14 Types Of Cheesecake, Explained

No dessert has had a glow-up quite like cheesecake. The Greeks are believed to have invented the first version of the dessert around the fifth century B.C. These "cheesecake" prototypes were made by combining flour, honey, and fresh cheese together on a flat cooktop. It wasn't until medieval Europe that the iteration of the cheesecake that we now know — the one made with a pastry base and a creamy texture — started to emerge. These early cheesecakes took on a variety of flavors, including rose water, flowers, and ginger. Now, you can get seemingly any flavor of cheesecake under the sun; the fact that there are upwards of 30 flavors at The Cheesecake Factory alone says something. 

But, if you're only relegated to eating The Cheesecake Factory cheesecake, you may never get to experience other regional varieties of this iconic dessert. In an effort to help spread cheesecake awareness, we curated a list of some of the tastiest varieties of cheesecake worth trying. While some of the ingredients and preparation styles are similar, each cheesecake on this list has a history that's as unique as its texture and flavors. 

The New York-style cheesecake is one of the most easily recognizable and iconic American desserts out there. The New York-style cheesecake has Jewish roots, tracing back to — you guessed it — NYC. Arnold Reuben, a Jewish-German immigrant living in the city, was said to have substituted the cheese in a cheese pie for curds. It's those curds that gave the cake its luscious, thick texture. And in case you were wondering, Reuben is also credited for another classic dish: the Reuben sandwich. 

Reuben then took his recipe for cheesecake and served it up to New York City's elite at his string of restaurants. However, across town, Leo "Lindy" Lindemann was serving up a similar style of cheesecake — but this one was topped with a strawberry gel concoction. An iteration of this recipe (which was believed to have been sourced from Lindy's chef) appeared in a 1948 copy of The Los Angeles Times and featured a "cookie dough crust" with a cream cheese- and heavy cream-based filling. 

The New York-style cheesecake that we know today is often served with a graham cracker crust. Though heavy cream is a popular addition to the filling, some folks will also add sour cream to make it super rich. Moreover, this cake differs from the others because it's typically baked in a springform pan until it's set, then the temperature is gradually decreased to prevent it from cracking. 

There are some stark differences between Chicago-style cheesecake and New York-style cheesecake (and no, it's not just that the Chicago-style one is made in deep-dish format). Rather, the texture between the two differs significantly. While New York-style cheesecake is dense, Chicago-style is fluffy, though the exterior is perfectly set. To impart this texture, a baker will need to increase the amount of cream cheese they use for the recipe. 

Eli M. Schulman is credited for "inventing" this style of cheesecake. He sold several different varieties of the cake at his restaurant, Eli's The Place For Steak, including plain, cinnamon raisin, chocolate chip, and Hawaiian. While the restaurant closed in 2005, Schulman's son, Marc, started Eli's Famous Cheesecake Bakery to continue serving up this magical and sweet confection. You can order an authentic, Chicago-style cheesecake online to enjoy at home, complete with a golden shortbread crust and sour cream, cream cheese, and vanilla bean filling. 

It turns out that the City of Brotherly Love knows how to make more than just cheesesteaks. Philly-style cheesecake is noticeably lighter in texture than New York cheesecake. The mouthfeel between the two is totally different. Though, it's important to note that the reason for this difference is not the brand of cream cheese that's used for this recipe. Rather, Philly-style is so light because it doesn't use sour cream or heavy cream like New York-style does. However, it does share the crisp cookie or graham cracker crust with its northern neighbor. 

You'll often find the Philly variation of the dessert served with fruit or chocolate toppings — though there's nothing wrong with enjoying it plain, too. If you go into a shop, even inside Philly, you may not see many mentions of the city's moniker. Rather, many market this cheesecake variation as just, well, "cheesecake," if only to set it apart from the New York variation.

While conventional cheesecake is commonly thought to be a dessert that's distinctly American, there are tons of variations on this dessert outside of the States. One of them is the Swedish version of cheesecake: ostkaka. This version of cheesecake bears little resemblance to the American version — besides the fact that it's often served with a berry, jam-like topping. This cake tends not to have a separate crust. Instead, the baker will combine ground almonds together with cottage cheese, flour, heavy cream, egg, and sugar until it takes on a thick consistency. Then, it's baked in a pan until golden before it's served with whipped cream and jam (which is often strawberry-flavored). Ostkaka is usually eaten at room temperature rather than served chilled. 

Besides having some different ingredients, ostkaka is also far less sweet than its American counterpart. Though, it's not slacking in the richness department; the eggs and the cottage cheese make for a luxurious bite. If you want to try this recipe at home, you're in luck, as its ingredients can be found at most major grocery stores. 

Fiadon is otherwise known as Corsican cheesecake. If you're like us, you're scratching your head trying to point out Corsica on a map. This small island, considered a French territorial collectivity, is located in the Mediterranean Sea. Its proximity to Italy and islands like Sicily and Sardinia means that there is a ton of Italian culinary influence on the island. Fiadone is actually derived from the Italian word "fiadoni," which refers to a small, flan-like dessert. 

Like other Italian cheesecakes, the base of the fiadone is also made with ricotta. Unlike American cheesecake, fiadone does not have a biscuit or cookie base. However, if you visit regions on the south side of the island, like Ajaccio, you'll find that this cheesecake is made with a puff or shortcrust base. Besides the ricotta, which is made with local Brocciu from goat or ewe's milk, this cheesecake also has eggs, sugar, lemon zest, and a colorless, double-distilled brandy called eau-de-vie. The cheese flavor itself isn't potent and overwhelming, nor does the dairy impart the same mouthfeel that cream cheese would. The flavor of lemon is also pertinent, though not overwhelming (some people also add limoncello for a little bite). This is a super light cake that can be enjoyed at any time of day. 

We can thank the Italians for their contribution to the cheesecake world. A baked ricotta cheesecake is one of life's simple pleasures, as it has a lighter mouthfeel than conventional cheesecake. You'll also see Italian ingredients making their way onto the scene, including orange or lemon zest. Optional ingredients, all of which upgrade the mouthfeel of the dessert, include raisins and pine nuts. 

Ricotta cheesecakes sometimes include a cookie base, though some folks would argue that a true Italian cheesecake would never use any sort of crust. Instead, the baking process and ingredients result in a shiny and beautiful golden brown crust on the exterior of the cheesecake. Some folks will also add cream cheese and sour cream to their Italian cheesecakes to give them some structure, while others will serve them with fresh fruit and berries to highlight the cheesecake's light and citrus-forward flavor. 

It seems like Japanese cuisine has gotten more spotlight in recent years, and we couldn't be more grateful. Japanese cheesecake is just one of the country's many desserts that you should have on your radar. This dessert, also called soufflé cheesecake or cotton cake, is easily recognized thanks to its wobbly, gelatin-like texture. However, its porosity suggests that the cheesecake is more like a cross between a soft sponge cake and a cheesecake. Like a soft chiffon, Japanese-style cheesecake is meringue (whipped egg whites) in addition to the cream cheese. Since it's important that the batter maintains its airiness, a baker must skillfully combine the dense cheese batter with the soft meringues to make a proper Japanese-style cheesecake. 

Although its name suggests otherwise, the creation of the Japanese cheesecake was actually inspired by a German dessert called käsekuchen. Tomotaro Kuzuno, the president of a major Japanese confectionery company, tried this cheesecake during a trip to Germany and decided to take some inspiration from its preparation. 

If you didn't know any better, you might complain about being served a Basque cheesecake at a Spanish restaurant. Can't the cooks see that it's burnt? 

Rest assured that this bake was done on purpose. Basque cheesecake is set apart from other cheesecake varieties due to its crispy nature. The creation is credited to Santiago Rivera, a restaurant owner from San Sebastian. Rivera hypothesized that leaving the cheesecake in the oven for too long would cause it to become bitter, smokey, and inedible. But after some trial and error, the chef instead discovered that caramelizing the top of the cake heightened the caramel and vanilla flavors in the dessert, making it all the more delicious. Besides the obvious color and cook difference, Basque cheesecake does not have a crust — which sets it apart from some of the other types of cheesecake on this list. 

If you're trying to make this recipe at home, you're going to want to turn up the heat more than you would with a normal cheesecake. The secret is that you want the outside of the cheesecake to caramelize without causing the inside to firm up. 

If you're the kind of person who likes the look of complex desserts but doesn't like making them, then no-bake cheesecake might be the dessert for you. In order to ensure that the dessert is perfectly safe to eat without any cooking involved, many no-bake cheesecakes will ditch the eggs for other thickeners. Besides cream cheese, you may also see no-bake cakes made with heavy cream, sour cream, and/or Cool Whip (which helps set the cheesecake and imparts a whipped cream-like texture). 

There are two big misconceptions that are associated with no-bake cheesecake. The first is that it's totally hands-off — meaning that you can just whip up the filling, toss it in a graham cracker shell, and be done with it. But, the reality is that there is some finesse required to make a pie crust (which may require a bake, like if it's a homemade cookie or graham cracker crust). Not to mention, you'll need to allocate time for the cake to adequately set before it can be enjoyed. Another misconception is that these cheesecakes have to be bland and boring. The complete opposite is true. Not only can you switch up your crumb crust, but you can also try inventive fillings, like this no-bake strawberry cheesecake recipe. 

Vatrushka may look like bite-sized, mini cheesecakes. And, they kind of are; these Eastern European desserts are like a cross between a Danish and a cheesecake. The buns are often around 5 inches in diameter, which makes them the perfect size for a personal dessert. If you visit Ukraine or other Eastern European countries, you'll likely find these buns given out for Easter. Instead of being filled with conventional cream cheese, though, these buns are filled with farmer's cheese, aka quark. If you can't access this cheese, though, you can also use ricotta for these buns — though you'll want to make sure as much liquid as possible is drained from the fresh cheese before you start to work with it. You'll find some variations studded with cherries, raisins, and jam, too. 

This treat starts with an enriched yeast dough, which includes both sugar and eggs. These ingredients help give the doughy base a pliable structure, as well as a beautiful golden color. Once the dough has been adequately proofed, it can be shaped into small bowls and filled with the cheese filling. Then, the pastries are baked until they're golden brown and delicious-looking. 

Käsekuchen is the German cheesecake that served as inspiration for the Japanese-style cheesecake. Like the vatrushka, it's made with farmer's cheese (quark) and is super fluffy. However, some people will also use Greek yogurt or pureed cottage cheese in their recipes to mimic the same mouthfeel (and because quark is hard to find stateside). Traditional German cheesecake also has a crust, though it's not the same as the beloved graham cracker crust that adorns many American cheesecakes. Rather, this one is made from a type of pastry called shortcrust, or mürbeteig. The consistency of this pastry is buttery and, as the name suggests, short — which sets it apart from the classic pie crust or puff pastry. 

Besides these differences in crust and filling, German käsekuchen is also not as sugar-forward as other American cheesecakes. Rather, the recipe often contains lemon zest, which, combined with the tanginess of the cheese, imparts a beautiful tart flavor. If you crave extra sweetness from your homemade käsekuchen, consider adding fresh berries instead. 

Sernik is a Polish cheesecake made with farmer's cheese. Using this cheese, which is called twaróg or ser biały, is key to developing the cake's unique flavor. The dessert is firm yet creamy and has some subtle sour notes to it. Polish cheesecake is also typically served on a shortcrust pastry base, though some variations also use a sour cream pastry base instead (which is essentially like a cookie dough-based crust with a few tablespoons of sour cream added in). You may even see sernik made without any crust at all!

If you live in Poland, or have access to a Polish market, getting your hands on twaróg is easy. It's the same type of cheese traditionally used for pierogis and the like. Once you have the cheese, you then have to grind it up until it's smooth before you can work with it. Sernik is traditionally served as a dessert and usually comes ungarnished, though that's not to say that you can't add your own spin with sliced fruit or jam. 

Sopapilla cheesecake is a little bit of a hybrid dessert. The sopapilla itself is a pastry dough that's been fried and coated in honey, cinnamon, and sugar. It's popular in many Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico. The cheesecake, though, uses this pastry dough for the top and bottom of the cake in lieu of a conventional cookie crust. The cheesecake itself doesn't follow any set rules as far as ingredients, though our version uses cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. The key is that you need to have a solid enough filling so that it doesn't leach moisture into the bottom crust and make it soggy. 

Luckily, you won't have to make your own sopapilla for this tasty cheesecake rendition. Instead, you can use canned crescent rolls to make your life easier. While it doesn't have a spot in history quite like the other cheesecake varieties on this list, it is, no doubt, a delicious selection worth trying.  

Vegan cheesecake might seem like an odd concept. How could you mimic the distinct texture and tangy flavors of classic cheesecake without using — you know — the cheese? Well, it turns out that vegan cheesecakes have actually come a long way. 

The base of the vegan cheesecake may vary. Some folks will use pureed raw cashews, which impart a slightly nutty and creamy texture to the cake. Other folks opt for silken tofu, which has a texture similar to that of custard or flan (seriously, don't knock it until you try it). If you're DIYing one, you may also try to opt for a pre-packaged plant-based cream cheese from a brand like Miyoko's for your recipe. Regardless, vegan cheesecakes need to have an ingredient (or two) to help them set; this often comes in the form of a starch. 

And, when all else fails, you can always pick up a vegan cheesecake from the grocery store (brands like Daiya make pretty good ones, if we do say so ourselves). But will they ever beat a classic store-bought frozen cheesecake or one of the other tasty varieties on this list? That's for you to decide.