I send you some happy cheer to keep you going whenever you open it. If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe here (plus there will be more goodies coming soon):
Paul c says
Had to comment as I was specifically looking for an internet based international cheesecake discussion… In the UK I love cheesecake. On my travels across Europe I found it’s very different. In the UK it’s firmer I imagine similar to in Oz, in Spain and Italy and Turkey where I tried their version of cheesecake it just wasn’t nice. They do good cakes obviously but cheesecake I didn’t like it there. Just tried in Dublin, I came back twice to the same place as the first cake wasn’t good, it was wet and very soft almost like a firmer whipped cream in the middle. I realised the bakery is run by Brazilians. So I will guess real Irish cheesecake will be similar to the one I had in the UK . Anyway that’s my two cents. I like cheesecake.
Annemarie says
Haha, no way, Paul! That’s so cool. I really should extend this article as I’ve tried mor cheesecake (I’m on a mission!). Thanks for your input. Haven’t tried cheesecake in Dublin, Turkey or Italy either. Need to put that on my list with a slight warning.^^ Hot top: try cheesecake in Costa Rica with passion fruit on top as well as in Bali. So good!