
My first taste of cheesecake was many many years ago. It was a plain one; packed with flavours; with the creamiest texture ever! I could still taste it in my head now! It was a very fond memory – I took my time, enjoyed each small bite of it.
As my eating adventure grows wider, I have almost forgotten about this humble cake/dessert until I visited New York a few years ago. I remember we were walking around Chinatown and Little Italy area and stumbled upon a cheesecake shop, called Eileen’s Special Cheesecake. This little shop caught our attention with a beautiful display of tiny cheesecakes with many different flavours and toppings. Without any hesitation, we went in and tried a few different cheesecakes and we were blown away with the look, taste and texture. Probably the best cheesecakes I have ever had for a long time! (Yes, it was even better than the one that I ate when I was little!)
Of course, plain cheesecake is delicious. Some extra toppings make it even better. My love for strawberry remains. It is one of my favourite berries. Let’s just says if there are 2 types of berries in front of me, where one of them is strawberry, I don’t even have to think twice which to pick. Strawberries are great in salad or dessert! I could down them easily like I do with cherries. ?
When I was browsing through some photos in my to-do folder, a few of them are the cheesecake I made using naturally fat free and spoonable soft cheese – The Lake District Dairy Co. Quark. In fact, it was a cheesecake recipe that was given to me using Quark. The strawberry coulis and sliced fresh strawberries toppings were something I added. I was really please to have been able to try Quark. It has really smooth and creamy texture, which is a great alternative to the likes of cream cheese, mascarpone, ricotta, formal frais.. etc.
Baking cheesecake isn’t that difficult at all. I really enjoy the simplicity of it, with wow factor in terms of taste. Though it might not turn out as good as what I tried in New York, but it will help when I crave for a decent cheesecake. I am pretty sure it is something that I will make again!