When the word “cheesecake” comes up in conversation, most of us will likely think of the smooth, rich, cream-cheese based dessert that’s served in most restaurants and available in the frozen section of most supermarkets. But did you know that there is more than one type of cheesecake? For example, the widely popular New York-style cheesecake is rich and creamy in flavour and dense in texture. They are often topped very simply with strawberries or other fruits and contain no other flavouring ingredients. The regular cheesecake, on the other hand, is the type that we often buy from the supermarket and from restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory. These cheesecakes are lighter and fluffier in texture and can be flavoured with many different ingredients (such as chocolate or coffee). They are usually topped with different fruits, sauces, and even candies and other sweets. Both the New York-style cheesecake and the regular cheesecake are baked in spring-form pans with a graham cracker or cookie crumb crust.
By contrast, the Italian cheesecake is made with ricotta cheese and not cream cheese. The Italian cheesecake is much lighter and drier in texture (it tastes more like a traditional cake) when compared with the New York-style and regular cheesecakes. The Italian cheesecake is usually served without any fruit toppings, but can be sprinkled with lemon or orange zest. For those of you who follow dessert trends – the Japanese cheesecake has grown incredibly popular in North America in recent years. Similar to the New York-style and regular cheesecakes, the Japanese cheesecake uses cream cheese. However, the Japanese cheesecake has no graham cracker or cookie crumb crust and its texture is very light and airy (almost like a souffle!). The “cotton cloud” like texture in Japanese cheesecake is the result of whipped egg whites that are folded into the batter. If you live in Toronto or the GTA, you can find Japanese cheesecakes at Uncle Tetsu’s and other Japanese bakeries in the city.
If you are a bakery, a restaurant or a caterer in Toronto or the GTA, you should ensure you have sufficient cold storage space for dairy, cheese, and egg-based foods. Coolmate Rentals can provide you or your business with rental mobile coolers, freezers, and combo cooler and freezer units that range from 6’ to 16’ in size. With the summer months coming ahead, many restaurants have already reached out to us for refrigeration rentals. So please don’t delay and call us as soon as possible to book a cooler freezer for your business.