Celebrate National Cheesecake Day!

You may wonder if I only post about the food “holidays” of foods I really enjoy eating. Wonder no more, the answer is yes. That’s why I am posting about National Cheesecake Day today, as it is one of my favorite desserts, in no small part because cheesecake is easy to make. More on that later, but first, let’s have a short discussion on the history of this celebration and of cheesecake itself.

According to Almanac.com, National Cheesecake Day was established in 1985. We will have to take them at their word because no further evidence is provided for this claim. The National Today calendar goes into a little more detail, but still doesn’t provide a concrete answer on who, exactly, decided this food holiday would be celebrated on July 30. What we do know is that the origins of cheesecake can be traced back to ancient Greece, so the delicious treat has been with us for centuries. The Romans tweaked the Greek version, adding eggs and the baking method. While the recipe has evolved slightly since then, I think we would recognize the Roman dessert if we time traveled back a couple thousand years.

As with many foods, there are regional variations on cheesecake, including the OG New York style, the fluffy and jiggly Japanese cheesecake that has climbed in popularity due to TikTok, and the latest addition to the pantheon of cheesecake gods, the burnt Basque cheesecake, which was developed in the 1990s. I think cheesecake has a reputation for being difficult because it can crack if overbaked, although there are easy ways to avoid that, including using an Instant Pot or baking in a water bath. The ingredient list is relatively short and the mixing method is a breeze, so overall cheesecake is a cinch to make.

My go-to method employs a silicone pan in a water bath, which sidesteps the hassle of wrapping a springform pan in foil that inevitably leaks. Not having a true favorite, I rotate through many different flavors including pumpkin, white chocolate, and plain ol’ (but still delicious) vanilla. What’s your favorite cheesecake?